5 Things I Love About The 2016 BMW M2, And A Few Things I Don't

I’m sure by now that a lot of you will have seen our video review of the 2016 BMW M2, and looking at the feedback, it’s clear that the majority of you think that BMW has smashed it out of the park with the baby M. YouTube comments like “I’d rather have this than the M4” are very high praise indeed, and you know what? I agree with your thinking, Colin Dowd. But like everything in life, nothing’s perfect. So, as per the headline that grabbed your attention as hard as I grabbed the keys to the new kid on the block, here are the five things I loved about the M2, and a few things I didn’t…

It looks even more gorgeous in the flesh

When we first clapped eyes on the M2, we all sat back in our chairs, bit our bottom lip and thought ‘damn, I’d do bad things to that.’ The reason for our collective reverence was simple: the M2 just looks right with its wide track, flared arches, fat rubber, aerodynamic face and quad exhausts.

With the M2 now staring deep into my soul on the glass-smooth roads surrounding Malaga, Spain, my eyes drank in every inch, every crease and every muscle. It’s the kind of car that to look at makes you proud to be a petrolhead - somewhere, a group of talented humans grabbed a sketch book and created something that instantly makes people like you and I promise ourselves that we’ll do whatever it takes to get behind the wheel. Of course, whether or not a car looks good is purely subjective, so if you’re not a fan of the M2’s looks, then that’s okay too. Your opinion is of course wrong, however, so I trust that you’ll make some changes in your life to recognise that this car looks superb.

It loves to skid

I’m no pro-drifter, nor am I much of a track driver, but what I lack in talent, I make up for in commitment. So imagine how pleased I was when a few stamps of the throttle and some counter steer resulted in vehicular body movement that I didn’t think I had in me. That’s right, even a normal bloke like me can drift the M2 and that’s a great feeling. I’d bet, given enough practice, that a few attempts would have you skidding the car around corners with ease too, which goes to show just how wonderfully balanced the chassis is.

If you were to put the M2 and the M4 on the same track, the M2 would actually clock a faster time. Don’t believe me? Motor Trend’s Randy Pobst did exactly that, and guess what? The M2 beat the M4 by 0.21 seconds around the Willow Springs track. Not only is that surprising, it’s downright impressive, and proves how much work has gone into the M2 to make it perform like an M car should.

Remember, the M2’s twin-scroll turbocharged N55 engine makes 364bhp at 6500rpm and 343lb ft between 1400 and 5560rpm, with an extra 26lb ft available with an overboost function. That gives the car a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds with the six-speed manual and 4.3 seconds with the DCT gearbox.

The M2 sounds damn good as standard

As standard, the M2 sings a wonderful straight-six tune that makes you hold on to the gears for a little longer, no matter what the fuel gauge says. The quad exhausts also love to spit on the overrun, and even at low speeds, you can hear from the engine and exhaust notes that the M2 is waiting to be unleashed from the shackles of traffic, stop signs and Honda Jazz drivers.

With the optional exhaust system fitted to our white-coloured test car, the M2 sounds keener still, but the difference isn’t impressive enough to warrant an extra £2000.

The manual gearbox is actually decent

‘BMW’ and ‘good manual gearbox’ aren’t usually words you’d see in the same sentence - more on that here. And while the M2’s six-speed manual ‘box feels a little rubbery between shifts, quick gear selection is easy, light and short. That makes a nice change from BMW’s usual way of doing things with long rows of the stick and a lot of force.

The M2 doesn't have that killer instinct

For me, the point of an M car is that if you screw something up - be it a fast corner or a launch - you’ll pay for your mistake. An M car needs to be edgy and there needs to be a hint of killer instinct that makes normal people nervous. The M2 is far more tame than that, and that’s a bit of a let down. Hell, even CT Producer Ethan coped driving it, which makes me a little bit sad.

Cars like the 1M and the M4 demand real commitment to be driven fast, and because they’re twin-turbocharged (not like the single-turbo M2) the power delivery is spiky, and actually pretty scary. By contrast, the M2 lets you throw down the power hard (except when the roads are greasy) and will hold your hand while you get your instant speed fix.

What I’m trying to say, then, is that the M2 is easy to drive fast and anyone can jump in and set a decent lap time. And for me, that detracts from the traditional M experience. But hey, if it weren’t so user-friendly, normal guys like me wouldn’t be able to slide around corners so effortlessly…

Auto blipping doesn't do it for me

As you’ll have seen in our video, the M2 auto blips for you on the downshift in the manual car. That’s a nice feature for people who don’t know what auto blipping is, but for car enthusiasts like us who auto blip on the down shifts as a matter of course (and because really nailing the downshift is a great feeling), the system detracts from the driving experience and takes the fun away from us.

Interestingly, the auto blip function is disengaged when the traction control is fully switched off, so if you want to enjoy those downshifts yourself, you’ll have to bear in mind that the approaching corner could be your last. I’d like to see a button to switch the auto blip off while keeping traction control on, thanks.

I can't justify £44,000 for an M2

Now this point is a pretty contentious one (I argued about this with a few other journos who were there on the same M2 launch as me), but if it were my money, I wouldn’t pay upwards of £44k for an M2 (the car we had on test was actually £55k with options). The reason for my penny pinching is because of cars like the M235i and the Ford Focus RS that already offer fantastic performance and fun for a price that’s £10,000 and £13,000 less expensive than the M2 respectively. And for me, while I happily admit that the M2 is the more premium product, it’s not the better value-for-money proposition.

What’s more, with the release of the M2, the chances are very good that you’ll be able to bag a BMW M235i (a car I really love) for well under list price; spend the money you saved on RRP on a tune up and you’ll be well within reach of the M2’s 370hp figure if straight line speed is your thing.

So now that you’ve seen the reviews and read my thoughts, what’s your opinion of the BMW M2. Does it really deserve the M badge, and would you be happy spending the cash on one?