[Reesnat]

I’ve been around TBHP a fair amount and learned a lot but haven’t contributed as much as I would have liked to. COVID19 is the perfect opportunity to start, so here goes my ownership review/experience of my BMW M2 Competition.



Seeing the incredible level of depth that most TBHP reviews have it’s intimidating to do this, so please excuse if this isn’t up to the usual TBHP standards.

At the time of writing this - Owned the car for about 4 months and 4000kms on the ODO.

Cars that I own currently:

1. Polo GT TSI which serves as my daily runabout.
2. Octavia VRS 230 (2018) which does the long trips, family outings, and weekend fun.

My VRS is at Stage 1+ (APR) doing about 280whp, so this serves as the baseline against which my performance metrics will be measured. A sports car to join the garage would need to be significantly better from a performance standpoint. More on this in the performance section.

What makes the M2 Competition special?:

I’m not going to go into all the tech specs, I’m sure if you're on TBHP, you probably know them already. I just wanted to highlight which parts were really special for me personally and why I believe it’s the best sports car for around 1Cr in India right now:

• Unlike other competition versions from BMW, this one has an all-new engine - the exact same S55 power plant from the M3/M4, and even in its detuned state of 410hp, it’s the most powerful car in its price category. This alone is amazing at this price and the biggest draw for this car.
• It's compact and not trying to be a do it all car - it distills all the performance BMW M cars are known for.

Why did I buy it?:

• The full BMW M car experience with rear-wheel drive, powerful engine, and excellent handling
• Weekend fun car
• Sports car characteristics that delivers more than just straight-line speed
• Mid life crisis?

Before we get into all the details, let’s get the TL,DR Pros and Cons out of the way first:

Pros:

• Incredible S55 engine delivers on all counts - this thing is quick!
• Awesome DCT gearbox
• Loves to rev! (goes till 7600rpm)
• Great handling (only bested by Porsche’s)
• MDM mode allows you to go sideways a bit more before reeling you in
• Amazing looks! Probably the best looking M car in my opinion. That menacing front, and those hips!
• Short wheelbase makes the ground clearance tolerable for most Indian conditions (relative to category, please don't compare to a Fortuner)
• Has 4 seats and OK boot size making it moderately practical for a sports car, if the odd occasion arises
• BMW service packages instill confidence and allay fears of buying a white elephant

Cons:

• Weight. This car is as heavy as an M4. The short wheelbase and dimensions mask that to a great extent though.
• Could sound better for a car in its class (need to fix this with an aftermarket exhaust)
• Interior dashboard, UI is like any other BMW from the past 7 years, and the Indian in me cries for more paisa wasool on this account every now and then from a car that costs 1Cr.
• BMW took away some of the basic features for the Indian version like wireless charging, tyre pressure monitoring system
• BMW’s ridiculous extra costs like 75k for Apple Carplay, and 3.5L for a navigation system which I would never use!
• Not much else for what it is.

If you’re still with me and want to know more, keep reading…

[Reesnat]

Background:

I’ve been a VAG car owner for about 10 years now, with the Laura TDI from 2009-2015 and then a Polo GT TSI from 2015-now (still my daily runner) and an Octavia VRS 230 from 2018 to now. I’ve always appreciated and gravitated towards the solid build, clean lines, and the sheer drivability of the European cars vs Asians. I don't have a driver, so the driving experience is a top priority for my choice of cars.



The Octavia VRS is the car that really brought out the car enthusiast in me. At that time it was a very simple decision - superb engine with a lot of room to upgrade/mod, at a reasonable price. With that and the VRS community (VRS230 WhatsApp group), I learned a lot, and right now my car is a Stage 1+ APR doing about 280whp. So this is the baseline from which I would judge a new car for the garage.



A track day experience at MMRT, Chennai with the VRS highlighted it’s weaknesses as a track/handling car and that it’s far more suited as a ‘GT’ car than it is for tackling corners. That’s when I started really thinking about upgrading its suspension and planning its next set of mods to take it further. This is one of the amazing things about the VRS230, the MQB platform + EA888 engine has a TON of potential.

As I’m sure for many of you, my favorite ‘time pass’ is watching sports car review videos from around the world, and something about the M2C always had me very attracted to it. One day I was at my detailers shop (OCD, Adyar) getting my VRS washed and I saw the M2C in person for the first time... I was in awe, but not in my wildest dreams at that point did I think I will ever own one.

December 2019: I had the opportunity to make a big-ticket car purchase if I really wanted to. But did I really need to? Absolutely not.

But, this is my own company and one that I worked very hard to build, so if I didn't take the chance now and get it, don't think I ever will in the future. Clearly, I wasn't thinking with my head

Also, if I had ANY hint that very difficult times were around the corner (go, corona, go), there is no way I would have gone ahead with this purchase. But, it is what it is, so let's enjoy the smiles as much as we can.

[Reesnat]

Thought process/options:

In a situation like this the thought process is usually about justifying this to yourself, even though every bone in your body says it’s an unnecessary and impractical thing to do.

With that backdrop and no firm plans of making a purchase yet, I was generally researching cars under the 1Cr bracket. Being a family man, getting something practical is always the first instinct and every car enthusiast dreams of a Porsche so the Macan was something I very seriously considered as it seemed like a good blend of practicality and power.




Took a test drive of the Macan S and really liked it, especially that PDK gearbox, oh boy, that is something else! In terms of sheer power, it was extremely quick but didn’t blow me away as much as I expected it to. Maybe because I’ve sat in Stage 2 & 3 VRS’s that push about 350whp, so similar straight-line speed was not going to impress me as much. The Macan handled better than any SUV I’ve driven, but obviously it didn’t have a hunkered down, sports car driving feel to it. It hid it’s weight well, but you were reminded you were in an SUV due to the seating position and turn in. So post the test drive I felt like the car was good, but it isn't as spacious for an SUV or as sporty as a sports car, so it's stuck somewhere in the middle. If I didn't have the VRS and could only get one car, then this would be it! Only thing to worry about is the insane Porsche pricing on the options!

So at this point I had to really think about what car I want to add to my garage. If I was going for practicality I might as well get an X5 30i which will have all the luxury boxes checked and is pretty quick, but of course will drive like a big SUV.

I was not going to sell my VRS which is perfectly fine for serving family duties and is fun to drive, so for something to make sense it needs to serve a purpose that is not being met now. And the only itch I wanted fulfilled was to have a ’proper’ sports car.

So that narrowed my thinking down to what I was looking for.

After some deliberation, I wrote off most options in India under 1Cr - the Audi S5, Mercedes C43 because they were larger and heavier than I would have liked and their longer wheelbase will make the ground clearance more of a challenge. I wanted a fast, rear-wheel drive car that I can explore different driving styles with, and the odd slide here and there. A powerful rear wheel drive is also one that needs to be driven with some skill, unlike a four-wheel drive car like an Audi S5 which is crazy quick but is so refined that it almost sucks out the joy of going fast and doesn't really ‘scare’ you.

The Porsche Cayman falls in this category but at this sub 1Cr price in India, you can only get the base Cayman with a 4 cylinder engine that ‘only’ does 300hp, of course, that is not the whole story with a Porsche sports car. Had the Cayman S been available at a similar price with a 6cyl pushing north of 350hp, things could have been a lot more interesting. Even then, it only has two seats and an almost non-existent boot. Another thing with Porsche’s in India is the service is a bit of a question mark. They don’t have comprehensive service packages like how BMW does, and they are not cheap.

Oh and a quick note on used sports cars - this obviously would have opened up a massive amount of options but something about a used sports car puts me off, unless I know the owner. I don’t know the manner in which it has been used or abused or maintained, whether the run-in was respected, the driving style, etc. It pains me to see many of these beauties relegated to a corner once the initial fun is dealt with. Plus buying new was preferred to leverage the double depreciation that was available for cars bought between Sep-March 2019.

So the M2C became the car that I felt checked all my boxes from the available options in India at the time.

[Reesnat]

The hunt:

So after watching every possible M2 Competition video on YT, my excitement built to a boiling point, and I started looking around for a car that was available at that time and to see where this madness of mine will go.

These are obviously full CBU direct imports, so the delivery cycle is usually 3-4 months. So if I wanted to get something right away, it needed to be one that was in stock with some dealer in India.

With regards to what spec I wanted - the non-negotiables were clear - it needed to have Apple CarPlay and the MSport seats, all the other bits I didn’t care about - the Harmon Kardon sound system is nothing to write home about, and not a big enough jump from stock. My preferred wheels were the 437M which were the wheels from the outgoing M2 and not the newer 788M wheels that are the signature wheels on the M2C. For me the new wheels were too busy, dont arc inwards as much and don't look as aggressive for a car like this.

Colors - I think the M2 Competition could have come with more interesting colors, this car with its aggressive stance would have looked incredible with unique brighter colors. Anyway, the available colors were Alpine White, Sunset Orange, Long Beach Blue, Black Sapphire (looks incredible) and the signature paint for this generation M2C, Hockenheim Silver. My first preference was actually the LB Blue which I liked a lot, but already owning a blue car I was mindful of not turning this into a blue garage, if I didn't have the blue VRS, this would have surely been the one I would have chased down.

The first call was obviously to my local dealership Kun Exclusive who said they didn't have any on stock with them, and will look around and get back.

After a few inquiries with dealers across the country, a few options showed up - one very promising Black Sapphire with a Kerala dealer looked like it was going somewhere until I saw the final build sheet and realised it doesn't have Apple Carplay, so that was done for. Even if this had moved forward, not sure if I would have pulled the trigger on this color. As much as the Black looks absolutely incredible, maintaining a black car in India with my OCD will drive me nuts!

After a couple weeks of close calls with some cars which seemed like it could work - something or the other was amiss, either the color, or the spec or the price.

Then in the last week of December, my sales advisor in Chennai, Kun who has been in touch all along discloses a Hockenheim Silver that was with them all along but was booked by someone else, and now that person has backed out due to some financial issues. Saw the spec sheet and it was exactly the spec I wanted - MSport seats with Apple Carplay + the bigger screen (BMW navigation system package) and the 437M wheels.

Hockenheim Silver - this was not a color I was very excited about initially after seeing them in all the press videos (this is the signature color for the M2C). It looked dull in many of the videos. However, in a couple of videos under sunlight the gold sparkles really came through and looked lovely! This shade looks different in different lighting conditions, dull grey at times, white at times and under sunlight it looks like a silver/white with gold sparkles, very cool. After seeing the car in person, I can safely say this color looks way better in person than photos/video.

I went over to the showroom to have a look at the car which was parked in the first floor of the building (not on the customer floor). Everytime I see this car in person I have butterflies in my tummy, and it looks amazing from every angle! The place where they had this parked didn't have great lighting so the color didn't look at its best, still, with my trusty ScanGrip MiniMatch light I got a sense of how the paint would reflect under good light.



After a discussion with my wife and Niranjan (OCD) who is a good friend, my detailer, and sounding board for all my car crazies, we all agreed that we should go with this color. The logic behind the decision to go forward was that this was a very unique color that showed different hues under different lights. We have lots of variations of BMW blue’s and orange’s on all the other cars, but this was something different, and something special that will be timeless.

So now that we were happy with the spec sheet (options) and the color, it was time to get down to business with the dealership.

[Reesnat]

Dealership experience:

Everything happened at such a break-neck pace, there is not a whole lot to write about the dealership experience. The SA and folks at Kun-Exclusive were professional and respectful, and everything went off fairly painlessly. Within 2 days of seeing the car, we had a couple of discussions and agreed on a special price that was going to be valid if I paid a chunk by December 31st and the remaining by the first week of January. I was happy with the deal and the payment was made. For reference, with all the optional extras, taxes, insurance etc; this spec should have been around 1.1Cr on road, Chennai.

The BSI service packages were an important attraction for me so I opted for the 5year/60k kms BSI plus which covers the brake pads and rotors, and I also opted for the 3’rd year warranty (crazy that we don't get 4 as standard!). So if you added these, then the total outlay would have been about 1.13Cr on road. For cars like these, I prefer to have the clarity of maintenance costs and no nasty surprises along the way.

The bank loan and remaining payments were all arranged within the week and delivery was taken on January 6th, 2020.

Regarding the delivery experience - I’m not a fan of over the top dancing, confetti or other delivery shenanigans (not that I mind it, just not mandatory for me), the dealership knew it too so they didn't bother with any of that, and that was not an issue for me.




However, what I did expect as an M car buyer was to be taking delivery from someone knowledgeable about M cars who would walk me through the driving aspects of the car, technical features, some do’s, don’ts, and so on, but that was not to be. This car comes with a full-size wheel and tyre in the boot (thank god for small mercies!), which is strapped in there pretty tight. I had asked them to show me how to remove the straps and locks and how to put them back, three of them were figuring it out for about half an hour with no avail, at which point I got annoyed and said I will figure it out on my own. The SA showed me the infotainment section which is probably the stuff they know really well, and I was on my way.

All in all, the delivery experience was lackluster not because of the drama but because I wanted a more technical handover of the car and its features. Again, not that I didn't know what I was buying, but I missed being made to feel special as an M customer.

On a positive note, the SA and Service Manager was very polite and have always been available whenever I have reached out to them.

[Reesnat]

Design:

I know, I know, the above delivery pic (and boring delivery story) don't do the car any justice, so before we talk about the design, let's just look at a couple of pics that attempt to show this amazing looking car, which trust me looks way better in person!




So where do I start about the looks? This is easily the best looking BMW car on sale now!

To start with, that absolutely mean looking front! Every time I approach the car, that front looks mighty intimidating. I really like how BMW sharpened the front bumper for this competition version with sharper lines and slits in front. So about that grill - I think it's sized perfectly and I like how it connects as one piece rather than two in the OG, and no chrome! The head lamps have the right amount of aggression and sleekness. There isn't a single thing I would change from the front, it's perfect!



The sides - it's all about those hips, just look at them! It looks like the kind you’d find in an aftermarket build with a widebody kit.

The rear end is chubby but gives the car a nice wide look. There is a small lip spoiler on the boot that seems to whisper ‘I’m a sports car’, this could have been a bit more aggressive, seems like something to fix with an aftermarket solution. I’m not a fan of the slits where the reflectors are tucked in, I think this will look better in black, I may consider wrapping that at some point.

Overall this car is an absolute slam dunk in the looks department!

[Reesnat]

Engine Modes/Drive Settings:

To make sense of the performance section, its important to understand the different modes, so before we get to the good stuff, lets review the various modes this car offers.



There are three engine modes - Efficient, Sport and Sport+. These alter the throttle response and in turn affects how the gearbox also reacts. The other part of these modes is how the exhaust valves are controlled - in efficient, valves closed and car in its most docile mode, sport opens the valves half way and the car is in a playful mode, sport+ opens the valves fully, pops and burbles on lift off, and car is in full power mode!

The other element that ties into the engine response is the gearbox modes which have three settings 1,2 and 3 (this applies individually to box auto and manual mode). This controls how aggressive the gearbox is with its shifts and also the shift points. In level 1 the gearbox will look to get the car down to around 1000rpm as early as it can, if the throttle is applied in a relaxed manner. Obviously ideal for efficient driving. In level 2 it will try to keep the low end of the rpms around 2000-2500 and will hold gears longer than level 1 allowing you to be on the power a bit more. With level 3 it's basically, let me at em mode making the car seem like a ferocious beast tugging at the leash! The shifts in this mode are really fast and aggressive, you can literally feel a hit through the paddles/steering when it shifts at high rpms, almost scaring you that something might break!

Even the steering has three settings to choose from that determine the weight of it - comfort, sport and sport plus.

Between the three settings of Gearbox, Engine and Steering you can find various combinations that you can choose based on your driving style and scenario - city, highway, total rowdy or track mode.

The blank button in between these settings is for the active suspension settings that this car doesn't come with (it's there in the M3/M4).



While I was exploring the car I found myself constantly changing these three settings into different modes depending on the situation, and thankfully BMW thought of this too and provided a simple way to have the settings for all 3 together into a preset using the M1/M2 buttons on the steering. This is so simple but so powerful and really helps enjoy and extract all aspects of the car's capability to its fullest. Quickly jumping from casual driving to full power mode and back with just a single button is a real joy!



Above is an example of how I have set up M1 which is what I am on most of the time.

[Reesnat]

Performance:

Finally, the part that matters most and why anyone would buy this car!

First 2000kms is the run-in period and BMW advises against exceeding 5500rpm during this time - this was painfully difficult to do, with all that built up excitement you obviously want to floor it the first chance you get, so a lot of restraint was called for during this time. Even so, getting this car till 5500 rpm is still plenty enough to put a rather large smile on your face!

I managed to cover the first 2000kms in about a month by a few trips to Pondicherry and Bangalore which was super fun. During this period even on the highway it's advisable to keep changing the rpms and not hold one speed for long. These trips were perfect to really understand the gearbox and how it performs in relation to the engine modes.

With 2000kms done, the car went in for its first run-in service, and after that… got the license to open her up a whole lot more!

Let's get the obvious things out of the way - it is proper fast! Once I got past 3000kms and allowed the engine to really settle in, I measured some times using an OBD dongle and app (MX+ & OBD Fusion) these should give us a fairly accurate representation of the times, though not as perfect as Dragy or a VBOX.

With launch control, the car did 0-100 in 4.3 seconds and 100-200 in about 10 seconds. Under ideal conditions, I’m sure it can do the 4.2 seconds 0-100 as claimed by BMW.

This car pulls from any speed, and how! We are so used to cars that have a redline around 5-6500 rpm that my mind automatically eases off after that, but in this case, it pulls all the way till 7500! And what’s more is that unlike other cars that start to drop off power as you get closer to the redline, this one hits peak power at around 6000rpm and then holds that peak power steady till the redline without a drop-off, it’s crazy! More often than not, it’s me getting off the gas out of fear than the car running out of power.

This high revving nature (which is uncommon for turbo engines) also shows off BMW’s mapping strategies that brings on peak power a little higher in the rpm so the low end is manageable to drive, otherwise, this thing would be even more out of control in the low-mid range. I really like the linear power delivery that BMW has mapped out for this engine. At the same time, if you want to rowdy it around, there is plenty of poke at any speed or gear!

What about the response and turbo lag? In efficient mode and gearbox in its easiest setting the car is very relaxed, but even then floor it and the car will move forward without having you wait. This mode is ideal in heavy traffic conditions where you don’t want the car to react hungrily for the slightest throttle input.

In sport mode, the car is perfectly poised to respond without being too aggressive. This is the sweet spot for me 80% of the time. There is plenty of response and the car keeps you entertained. This paired with the gearbox in its first setting is the perfect blend of having the power when you need but also allowing you to drive casually if you choose to with a light foot. And we also have the awesome paddles that allow you to jump in and take control anytime, instantly.

Sport+ has the car in its most aggressive mode and you better be prepared to commit if you are in this mode. The turbos are spooled and ready to go pretty much all the time and the car is waiting on you to make a move vs the other way around.

Let’s talk about that awesome gearbox. Let me start by saying this is one of the best DCTs I’ve ever driven and is right up there with Porsche’s PDK, yes it is that good! It’s one of the main reasons you can extract and manage all that power from this S55 engine. All three gearbox modes are useful and tuned very well. Though so far I have mostly used it in either the first or second mode. Level 3 gearbox + Sport+ on this car is not for the faint-hearted!

I’m yet to take this to the track, maybe there I will explore the gearbox in level 3.

With regards to shifts, it’s super quick and at any point in time, tapping the perfectly positioned and responsive paddles gives you instant control. It is tons of fun and the gearbox makes this car so much better. On highways, having this car in manual mode with the engine in sport+ is like playing a videogame, very addictive and you can’t get enough of it! That gearbox is a perfect match for this engine!

Some characteristics of the M2C that you need to be mindful of. You have a very powerful engine under the bonnet of a fairly compact car with a square stance, if you are not careful about your lines when you put your foot down, you’re asking for trouble. Even at 60-80 kmph if you kickdown hard, you will feel the back end step out a bit. It's that bit of danger and focus that I’m actually drawn to. With some of the 4 wheel drive cars like the Audi S/RS or even some AMGs, you miss this. Make no mistake, those cars can be crazy quick, but also maybe sometimes, boringly quick.

Talking about the back, this car has the M differential that’s always working to keep you in control. But BMW has made changes to the intermediate mode called MDM (M Dynamic Mode), in this traction control is at 50% allowing you some room to play. I tried this a few times with open U turns and the car does slip beautifully. I’m yet to conquer and manage the power, but this mode allows you to try and experiment without taking the chains off completely. I’m sure this mode will be a blast on the track, provided I’m ready with a second set of tires! With full traction off, you’ll find yourself in the trees pretty quickly, so think twice before you decide to play hero. Ultimately the drifting and playful characteristic is what made M cars so popular in the first place, and this car not only continues that tradition but does it better than ever!

Lastly, let’s talk about the steering feel. I have the steering in either comfort most of the time or sport mode when doing high speeds, sport+ is a bit too heavy for my taste. The steering feedback itself is very sharp and you always feel like you’re in total control and can place the car with confidence.

The stability and handling of the car, as you would expect is top-notch! Yes, it does show its weight a bit here and there, but that added weight plays in its favour at high speeds. The kind of speeds you can take turns at with this car is just bonkers, I wouldn’t dare take those turns at even half those speeds on my VRS! It’s almost always the car wanting you to push it harder, than the other way around.

Overall, this is a crazy powerful car that you need to learn and ‘earn’ the right to control. After nearly 4000kms, I’m nowhere near doing that. That’s what makes every drive in this car so enjoyable, every time I get in, I look forward to learning it a bit more and taming it a bit more. My skills have a long way to go before I can conquer this beast.

[Reesnat]

Engine/Exhaust Sound:

A big part of the sports car experience is the sound and the added drama it brings. The S55 engine in this car with the stock exhaust sounds good, but not incredible. In India we don't have the OPF filter which makes this car sound a lot better than in the EU. Another character of this engine is that it starts to really sing only once the exhaust is warm and in the higher RPMs, put this in Sport+ mode and cross 5000 rpms to see how she can really sing! In Sport+ the exhaust is in its loudest setting and the pops and burbles on let off are lovely and you know the car is in full on ‘business’ mode, it sure is addictive!

An aftermarket exhaust will really open the sound up even more. I’ve been drooling over the Akrapovic exhaust for this car, sounds so good! It's a deep, mature sound with a lot of character and more volume than the stock exhaust, I want to upgrade to this at some point for sure.

Oh and one other thing regarding the exhaust. The rear muffler on the stock exhaust is big and hangs really low on the car, it's a real eyesore from the back! I don't know how BMW designers thought this was ok. I got the muffler painted black (high heat spray) pretty much straight away.

Here is a before and after:

[Reesnat]

Wheels/Tires/Suspension:

The wheels are the awesome looking 437M, I love these wheels!. The two-tone black wheels contrast the paint beautifully and adds to the aggressive look.



The tires are staggered with 245/35/R19 Front and 265/35/R19 Rear. The car comes with the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. These are very popular tires for performance street cars and offer excellent grip for most regular scenarios except heavy track use where the Cup 2’s are better, but they may be worse street tires. No complaints here, great tires that work very well and offer very good feedback from the road.

Do the 19inch wheels and low profile tyres make the car overly stiff and difficult to live with? No, they are actually a lot more comfortable than I expected them to be.

Suspension:

The suspension is a passive setup, unlike the active one you can find on the M3/M4. I was worried about this before I got the car that it might be too stiff and will be tough to spend long hours in the car. Thankfully that's not the case, the suspension has been set up very nicely with a good balance of stiffness and comfort. Make no mistake, the suspension has been set up for performance and is stiff but has enough damping that you get used to it within a few hours and the by-product is that you learn the balance of the car and you can be sure of what it will do. In my highway drives to Pondy/Bangalore where I was in the car driving for upto 5 hours, I did not feel tired or have a backache or anything like that. In fact, I forgot about the suspension and was just enjoying the car.

Now when I get into the VRS, I realize how soft it is and want to do something about its suspension

Sidebar: Comfort has a lot to do with getting the seat settings, position, height, and steering position right. Taking the time to get this right for you will provide the best results and you will complain less about the car's suspension/wheels etc

[Reesnat]

Interiors/Equipment:

The interiors in this car are the standard BMW ‘F’ series type, which is more or less the same as just about any BMW car sold in the past 6-7 years, and this is a downer. For a 1Cr car, you expect more creature comforts that are standard for cars costing one-tenth this price!. But then again, this is a sports car and the more creature comforts you add, the more weight. So depending on the mood and need for the day, I swing between this being positive or negative



BUT, buying this car for the features is clearly missing the point.

Sidebar: It’s considered normal for sports cars to skimp out on basic creature comforts under the pretext of it adding weight. While that is true to some extent, the reality is that it’s just a way for them to charge you crazy amounts for the same, on top of your base cost! This is standard across manufacturers for this category. Don’t even get me started about Porsche’s extras cost!

Since the interiors are fairly standard affair, I’ll summarize the essentials:

AC: Works fine for Chennai heat so far, though yet to stress it during our peak summers.

Sound system: Serviceable. At least it comes with a small subwoofer under the seat so the bass is decent and the overall sound is good enough for a car like this.



Display: Decent size and resolution. The iDrive navigation dial works really well! Again, nothing really new here, fairly standard stuff.



Dashboard: Looks like a mix of analog and digital, it's simple and functional, with all the essentials clearly laid out. The dashboard shows the selected ‘M’ mode (discussed in the driving section) and the steering, engine and gearbox settings.

Steering:



Classic BMW steering that's not too thick, but I do wish it was textured better and offered more grip, it can get a bit slippery at times. The actual steering input response has been discussed in the performance section above.

Seats:







The uber-cool MSport seats are the most interesting aspect of the interiors on this car. They are very comfortable, offer great support, highly adjustable including lumbar and memory support. A very cool bit is the M2 logo lights up and stays on for a bit after you exit the car, always leading you to take another look!

Rear seats:



The two rear seats actually have enough room for 2 adults to sit fairly comfortably. I wouldn't say they are luxurious at the back, but perfectly serviceable and I’d say similar back seat space as something in a Polo, or maybe even slightly better. For context, I am 5’11 and with my driving position set, I can get into the back seat behind the driving position and be seated comfortably. These back seats proved super useful when I took the nieces and other family members out for a drive in the new car. Managed to squeeze in two adults and a kid in the middle for a quick ice cream run. Imagine telling the family I can only take one person at a time?

[Reesnat]

Practicality/Fuel/Fuel Economy:

Ground clearance:

The ground clearance is about 4.5 inches which for its category is better than average, but the shorter wheelbase is what makes it much more manageable. In Chennai I have no issues within the city and can comfortably clear most speed breakers without having to attack them sideways. You still have to be very mindful and slow down for bumps and ramps. Talking about ramps, I would be very uncomfortable giving this car to a valet to take it underground, the ramps there are usually steep and if not tackled carefully, could scrape. Still, it is not as difficult to manage as your typical sports cars. To put this into perspective, the AMG C43 has slightly lesser ground clearance and a much longer wheelbase, so that will be much more prone to scraping.

Turning Radius:

This isn't great and something you need to be mindful of, but is par for the course for all sports cars. In my apartment parking I usually navigate the pillars with one hand with little to no concentration, but with the M2C I need to pay more attention.

Spare wheel and tyre/Boot Size:



You get a full-sized alloy (rear size) and tyre strapped in the boot, while this is great that you have a proper spare, you do lose pretty much all of the boot space, as the wheel is large! Still, if you are travelling with someone else on a long journey, the back seat can serve as storage. I have done several long journeys without any issues for a couple of suitcases and a co-passenger.

Fuel:



This car needs a minimum of 95RON fuel, but recommended is 98RON to achieve the claimed performance (and best health for the engine). Being in Chennai, we do not have access to Power99 which is the best high octane fuel in India. We only have Speed97 which in my experience with my Octavia VRS is not that great, and that car needs 95RON. I’ve been using Proctane EVO for about a year now and that has worked out really well, I don't have to worry about hunting down high octane bunks, just reliable or coco bunks to get to good quality base fuel and then topup with Proctane EVO to make the desired RON. With the VRS, I’ve logged my car and seen no retard with Proctane added, so all seems to be well, and importantly, the butt dyno approves. So for the M2C I add one 300ml bottle of Proctane EVO for every 20 litres to make 98RON, and that has served me well so far.

Fuel Economy:

Obviously, if you are buying this car, you are not doing it for the mileage. Still, if driven sensibly in Sport Mode without flooring it on every signal, you should get about 7.5-8 on average. Highway driving depends a lot on your right foot, if you drive relaxed (but fast) for the most part and really floor it for a few sections you can expect about 8-9.

[Reesnat]

Paint Protection:



One of the first things I did after taking delivery was to get the car detailed and have it PPF’d. The guys at OCD have been my detailers for a while and Niranjan is an involved, passionate car guy. I chewed his and his team's brains to make sure we got the best results and it came out very well. The PPF disappears and protects the car’s original paint. In India, I feel PPF is the only proper protection if you want to retain OEM finish. Ceramic coatings looks great when new/clean but is hard to maintain and no real protection. Another aspect of this color is that it hides dust really really well, even when it is significantly dusty to the touch, it doesn't show as badly.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

Your car is going straight to our homepage . Am a big fan of small + fast packages. Congratulations & wish you thousands of happy km with the beast.

[Eshan Joshi]

That is a beautiful car you have got there. I wish you many happy miles on your new car.

Does this have the M drivers Package?

Anyways I must say that you have a pretty good garage.