BMW M2 G87 Review - Too good to be fun?

The phrase ‘dont judge a book by its cover’ gets overused, but in this case, it is apt.

BHPian Reesnat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

When I first saw leaked pictures of the new G87 M2, I, like everyone else on the internet was flabbergasted by what BMW had done. Yet, here I am writing an ownership review for that very car which I now own, and have grown to love.

The biggest issue with the car is its name and predecessors. It's called BMW M2, and that is its problem. Its SO radically different in styling and approach to the earlier M cars of its lineage (1M & M2) that its constantly compared to its predecessors with an expectation to better them on every count. While at the same time, fixing all the issues those cars had, improve performance and add modern safety, features etc. That is a near impossible task… to please everyone, myself included in this.

But, after the first few months of ownership and after learning more of what this car can do, I think we need to commend BMW for the attempt.

Pros:

• Outstanding chassis for an everyday sports car

• Same suspension, engine, cooling and gearbox as the M3/M4 - all fantastic!

• Adaptive suspension tuned extremely well to offer both daily usability and dynamics

• Modern, feature packed interior

• Aggressive body styling makes the car unique

• Solid brakes that keep up with the car’s speed and weight - a massive upgrade from the previous gen which had horrible stock brakes.

• Fantastic, modern 10 stage traction control that is both quicker to act and more sophisticated at the same time.

Cons:

• Weight (wish it was 100kg lighter), even though in practise the car manages it very well

• OPF Filter absolutely kills the sound

• Insulated driving experience

• Cast wheels instead of forged that such a car deserves

• Rear seats headroom is not great. How have BMW managed to make the car bigger and yet have lesser headroom in the rear?

• For those with more experience driving cars of this ilk - its setup from factory a bit more muted than it needs to be (probably in the interest of being more accessible)

Summary:

The phrase ‘dont judge a book by its cover’ gets overused, but in this case, it is apt. This is a car that has a wide breadth of capability in its driving characteristics that is easy to miss in a short drive. Want a car that can ‘feel’ almost like a normal BMW, put the engine in efficient, chassis in comfort, and gearbox at its lowest setting, and it can cruise around comfortably. Want a car that can drive like a sports car on track and deliver lap times that rival flagship sports cars? Put the chassis in Sport/Sports Plus, Engine in Sport and turn up the aggression on the gearbox to 3, and it will happily run laps around your favourite track all day long. Besides the 911, not many cars can do both those traits well, oh, and the 911 does not have usable rear seats or a big boot for practicality.

This is a car that I’ve grown to like more, the more time I spend with it. For a car that is trying to do it all, there are some compromises made, but those seem to have been judged pretty well. On the compromises, its largely around making the car more comfortable and easier to drive than the previous ones. This can be argued from both directions, of it being a good or a bad thing. However, the good news is the platform is shared with its bigger siblings the M3/M4 and there is a ton of aftermarket support to make the car become even more dynamic or playful, if you so wish. But as a base platform to start with, it’s a solid one, and one that I am excited about exploring and pushing. I’ve already made a few OE mods to the car, and its gotten better and better (for my needs) with every one of them. It is easy to make a car more playful, less stable, more unpredictable. But it is much harder to make a car that is highly capable, yet comfortable and stable in every scenario.

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