Is this BMW's best car? - BMW M2 Coupe first drive review

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BMW M2 Coupe first drive review


German brand's baby coupe defies its entry-level status as the most enjoyable driver's car in its current line-up


Andrew MacLean
25 February, 2016




2016 BMW M2 Coupe. Photo: Uwe Fischer





























Maybe I'm no good at maths, but the BMW M2 doesn't add up.

Compared to its bigger brother, the M4, the new pocket rocket coupe, by default of its badge and the fact it has half the turbochargers and costs almost half as much, should be half the car. Right? Yet, the sum of its parts actually equals a car that is better in almost every aspect.

That much became clear just a few laps into our first drive at the Laguna Seca circuit in California, and further validated on the road with a cruise down the iconic Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur south of Monterey, where it was launched this week.

Where the M4 feels like a light switch in the way it delivers its turbocharged power, digital in its steering feel and synthesised in its soundtrack, the M2's back-to-basics philosophy creates a car that feels more natural and engaging in character, almost like the original M3 and its six-cylinder E36 and E46 successors did.

But BMW says the M2 is not designed to steal sales – or status – away from the M3/M4 but open-up the M division to a new, younger audience that are just as enthusiastic about driving thrills but don't need (or can't afford) the luxurious frills of a leather-lined cabin or concerned that it misses out on the lightweight carbon fibre bits and pieces.

As the successor to the limited edition 1-Series M Coupe, the M2 brings another rival to the burgeoning small luxury performance sector and a distinct, rear-drive alternative to the likes of the all-paw Mercedes-AMG A45 and the Audi RS3.

It will come with a slight premium over the German hot hatches it competes against, costing $89,900 (plus on-road costs) for the Pure edition and $98,900 for the regular M2 – at least $10k more in basic trim - when it arrives in Australian showrooms in April.

But it more than matches them in the performance stakes, with its 3.0-litre turbocharged straight six producing 272kW at 6500rpm and 465Nm of torque – with a temporary overboost lifting maximum pulling power to 500Nm – across a band of revs from 1400-5560rpm. That's enough to propel the M2 from standstill to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds (or 4.3 seconds when fitted with the optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission) and onto an electronically-governed top speed of 250km/h, all the while using a claimed average fuel consumption of 8.5L/100km in manual guise and 7.9L/100km with the auto.

The starting point for the M2 is the two-door M235i that it will be produced alongside without the volume restrictions of the 1-Series M Coupe (of which only 6309 were built and only 200 sold in Australia) at BMW's Leipzig factory in Germany. Such are the extent of the changes, though, that the new two-door could be considered an all-new model in its own right.

It is clearly the smallest of all current BMW M division models; with a length of 4468mm, width of 1854mm and height of 1410mm, the M2 is 202mm shorter, 21mm narrower and 10mm lower than the M3. It also boasts a wheelbase that is 117mm shorter than its larger sibling at 2693mm.

With the dual clutch gearbox, which has three distinct driving modes (Comfort, Sport and Sport+) as well as launch control and a smoky burnout function, the kerb weight increases by 25kg to 1520kg.

As on all existing BMW M division models, an electronic limited slip M-differential offering a fully variable locking effect, comes as standard.

The latest M car rides on a largely bespoke chassis, borrowing the MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension set-ups from the M3/M4 as well as its Servotronic electric power steering rack, to boast tracks that are increased in width by a substantial 64mm at the front and 71mm at the rear over the M235i, at 1579mm and 1601mm respectively.

Thanks to the need for widened wheel arches, as well as a unique front bumper with an angry face that incorporates large air intakes to feed the added coolers for the gearbox and engine, the M2 has a stubby, purposeful stance even standing still.

Under the skin, additional bracing between the suspension towers helps boost the rigidity of the M235i's high-strength steel body shell and BMW's M division has dispensed with rear bushings, bolting the M2's rear axle subframe directly to the structure without any use of rubber to dampen road shock.

In a bid to pare back weight, some 10kg of sound deadening material has been taken out of the bodyshell. "We originally took more out but we put 300 grams back in the roof structure because it got too noisy when it rained," says the project leader for the M2, Frank Isenberg.

The new BMW rides on standard 9.0 x 19-inch front and 10.0 x 19-inch rear wheels shod with 245/35 and 265/35 profile tyres respectively. Featuring a double spoke design, the wheels house standard 380mm front and 370mm rear steel disc brakes, which are acted upon by four-pot front and two-pot rear calipers.

The net result is a car that rekindles BMW's 'Sheer Driving Pleasure' tagline, a character trait that has been diluted in recent years through ever-tightening emission regulations that have forced the M division to ditch high-revving naturally-aspirated engines and introduce myriad of electronic measures to chase lower fuel consumption figures; details that make the latest M3/M4 and the V8-powered M5/M6 above them seem as though they're techno overkill.

Before we get stuck into the M2 it isn't exactly perfect, so let's the get the negatives out of the way first as its performance focus does introduce some compromises to its everyday comfort. The reduced sound insulation and wide, grippy tyres bring a level of road noise on coarse chip surfaces that intrudes into the cabin, and its exhaust note can drone at constant highway speeds. The cabin is also fairly Spartan in its presentation, with hard plastics on the dash and manually-adjustable seats, while the twin rear pews aren't easy to access and are really only suitable to small children. The stiffened adaptive suspension, even in default Comfort mode, also makes it busy over bumpy roads. But that's about it…

In every other regard, the M2 is simply brilliant, brilliantly simple and a car that is not only fast but engaging to drive and easy to explore its limits.

The six-speed manual may be the first choice for purists, and it's a great gearbox with a light yet precise action in the way it shifts, good feel through the clutch pedal and the ability to rev match on down shifts in Sport mode. But the six cylinder engine and seven-speed automatic are an almost perfect combination, offering such effortless performance at leisurely speeds that the M2 is quite relaxed to drive around town in everyday traffic. In the comfort setting the automatic gearbox is intuitive and swaps cogs seamlessly and quickly, rushing towards the taller gears to save fuel. The throttle map is also relaxed to make the engine feel strong but somewhat restrained at low engine speeds.

Bury the throttle though, or press the drive mode button to engage the Sport or Sport+ modes, and the M2 unleashes its performance rapidly, the engine building pace instantly with little turbo lag before delivering its power in a linear fashion all the way to its 7000rpm rev ceiling and bringing a glorious (and thankfully not synthesized through the audio system) exhaust note that is complemented by a faint turbo whistle under acceleration, a blurt on full-throttle upshifts and a lingering burble when you back off.

The electronically-controlled limited slip differential also helps harness the power nicely to ensure maximum traction in Sport mode, while the relaxed traction control settings in the Sport+ setting allows just enough wheelspin to uncork controlled slides out of tight bends. You can, of course, fully disengage the stability control and, thanks to the engine's broad spread of torque, hold massive, tyre-smoking drifts when on the racetrack.

While it's hugely satisfying and smile inducing like that, hanging the back-end out isn't the fastest way around a circuit. Thankfully, the M2's handling is so progressive, the steering so fluid and the level of grip and feedback generated through the sticky Michelin tyres is telepathically transferred through the seat of your pants that it generates huge levels of corner speed and a great balance between the front and rear ends. While it turns-in sharply, carry too much speed and the front tyres will gently push wide. But, uniquely among the new breed of premium pocket rockets, the M2's rear-drive chassis ensures it can be quickly adjusted on the throttle and dance through the bends.

Those traits aren't diluted on a twisty road either, where it feels just as fast, agile and playful, which is in stark contrast the 1-Series M Coupe that went before it which was, to be a little diplomatic, rather skittish and intimidating when driven hard.

What that all equates to is the M2 is so much greater than the sum of its parts. It has the most natural driving character in M's modern lineup, and one that encourages and rewards enthusiastic driving in a way previous generations of the M3 did. What's more impressive though is its price tag defies its position as the most enjoyable in the range.



2016 BMW M2 pricing and specification

On-sale: April 2016

Price: from $89,900 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo petrol

Power: 272kW at 6500rpm

Torque: 465Nm (500Nm on overboost) at 1400-5560rpm

Transmission: Six-speed manual/Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive

Fuel use: 8.5L/100km/ 7.9L/100km

http://www.drive.com.au/new-car-revi...25-gn3o2w.html