BMW M2 Review (2023-present)

What is the BMW M2?

The M2 is the entry-level BMW M car, but don’t think that means it’s some sort of watered-down, poor imitation of other illustrious offerings from the M Division of the German firm. Nothing could be further from the truth. The M2 may be small in the M car stakes, but we assure you, it's the real deal.

That’s no colossal surprise given that the basis of the M2 is the regular BMW 2 Series Coupe, which is a hugely impressive car in its own right, particularly in super-quick M240i guise. However, the M2 takes the general abilities of that car and cranks everything up to eleven. BMW has crammed in a revised version of the barnstorming six-cylinder engine from the bigger BMW M3 and BMW M4 for even more power, while an active differential and adaptive suspension come as standard, the latter of which is just one of myriad dynamic variables - along with steering, throttle response, brakes, exhaust, and more - that can be configured seemingly endlessly through the programmable driving modes.

In terms of the cars it competes against, that’s a bit of a tricky one because direct rivals are few and far between. There are similarly priced two-seater sports cars such as the Porsche Cayman and Alpine A110 that don’t have the practicality of the BMW, compact coupes like the Toyota GR86 that don’t have the power, and there are muscle cars such as the Ford Mustang that don’t have the compactness. The fastest versions of the Audi TT feel like the closest match, and although these aren’t offered for sale as new cars anymore, they could well tempt used car buyers. If you don’t mind a hatchback bodystyle instead of a coupe, you might also be tempted by an Audi RS3 or a Mercedes-AMG A45 S.

How practical is it?

There’s plenty of space in the front of the M2 Coupe, and there’s also a good amount of storage: the centre console has a large lidded cubby and another lidded area with two cupholders, plus you get deep door pockets and a decent glovebox.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn, however, that space isn’t so generous in the two rear seats. Legroom is actually surprisingly good for what is a very compact car with a short wheelbase, but headroom is in very short supply. Children will be fine, but adults and teenagers won’t be comfortable if they’re anything over five and a half feet tall, while six-footers will struggle to fit at all. Then again, many of the cars that the M2 competes with don’t have a back seat at all, so it would seem churlish to complain too much.

The boot is a decent size at 390 litres, making it fine for a large weekly shop, but the shallow opening and the chunky load lip make it tricky to load larger, bulkier items. These are better loaded through the rear doors when you drop the standard 40-20-40 split-folding rear seats (these are more versatile than the 60-40 arrangement in some cars) but do be aware that the aperture this opens up between the boot and the passenger compartment is small and awkwardly shaped. The rear seat backs also lie at an angle when they’re folded, leaving you with both a slight slope and a slight step in your extended load area.

Where the M2 becomes more impressive, predictably, is on interior quality. There are plenty of stitched leather and carbon fibre-effect finishes that make the cabin feel sophisticated as well as sporty, while the large, glossy-looking digital screens that dominate the cabin also deliver a hi-tech feel. Yes, you’d expect this from any BMW, not least a sporty one, but the M2 delivers on all expectations in this regard.

What’s it like to drive?

Predictably with a car like the M2, the engine plays a fairly dominant role in the experience. It’s a modified version of the 3.0-litre inline-six twin-turbo petrol engine found in the M3 and M4, but detuned slightly to develop ‘just’ 454bhp. It sends all that power to the rear wheels (no xDrive four-wheel drive here, although that may come if BMW decides to produce and even more powerful M2 CS version later on down the line) via a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox, or, if you’re prepared to pay extra, a six-speed manual.

With the automatic gearbox, the 0-62mph dash is done and dusted in just 4.1 seconds. Specify the manual, and that’s extended slightly to 4.3 seconds, but the feeling of rowing through the ratios with a manual shifter does add an extra level of engagement that’s missing from the automatic, along with many of the M2’s automatic-only rivals. The top speed is limited to 155mph, or 177mph if you add the optional M Driver’s Package.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing, given those insane numbers, is how docile the car is when you’re just mooching around town at a snail’s pace. At low revs, the engine is tractable, and it’s also smooth and quiet, keeping life relaxed. Let the revs build a bit, though, and the powertrain responds in a totally proportionate way, and the more the revs you pile on, the more and more aggressive the power delivery becomes. And in the upper reaches of the rev range - the limiter doesn’t intervene until 7,200rpm - the sensation of acceleration you feel is simply devastating, while the noise pumping out of the exhaust is a true sensory treat.

The M2 we drove was fitted with the manual gearbox. It shifts in a smooth and satisfying way most of the time, although it can occasionally stumble through really fast gear changes.

It’s not all about the engine with the M2, though, far from it. It’s pretty impressive in the ride and handling stakes, too. The suspension gets adaptive dampers as standard, which vary their stiffness according to which of the various driving modes you select. These modes also offer alterations in the behaviour of various other parameters, including steering, throttle response, exhaust, automatic gearshift (where fitted), brakes and stability control. If you so wish, you can also mix-and-match settings for each parameter to your liking, and you have shortcut buttons on the steering wheel that allow you to instantly select one of two pre-configured modes.

And like with the engine, the rest of the M2 has a bit of a Jekyll-and Hyde character, and it’s less to do with the mode selected and more to do with how you drive the car. With the gentler settings selected, the M2 is surprisingly civilised: the suspension has enough pliancy to keep you very comfortable indeed, and the controls are exceedingly easy to modulate, so it doesn’t feel like the highly strung sports car you might be expecting. And even when you set everything to maximum-attack mode, but still continue to drive gently, the M2 remains surprisingly relaxed (in the manual form that we drove it in, at least). OK, so you can feel a little extra edge to the ride, but it doesn’t become uncomfortable, and the car stays easy and satisfying to drive at a sedate pace.

And whichever of the modes are selected, it’s only when you wind up the revs and start to treat the car a little meaner that it comes alive, getting progressively more exciting as you do so. Throw the car at a set of bends, and you’ll detect epic levels of grip from the tyres, especially at the front end, super-tight body control for even sharper turn-in, and an inherent feeling of balance thanks to the rear-wheel-drive layout and near-perfect 50-50 weight distribution. The throttle response is sharp, meanwhile, and the brakes provide immense stopping power and decent feel. This is a car that will get you from point to point with devastating speed, and it’ll provide no shortage of thrills in the process.

If we’re being super-picky, there’s a little something missing from the steering. It’s wonderfully fast and ultra-responsive, but without feeling twitchy or nervous, so the merest flick of the wrists is enough to place the car accurately on the road. The thing is, it doesn’t quite give the weight or the feedback through the wheel that you need to immediately feel confident and comfortable in pushing the limits. You will work up to it over time as you get used to the car, and for some, that might be part of the fun, but others may wish that the M2’s incredible handling ability were a wee bit more accessible.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Like many of BMW’s latest offerings, the M2 comes with the company’s Curved Display infotainment system as standard. This combines a 12.3-inch driver’s information display behind the steering wheel with a 14.9-inch central control display, and both are incorporated into a single unit that bends pleasingly around the driver. There’s also a head-up display that projects more information on to the windscreen in front of you.

The system includes satellite navigation, DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and two USB ports for connecting and charging devices, although at this money, it’s a bit surprising that wireless phone charging is an optional extra. You do, however, get a powerful Harman Kardon surround sound stereo as standard.

Given the amount of functionality the system has to offer, it’s actually impressively easy to find your way around. And even though it does have touchscreen functionality, you also have the iDrive rotary controller that allows you to scroll through the on-screen menus, which is easier and less distracting. It’s slightly annoying that you don’t have separate buttons and dials to operate the air-con, such is the modern car-makers’ obsession with screens, but at least there’s a shortcut to the climate menus permanently displayed at the bottom of the central screen.

Talking of air-con, it’s a three-zone climate control system, and other standard luxury equipment includes powered and heated front seats, automatic lights and wipers, ambient lighting, and powered and heated door mirrors. You also get plenty of styling enhancements to identify the M2 as a proper M car.

Standard safety kit, meanwhile, includes lane departure warning, lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking, speed limit display and driver attention alert. You also get a Parking Assistant that gives front- and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera. Cruise control with brake function is also standard, although proper active cruise control is an optional extra, which is slightly stingy at this money.

BMW M2 running costs

If you’re planning to buy a brand new BMW M2, prices start at around the £65,000 mark, and that’s before you specify any optional extras, so the amount you end up forking out will likely be substantially more. Performance car rivals such as the Porsche 718 Cayman and Alpine A110 can be had for marginally less than the BMW, but these versions will have considerably less power, and choosing a Porsche with anything like a comparable output will cost you considerably more than the M2.

However, buyers of brand new examples are likely to enjoy incredibly strong residual values, and for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s the more compact M cars that have traditionally held on to their value most fastidiously, and the M2 is the most compact of the lot, but there’s also the fact that the M2 might well be the last M car without electrification, and this could give it a certain historical significance that sees it becoming something of a collector’s item. This will be tremendous news for those who buy new, but terrible news for used car buyers trying to pick one up on the cheap, because it simply won’t happen.

It’ll come as no surprise that the M2 has a bit of a thirst, with an average official figure of up to around 29mpg, and this applies regardless of whether you choose the automatic or the manual. However, give into temptation and drive your M2 the way the makers intended - which you will, and on a very regular basis - and your fuel economy will nose-dive quicker than Tom Daley leaping off a diving board.

The M2 sits in insurance group 42, and that’s whether you go for the manual or the automatic, so premiums won’t exactly be cheap. It’s slightly surprising, though, that the bigger, pricier, and even more powerful BMW M3 actually sits in a lower insurance group, with classifications starting at group 41 for rear-drive Competition models.

BMW M2 reliability

Prestige brands don’t always do as well as you might expect in this area, but of them, BMW is one of the better ones. In the latest iteration of the What Car? Reliability Survey, the brand placed 12th out of 32 manufacturers considered, which placed it ahead (by some margin) of rivals like Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The M2 itself is a bit too new for there to be any concrete reliability data available for this model specifically, and you might worry that such a powerful model might be temperamental, but remember that the engine is a detuned version of a unit that has far more power in the M3/M4, so it’s nowhere near as highly strung as it could be. The three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty is marginally better than the bare minimum you can expect on a new car these days.