Mat Watson reviews the new BMW M2: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

This is the new BMW M2 – or so I’m told. It looks so similar to the pre-facelift car that I had to double check that this is in fact the updated version.

It may not have changed much cosmetically – only real BMW nerds will notice the tweaked daytime running lights and new alloy wheel designs – but it has been given some more power.

The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six engine now puts out 480hp, which is 20hp more than before. This is sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, although a six-speed manual is available as an option.

So what does this mean for performance? Well BMW claims that this car can do 0-60mph in 4.0 seconds, and my specialist timing gear backed this up when I tested it. That’s only a tenth of a second quicker than the old M2.

That’s a bit of a problem, because at almost £69,000 this updated M2 is around £5,000 more expensive than the outgoing one. And the price isn’t the only annoying thing about this car, here are three things which grind my gears.

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Three annoying things about the BMW M2

1. Stopping the bongs

While it’s easy to switch off the speed limit warning by just pressing a button on the steering wheel, turning off the lane keeping assist is a bit more involved. It’s buried within three sub menus on the infotainment screen, which drives me mad when doing it every time I set off.

2. Optional extras

Not only has BMW made the new M2 more expensive, it’s also removed some standard features and made them paid options. For example, the carbon fibre roof used to come as standard, but now it costs £2,000. You also used to be able to get any colour free of charge, but now you have to pay extra for anything other than white.

3. Another strange cost

Speaking of money, this is the only car I know of where you have to pay extra for the manual version. It’s an extra £2,000 to change gear yourself, and I personally prefer the automatic anyway. More on that in a bit.

Driving the new BMW M2

Those minor gripes are easy to forgive once you’re out on the road, because the BMW M2 remains one of the best-driving sports cars out there. It may share a lot of parts with the larger M4 under the skin, but this car’s shorter wheelbase and rear-wheel drive layout just make it feel more agile and exciting.

The fact that the M2 is physically smaller than the M4 also makes it much easier to drive quickly down a narrow country road, and the fast steering makes it easy to place the car with confidence. It may not have quite as much feeling as a Porsche Cayman, but it’s not far off.

Then there’s the gearbox. I mentioned before that I would take the automatic over the manual, and that’s because I feel it’s better suited to this car. You can set it to give you a proper punch in the back as you change up. Which just adds to the theatre. I’m not a massive fan of BMW’s manual gearboxes either – they just feel a bit too rubbery.

I love the way you’re sitting back towards the rear axle in this car, because you can feel when the back end is struggling for traction. You get loads of great feedback which allows you to drive the car on the car on the throttle. It’s really engaging.

New BMW M2: my final verdict

So then, what’s my final verdict on the new BMW M2? Well it may have gone up in price, but so has every car over the past few years. I’ll say the same about this new M2 as I did about the old one – it’s a great sports car, so just go right ahead and buy it.

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