Overview: The 2023 BMW M2 Goes Large, However Stays Enjoyable

BMW’s M division has put itself in an uncommon place. Whereas it was as soon as attainable to divvy up BMW’s M fashions by their measurement, with the bigger M5 and extra modest M3 representing the 2 poles between which the German automaker’s hottest choices revolved, right this moment’s market is loaded down with much more added beef. SUVs and monster touring coupes and sedans have tilted the showroom to the purpose the place even entry-level motorsport fashions have seen their proportions balloon significantly.

Into this actuality is born the 2023 BMW M2. At $62,000, it’s probably the most reasonably priced member of the M clan and till lately its final, greatest hope at avoiding the packed-on kilos which have stricken each one among its siblings. A splice off of the identical genetic tree that provides us the one-size-up M3 sedan and M4 coupe, with its newest redesign Bavaria’s deuce has swollen in stature till it simply barely trails its greater brothers on the scales.

Bigger and chunkier than earlier than by almost each measure, on paper no less than the M2 runs the chance of overwhelming the sprightly character that saved it from changing into a carbon copy of the almost mid-size M3 and M4 grand tourers. Driving one, nonetheless, is proof optimistic {that a} shared lineage doesn’t all the time translate right into a household resemblance — and within the case of the M2, that is one black sheep that retains hope alive for fanatics craving a dyed-in-the-wool sports activities automotive expertise.

Extra, Extra, Extra

I’ve to confess that the 2023 BMW M2’s punched-out dimensions do translate right into a automotive that’s extra succesful within the every day grind than the mannequin it replaces — however just for the entrance two riders, as earlier expertise with the same-platform M240i revealed a smaller rear seat on this era automotive. These purchasing for a comparatively small coupe are unlikely to care an excessive amount of in regards to the complaints of these unfortunate sufficient to sometimes stuff themselves into the rear row, and I definitely welcomed the extra open cockpit as half and parcel of the longer and wider automotive.

Nonetheless, that is now a automotive that weighs in at slightly below 3,800 kilos. Put three cinder blocks within the trunk and also you’ve matched the mass of the still-larger M4 two-door (in base trim), with which the automotive shares its platform and plenty of of its drivetrain particulars. Whereas it’s straightforward to level on the M2’s longer wheelbase and bowlegged wheel monitor as objects that improve stability and cornering functionality, it’s somewhat more durable to place a optimistic spin on that sort of paunch, significantly when the earlier model of the automotive checked in almost 200 kilos lighter — and 300 kilos when evaluating the pared-down CS version. Then there’s the clone query: is the M2 merely a 7/8ths model of the M4, a child GT wrapped in aggro bodywork, meant to evoke a extra sporting previous?

Dial Out The Weight, Dial In The Enjoyable

It’s lucky that the engineers at BMW have sufficient tips at their disposal to seemingly disappear a lot of the M2’s added heft. In some circumstances, waving that magic wand is so simple as not including sure choices to the coupe’s construct sheet. All-wheel drive, which is obtainable on each different M mannequin — in addition to different 2 Sequence trims — is nowhere to be discovered with the M2, an absence that improves turn-in sharpness and total steadiness whereas decreasing feel-sapping weight on the entrance axle.

Additionally out of the image is BMW’s largely unloved dual-clutch automated guide gearbox, with a six-speed guide included as customary, and an eight-speed automated obtainable as an possibility. The M2’s third pedal provides a dimension of communion that’s all too uncommon when sampling fashionable German luxurious equipment, and whereas the shifter may not be razor sharp it’s definitely as much as the duty of decoding proper hand instructions, forging a relationship that pays dividends troublesome to measure with a stopwatch, a yardstick, or a G-meter.

In case you choose a extra medical evaluation of the M2’s weight abatement capabilities, the numbers stay spectacular. A straight shot to 60-mph arrives in a scant 4.2 seconds with the 6MT based on BMW, however feels faster from behind the wheel. That’s simply as fast because the older M2 Competitors mannequin, a testomony to the explosive high quality of the 2023 mannequin’s 453 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, that are generated by a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six.

Tuned for considerably much less output than within the M3/M4 fashions with which it’s shared, the S58 engine nonetheless feels mightier than its manufacturing unit score may counsel. It’s additionally been massaged to the purpose the place the character of the automotive strays from the always-on torque-fest frequent to its siblings. Reprogrammed to reward these exploring the higher reaches of its rev vary, the choice to slice a couple of ponies from the dyno sheet — and shield costlier M fashions within the course of — has additionally had the comfortable aspect impact of encouraging additional collusion between driver and machine, particularly if the auto rev match characteristic is disabled.

Sure, the M2 nonetheless comes with a pair of buttons mounted on the steering wheel so homeowners can select between two custom-made drive modes, with engine response, suspension, stability management, and different particulars obtainable for tweaking on a sliding scale. Even so, apart from that now-common side of the M division’s digital dalliances, there’s not a lot else on the market to get between the motive force and the drive. If there was a drift mode, I didn’t see it, and the guide shifter eradicated the seemingly limitless striations of the DCT’s shift program present in older automobiles. The M2’s overriding impression is that of a prepared co-conspirator, the lifetime of no matter pavement celebration you occur to be attending, and by a powerful margin probably the most enjoyable anybody can have in an M-badged vehicle.

The M You Need

The brand new M2 is as shut as anybody goes to get to pure motoring in a contemporary BMW. As a lot as I lament the technological layers which were inserted between the highway and the rider, that very same experience has helped maintain a lot of the M2’s newfound progress from intruding an excessive amount of on the driving pleasure it supplies.

Kudos to BMW for avoiding the temptation to goose the coupe’s already wonderful acceleration numbers with numbing all-wheel drive, and additional applause for protecting a guide within the combine. This automotive is a blast to drive in all of the methods a lot of its direct rivals — and some of its supposed superiors — are usually not. That alone is sufficient to push it to the entrance of the pack when contemplating a cushty, sporty automotive that may simply deal with the commute with out engendering too many complaints.

If one have been to talk ailing of the M2, it’s attainable to single out its styling (much less smooth than in years previous, however nonetheless scorching sufficient to draw big quantities of consideration from passersby), its milquetoast dashboard (a single, split-screen LCD takes the place of a real gauge binnacle), and its minimal management set (a fond farewell is bid to laborious buttons for local weather controls and infotainment presets).

These are minor misses when in comparison with the complete power of the BMW M2’s endearing character. It will need to have been tempting for the automaker to speculate much less effort within the gateway to its excessive efficiency line-up, however greater than sufficient care has been taken right here to make sure that the coupe stays the best-selling M mannequin, regardless of the SUV onslaught and the related industry-wide bulk-up that has overwhelmed so many different challengers.