2023 BMW M2 new car review, steep price tag revealed

The newest mean machine from a legendary German performance house is a great car to drive, but it comes at a steep cost.

BMW’s baby performance car has grown up.

The compact BMW M2 has shifted gears, moving up in size, performance and price to become a closer relative of the brand’s heavy-hitting M3.

It’s a bigger and more mature car than before.

The original M2 was based on compact car underpinnings shared with the 1 Series hatchback, but that model’s shift to a front-wheel-drive layout means the new M2 has more in common with the larger and more expensive 3 Series.

BMW has launched its new M2 performance car.

The original M2’s single turbo six-cylinder engine and seven-speed dual-clutch auto have been ditched in favour of the twin-turbo engine and eight-speed auto found in the latest M3.

And the old car’s basic interior has been replaced by a far more luxurious space with better seats, a 12.3-inch digital dashboard and curved 14.9-inch central display.

Technology includes smartphone mirroring, sat nav and driving toys such as a “Drift Analyser” that rates the speed, angle and finesse of sideways antics best performed on a track.

A 16-speaker Harman Kardon stereo and adaptive cruise control with stop and go assistance reinforce suspicions that this is a different kind of M-car.

It’s price has jumped more than $30,000 compared to the previous version.

There’s less wind and road noise in a cabin trimmed with more premium leather, plastic and carbon than the old car.

From the carbon fibre paddles on its heated steering wheel to intricate door trim backlit with the colours of BMW’s M Division, the M2 feels significantly more luxurious than its predecessor.

A circular, overly chubby steering wheel is placed high in relation to the low-slung seat, imbuing the M2 with the sort of purposeful driving posture customers should expect from a modern BMW. It’s more accommodating than the old car, which was less welcoming of big or tall drivers.

There is plenty of standard equipment for the price.

BMW’s shift to a conventional eight-speed torque converter automatic results in smoother progress at low speed, helped by an effortlessly muscular motor that needs 9.7L/100km to make 338kW and 550Nm.

As with the M3 and M4, it’s one of the few performance cars still offered with the option of a six-speed manual transmission.

Unlike the bigger BMWs, it does not wear a divisive beaver-faced vertical grille that shocked car lovers when BMW unveiled the latest M3.

But there is a brutal boxiness to the M2 that seems to shun conventionally svelte sports-car styling.

It’s faster than before and more stable and predictable to drive.

This is not a pretty car.

Heavier than before, with a longer, wider and lower body than the original M2, the new machine is stacked with driver assistance features that make it easier to live with.

A more modern M2 always promised to be more comfortable and refined than the original car that prioritised raw driving thrills – and an affordable price.

The new machine sits a good $30,000 upstream of the original. Priced from $121,700 plus on-road costs (about $140,000 drive-away), this second-generation sports car is a premium proposition.

It borrows heavily from the latest M3, serving customisable behaviour for the suspension, brakes, steering, gearbox and engine.

The shift upstream has changed the car’s character.

The new M2 is more mature than the previous version.

Where the original was a raw, compromised and occasionally flighty proposition, the new machine feels more composed in all circumstances.

Fat front tyres ramp up roadholding, raising cornering speeds at a small cost to steering feel.

It hangs on where the old car would push wide on the entry to corners and finds uncanny traction after the apex.

The original M2’s snappiness has been dialled out in favour of planted stability, encouraging drivers to tap into its performance without worrying about the rear end suddenly skidding out.

It’s a predictable, confidence-inspiring performance car.

The new M2 is great to drive and more enjoyable across a broader set of circumstances than its laser-focused predecessor.

VERDICT

Four stars.

Faster and more refined than before, the expensive new M2 has lost a little of its edgy appeal.

BMW M2

PRICE About $140,000 drive-away

ENGINE 3.0-litre twin-turbo 6-cyl, 338kW and 550Nm

WARRANTY Five-year/u’ltd km

SAFETY Six airbags, auto emergency braking, active cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert

THIRST 9.7L/100km

CARGO 390 litres

SPARE Repair kit

Originally published as 2023 BMW M2 new car review, steep price tag revealed