“I love this car.”
That’s the main sentiment I take from the first month of owning the BMW M2 Competition. It’s a really fun car to drive, in some ways more so than my previous Porsche 911. The 991 GT3 is always going to be a tough act to follow, but the junior M car has done the job admirably. With the M2, I’ve rediscovered the joy of driving. Every chance I get, I am eager to put miles on the car, taking the long way towards a destination.
Not to say the GT3 wasn’t special – it’s one of the unique driving experiences in motoring existence. However, the Porsche’s limits are so high that the exploitable fun is rather scarce on public roads. By the end of second gear, you’re already beyond the highest speed limits in California. The Michelin Cup 2 tires on the GT3 also takes a bit of warming up before they start working at all. In contrast, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on the M2 are immediately reactive at ambient temperatures.
The 911 is an event; the M2 is a normal, fun sports car. Because of that, I can hop into the BMW and just go. The car from Bavaria also blends into traffic far easier than the shouty, be-winged spectacle from Stuttgart. Driving the M2, I am anonymous to everyone but the few enthusiasts who know how special this M car is.
Of course, all of this could simply be the honeymoon period talking. I did indeed give up the Porsche because I cannot afford to own it any longer. Fawning over the M2 this quickly is probably just me subconsciously making justifications to hide the regret. I do miss the 911 GT3 from time to time, but as far as consolation prizes go, the M2 Competition is not a bad place to be.
I can’t stop driving it! With over 750 miles logged this month, it’s the most I’ve put onto a car this year (COVID edition, obviously) by some margin. The increased seat time reveals a glaring contrast to the 911 – the fuel-tank in the M2 is way too small. The car’s 406 horsepower turbocharged inline-six gets roughly the same gas mileage as the atmospheric flat-six in the GT3, but the advantage in the Porsche is its 26-gallon tank (optional, mind) in comparison to the M2’s paltry 13.7 gallons. Under spirited driving, the M2 will reach empty before the trip counter hits 200 miles.
Driving the M2, I am visiting the gas station twice as often than the GT3, though each fill-up obviously costs equally half as much.
Long stints in the car also reveals a welcomed confirmation: the M2’s seats are comfortable (for me) on journeys of extended hours. No butt-cramps in these M seats taken straight from the M3/M4 siblings. While I do wish the seats would go lower, the overall seating adjustment is spot on. No part of my body is compromised to get into the proper driving position. The seats also have a memory function in conjunction with the side mirror adjustments, which is a nice-to-have for situations when someone else drives the M2 and fiddles with the settings.
The seats are heated as well, a luxurious feature I’ve not had since the Subaru WRX STI – three cars ago. The warmers are definitely welcomed during those mid 40s San Francisco mornings. Same with the heated steering wheel, one of those things I didn’t know I needed it until I have it. With chronically poor blood circulation, a warm steering wheel in the morning is a godsend for me.
An amenity I am really glad to have is the backup camera. Strangely absent in the six-figure Porsche, parking the GT3 was an adventure in reversing slowly and getting out of the car multiple times to check. Don’t have to do that anymore in the BMW. Not only does the M2 have the federally mandated backup camera, but it also comes standard with parking sensors. Never before have I had such electronic assistance, and it makes parking an absolute breeze. No more starring out of the back of the rear glass and having a giant spoiler obstructing my view.
Another luxurious, nice-to-have feature: wireless Apple CarPlay. I am going to groan in complaint whenever I get into a car that doesn’t have that. At the moment, that means any car that isn’t a BMW or some Hyundai models.
So how is the M2 Competition to drive? First month’s impressions are very positive. The turbocharged inline-six motor has plenty of torque throughout the rev-range, a contrast to the high-strung character of the GT3’s atmospheric flat-six. While I do miss the pin-sharp throttle response of the Porsche, the sheer availability of grunt down low in the BMW makes squirting around town easier and more pleasurable.
The 911’s famous steering feel absolutely puts the rack on the M2 to shame. It’s not utterly devoid of feel (looking at you, Audi products), but I definitely would like more feedback through the fingers. Under trail-braking I cannot sense the front tires increasing in grip through the wheel rim, even though physically they are. The M2 is a sort of car you point and go, rather than coaxing it through a corner with finesse. There isn’t enough feel in the steering for that type of driving.
But at least the steering is direct and darty. In combination with the relatively short wheelbase and the 50/50 weight distribution, the M2 is quick to change direction and super agile. In my decidedly amateurish hands, the M2 is faster up a winding mountain road than the vaunted GT3. Stay in second gear and use all that torque to rocket the car from one corner to the next. The M2’s perfect weight balance means I’m not constantly worried about the back-end doing something funny. In the 911 – where the engine is behind the rear-axle, the fear of the rear coming around is always on the back of my mind.
On a race track there is no doubt the GT3 will demolish the M2. However, track driving is not something I like or want to do.
Some initial negatives about the BMW: the brakes are super grabby. For a company notoriously stingy on braking power, the M2 Competition is outfitted with surprisingly beefy stoppers. The 400mm front rotors are larger in diameter than even the units on the GT3. It also shares with the Porsche the same six-piston front and four-piston rear fixed caliper setup, supplied by Brembo. The system hauls the porky ~3,600-pound weight of the M2 to a stop nicely, though the brake pedal is spiky and difficult to modulate. After over a thousand miles, it is still hard to judge the level of pedal input for the amount of braking I want.
Another sore spot is the exhaust tuning. For emission reasons, upon starting the engine, the computer dumps fuel into the exhaust to fire up the catalytic converters. However, this creates a loud bark that is rather intrusive in a residential neighborhood. On weekend mornings when I am sneaking out to the mountains for a drive, I always say a silent apology to the still-sleeping neighbors when I turn on the M2.
With the engine in Sport Plus mode, it also dumps fuel into the exhaust to create fake burble sounds when the driver lifts off the gas. Made popular by the Jaguar F-type V8, it’s a noisy gimmick that manufacturers engineer into their cars to make them sound more “sporty”. I absolutely hate fake stuff like this (looking at you as well, generated fake engine noise in the cabin). Coming from a 911 GT3 that is too pure to have such artificial silliness, the “burble tune” of the M2 Competition is rather annoying.
On one of many drives in the mountains this month, I was pulled over for speeding. The officer was nice enough to let me off the hook by giving me a fix-it ticket instead. The offense to be fixed is the lack of front license plate. The dealership did not drill holes in the front bumper to affix one, and I wasn’t about to do it – unless I get pulled over. After nearly two years of driving without a front plate – the GT3 didn’t have one either – I finally get my comeuppance. As I’ve written before, I don’t mind holes in the bumper and running a front plate, so that’s exactly what I did to the M2. Now I just need to get the ticket signed off by an officer of the law and pay the small fee to the court.
Coming up next month is the break-in service, due at 1,200 miles for the M2. It’ll be the first opportunity to test the quality of servicing provided by my selling dealer – BMW of San Francisco. After experiencing a premium brand like Porsche for the past year, I have high expectations from a fellow German luxury automaker. Maintenance is free (outside of wear items) for the first three years on all new BMWs, so this break-in service will cost me zero dollars.
We’ll see if I am able to put as many miles on the car next month. COVID cases are once again increasing wildly, and as of this writing, much of the San Francisco Bay Area is scheduled to return to lockdown. While leisurely drives in a personal car isn’t high on the danger list of contracting the coronavirus, I definitely want to limit the potential of having an accident. Adding to the already crowded situation at the hospitals would be awful.
I’ll see you next month.
----------
Date acquired: October 2019
Total mileage: 1,342
Mileage this month: 758
Costs this month: $343.32
MPG this month: 21.34