As a long term BMW owner, it’d be awesome to highlight little things no one else does: “what does it take to replace a headlight bulb” and “can you get to the oil filter without a PHD?” I know these are new cars, but between my old 3 series and current 5 series these issues have changed a lot, it’d be a big factor in if I bought an M2 next, or a different model. I keep them past their warrantee and having to take a bumper off to replace a headlight bulb is infuriating, lol. Not sure how many people would care or agree with me, though, admittedly.
One of my craziest ownership experiences: I had a headlight bulb go out under warranty and the service dept said it would take a couple of days to schedule me in. Thinking that was silly, I went to the parts dept, bought the bulb, and went home figuring I’d swap it in a few minutes like my old E46. Nope. I took too long calling back, so it was 3 days before I got an appointment to replace the bulb…
Now, that is disturbing. I am getting the X7 in a month's time and you guys have me concerned. I still own the e90 and I do everything myself with no issues whatsoever.
@@mo_0912 my current 535i XDrive has a bulb out. You gotta take the wheel well apart, undo a ton of screws and clips, remove the front bumper, take out weather stripping under the hood, more screws and clips, remove headlight assembly altogether, open headlight assembly, then, and only then, do you have access to the damn headlight bulbs. Haha. I love my BMWs in every other aspect of their ownership, so I’d like to trade up to an M240 or M850, as I need AWD in deep snow country, but it’s become rather important to me that I nod need to take the front end apart to replace a damn lightbulb. Haha.
@@mo_0912 (my last car was an older ‘08 328, that was effortless to swap bulbs on. Had a handy little hatch in the wheel well for access to the lights, between the old 3 and newer gen 5 series, that has changed)
M2 Comp owner here. I just want to say that the whole “90% of owners paid extra to get the DCT over the manual” point is true but honestly I think many of us did so just because of how terrible the BMW manual transmission really is. Buying a BMW was never even a thought for me until I watched a Chris Harris review on it in 2019 and saw that they shoehorned the m3/4 engine into the car and gave it some massive brakes. I was considering getting a Mustang GT350 or a Camaro ZL1 1LE at the time. I specifically went and looked at the M2C because it was one of the few “cool” cars that were out at the time with a manual transmission. I was extremely excited to test drive it and I just knew that I want to get it over any other car. I test drove a 2020 M2 comp with the 6-speed and it was absolutely garbage to the point that it put me off buying the car entirely. Everything about it felt like an afterthought. Clutch and shifter felt like they belonged in a Mitsubishi economy car. Even the driving experience wasn’t enjoyable as a whole as it made the car feel really sluggish and it definitely didn’t make it feel like you were in something “special”. I’ve driven plenty of different manual transmissions in all sorts of muscle cars, Vipers, GT3’s, Audi’s, Civics, trucks, jeeps, etc… and they all provide a much more engaging and enjoyable shifting experience and contribute significantly to that “special” feeling of the car. A few weeks go by and the BMW salesman keeps begging me to come in and try out a car with the DCT. So I do. Within 10 seconds of driving the car and seeing how the DCT shifts I was sold. It felt so special and exotic and definitely contributed to the overall positive experience of the car instead of taking away from it like the manual did. I say all of that to say this. I don’t think that people don’t WANT to order the manual, it’s that they know the BMW manual isn’t that great. It’s not like BMW can’t make a great transmission, it’s that they surely have given up and aren’t trying. Look at Porsche and feel the manual in that GT3. Absolutely amazing. If they put a shifter 10% as good as that in an M2 I think 50% of new M2’s would be ordered with a manual. Just my 2 cents.
Looking forward to following this Rory. Had mine for past 5 months. Still not seen another one in the UK on the road. Have not sold well I suspect. Press and hold “set” on the steering wheel to deactivate speed limit bong. Otherwise it drives you nuts 😊
That is a good looking automobile manuals are Ok. The automatic are much faster especially on track Plus with the automatic you can still shift if you want to
Me too! Something about rwd and auto doesn’t gel for me in these cars. Kick-down can be SO abrupt in these, so if you want quick boost of power during normal driving, it overwhelms the rear tyres and feels clumsy. Yes I could pull a paddle, but in real life the car can decide to downshift on modest throttle openings when plodding / commuting etc. Manual means always being in control of metering out the power precisely 🤓 I’m loving the auto in the G42 M240i X-Drive though, and have a more suitable car for engaging manbox action 😊
Q: What's it like in very bad weather? Lots of surface water, snow etc. Also, how does it handle on winter tyres , or all-season? Basically: us it an all-year-round car fir UK roads&weather, or a sunshine motor.
Makes sense to have it for 6 months, you'd want to get under it's skin... because it's skin is so ghastly XD I'm sure it's a great drivers machine, it's just not pleasant for for anyone looking at it!
When this car first came out I really disliked the styling but recently I've come to like the blocky/square shape of this generation M2. The front in particular looks very nice in my opinion.
It would be much better looking in normal silver for the 826M wheels - I have the gloss black wheels too on my M3T but will have them repainted to a lighter colour
I agree. Black weeks just disappear in the arches! We have a 911T and went for the Carrera classic wheel, to get away from the dull standard ones. It lifts the overall look and the wheels look way bigger. It pulls your eyeliner down and makes the car look more squat 👀 Just a thought….. On my G24 240i, I’ve kept the standard wheels for winter tyre use, and shopped for some I like better from Motech. Yours are a mighty complicated wheel to deal with, so a colour change to a high standard might cost a good % towards nice new silver wheels 😮
I’m really not a current BMW design fan, but this M2 looks very nice, I can see the young executive class attracted to this model. Modern and muscular look with an I-6 cylinder will certainly attract the disappointed C43 fanboys. Should sell well.
I think the bumper looks like a after market add on and throw in the primer grey colour, just the icing on the cake it isn't for me. Stevie Wonder designs a lot of cars these days.
I'm not gonna lie, I am completely fine with the automatic transmission since I feel like M cars now are more like GT cars so yeah, it's fine, even though, a manual is always more interactive :)
Wouldn't i be better off getting the 2019 M3 comp with 30.000 on the clock for around £38.000 ? Or 2020 M2 comp for around the same price with 15.000 on the clock.
The color is great. I am sure the car drives great as well. Especially since it is the automatic with launch control. But the difference between how good the E-Tron GT looked, and how strange this car is, is very striking. In a bad way. But hey... it is free :) .
The latest BMW Series 2 are damn good looking cars. But this one's front end is not as good looking as it's less powerful sibling, but possibly better suited for everyday driving, the M240i. Let's start a book on how many sets of tyres Rory, et al, going to go through with this RWD M2 in the next 6 months 8-))...
Hi Rory I don’t agree with your statement of blaming the public for selecting an auto, motoring journalist are not explaining in enough detail Why performance cars are better with a manual. Porsche customers convinced the company to reintroduce the manual in the 991.2 so why can’t that be replicated in other brands?
Maybe a silly question, how do these long termers work financially? Does it classify as a lease? is it given for free use from the manufacturer? Is it a company car? Always see so many car journalists with the long termer cars for reviews, sometimes instead of owning a car, and i wonder how it actually works financially - probably none of my business but curious to know.
@@TheUkdan02 Imagine the same just always interested how it works. Be good I think if Rory did a bit on it at some point (cars in general for YTrs' or influencers) as I think it can set unrealistic examples to kids young adults as to the cars they should be able to afford.
@@siitan83But which will be more fun to drive? Once the thrill of the instant acceleration and torque has worn off an EV, they're as dull as dishwater.
@@TheUkdan02 evs for sure, teslas inparticular, great handling, great steering, great cornering, great feel and a center of gravity to die for... dont make me laugh.. just another troll who dont know a zip about teslas
I must be getting old. Can't fathom how this car starts at circa 70k! With so much difficulties financially due to cost of living, I can't fathom how someone pays for this monthly!
"M driver's pack" for £2300 that raises the top speed to over 150mph for track use. Errr what track is a 460hp 1.7 tonne car going to get upto 150mph anyway?