sgcarmart logo
cart button icon
sgcarmart sign in icon
  • dropdown white triangle iconLogin
  • Sign up
  • All Sections
  • New Cars
  • Used Cars
  • Motor Directory
  • Product Guide
  • Articles
  • Forum
cart button icon
  • Login
  • Sign up
sgcarmart logo
COTY Banner
  • login iconLogin|Sign up
  • New Cars
  • Used Cars
  • Car Loan
  • Rental Cars
  • Sell Cars
    • Sell By Yourself
    • Sell By Bidding
    • Sell By Consignment
  • Directory
    • Workshops
    • Products
  • e-Shop
  • Insurance
  • Articles
    • Car Reviews
    • Car Advice
    • Car News
    • Car Features
    • Car Videos
  • Forum
  • Resources
  • My Shortlist iconMy Shortlist
  • Home iconHome
  • New Cars iconNew Carsdropdown menu arrow icon
    • • Find New Cars
    • • New Car Promotions
    • • COE Results
  • Used Cars iconUsed Cars
  • Car Loan iconCar Loan
  • Rental Cars iconRental Cars
  • Sell My Car iconSell My Cardropdown menu arrow icon
    • • Post an Ad
    • • Sell by Bidding
    • • Consignment
    • • Free Car Valuation
    • • Advertiser's Login
  • e-Shop icone-Shop
  • Motor Directory iconMotor Directory
  • Accessories iconAccessories
  • Insurance iconInsurance
  • Articles iconArticles
  • Forum iconForum
  • Resources iconResources
  • Download Our App iconDownload Our App
  • All Articles
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Advice
  • Features
  • Videos
All
Reviews
News
Advice
Features
Videos

Home arrow Car Articles arrowReviews arrowReviews Listings arrowBMW M Series Reviews

BMW M Series M2 Coupe 3.0 (A) Review

01 Jun 2016Viewed : 36,049 times
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
With its hearty performance and driving spirit, the BMW M2 proves to be a worthy successor to the BMW 1M Coupe.

Although we have evolved to co-exist with modern day innovations and advanced technologies, there are times when you cannot help but feel as if civilisation has taken two steps backwards. In fact, we see a lot of humans, but little humanity.

This can also be said for cars. While many of them have incorporated complex tools and systems to enhance our safety on the road and better convenient our lives, these cars often fall short in the aspect that matters the most - driveability. We see a lot of capable carmakers, but not so many cars with worthy back-to-basics driveability.

Quad exhaust pipes separate this M2 from the regular 2 Series

Then we have the BMW M2, the successor to the limited-spawned 1 Series M Coupe, which demonstrated that brilliance can be achieved in a compact size. While the said successor shares certain similarities with the M235i as well as the BMW M4 Coupe, it feels like a unique and simple proposition on its own.

Of course, the BMW M2 can be seen as the smaller and cheaper brethren to the M4 Coupe. But to label the car that you see here as a poor man's or baby M4 would be an undeserving insult to it. It may be smaller and it sure is cheaper, but it's one of the best ways to spend $276,800 (inclusive of COE) on a car.

Exterior


Like all M cars, the M2 has bulging front and rear fenders, swollen wheel arches and oversized air vents that effectively sends a message to slower cars and pesky cabbies that it would very much like them to move out of its way.

In a way, it has the sort of visual musculature that draws your attention to it like a magnet to a refrigerator. You see it in the flesh parked at the lot, but your mind is working on believing how the Bavarian marque managed to come up with such a beaut.

19-inchers accentuate the M2's sense of purpose on the road

Squatting ferociously at 4,468mm x 1,854mm x 1,410mm (L x W x H), the BMW M2 is longer, wider and lower than the regular 2 Series Coupe. As a result, you get the sense that the M2, although being the smallest M car, was made with a strong sense of purpose. The very fact that the car comes fitted with biggish 19-inch wheels further accentuates this point.

Interior

Here, the Bimmer doesn't have the complexity of the other M cars. The two M buttons that allow the driver to alter with the car's damping and the throttle map are lacking on the multi-functional steering wheel. Instead, driving adjustments are made via the recognisable button BMW is known for that allows you to select three driving modes - Comfort, Sport and Sport +.

Driver-centric cabin remains to be BMW M-familiar

Elsewhere is BMW M-familiar, with matte carbon fibre trimmings, alcantara and a short thrower. It seems the carmaker has created a cabin that's simple and straightforward without losing its ability to execute with a quality few carmakers can match.
Space wise, it'll fit four Asian adults with a bit of a squeeze for the two at the back. That doesn't mean the back seats are redundant or best left for kids. They're certainly usable, with adequate head and legroom.

390 litres of space is certainly enough to see to your golf bags

While this doesn't sound impressive, the boot space is. At 390 litres, the M2's luggage space is bigger than the Audi S3 Sportback's as well as the bigger Lexus RC F's at 380 litres and 366 litres respectively.

The Drive

It's difficult to get comfortable and confident with a car so quickly, especially when it's with one that's loaded with a 3.0-litre in-line six powerplant that's capable of pumping out 370 Bavarian horses and a massive 465Nm of torque to the rear wheels via a lightning quick seven-speed Double Clutch Transmission (DCT). But what a delightful car this is!

You don't seem to have the need to slowly push the envelopes of the car before knowing what it can or cannot do. Instead, with the M2, you learn how the shifts are like, the sensitivity of the throttle and how well-calibrated the brake pedals are as you're pushing the car to the limits. Everything about it - from the talkative steering and the progressive accelerator to the sonorous soundtrack and the immense grip - makes you feel like you've known this car for a long time.

The car will smash the century sprint in a swift 4.3 seconds

Thus, it's hard not to be dazzled by it. In fact, it's hard to think of another car that's as powerful and compliant yet playful and restless at the same time. The M2 isn't just a Speedy Gonzales in a straight line. It's speedy wherever you decide to take the car to, including a series of bends.

We were able to throw the Bimmer around corners with reckless abandon on sandy surfaces that would have sent almost any other high-performance car in a fluster. There's a tinge of oversteer in these conditions when you're in Sport+ mode, where electric nannies such as the traction control is disabled, keeping only the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) active, but it's never insecure or uncertain. You lift off the accelerator and the car straightens itself out slowly and steadily.
Once you're done toying with the car and are back on the main road, the M2 behaves exactly how any civilised car should. It eats up lumps and bumps wthout sending any degree of discomfort to the cabin while ensuring you get from point to point in a fuss-free and enjoyable fashion.

The 3.0-litre in-line six powerplant is like a loaded gun - ready to shoot out all the horses at the command of your right foot

Conclusion

To be quite honest, you aren't wrong to say that the M2 is a shrunken version of the M4, both in terms of its size and price. The car you see here costs slightly over $100,000 cheaper than the M4, yet it manages to deliver the handling acumen of Christiano Ronaldo and rugged good looks of Brad Pitt without coming across as a raucous and arrogant machine.

More importantly, it's suffice to say that the BMW M2 didn't fall short in the aspect that matters the most - worthy back-to-basics driveability.
Although we have evolved to co-exist with modern day innovations and advanced technologies, there are times when you cannot help but feel as if civilisation has taken two steps backwards. In fact, we see a lot of humans, but little humanity.

This can also be said for cars. While many of them have incorporated complex tools and systems to enhance our safety on the road and better convenient our lives, these cars often fall short in the aspect that matters the most - driveability. We see a lot of capable carmakers, but not so many cars with worthy back-to-basics driveability.

Then we have the BMW M2, the successor to the limited-spawned 1 Series M Coupe, which demonstrated that brilliance can be achieved in a compact size. While the said successor shares certain similarities with the M235i as well as the BMW M4 Coupe, it feels like a unique and simple proposition on its own.

Of course, the BMW M2 can be seen as the smaller and cheaper brethren to the M4 Coupe. But to label the car that you see here as a poor man's or baby M4 would be an undeserving insult to it. It may be smaller and it sure is cheaper, but it's one of the best ways to spend $276,800 (inclusive of COE) on a car.




Exterior

Like all M cars, the M2 has bulging front and rear fenders, swollen wheel arches and oversized air vents that effectively sends a message to slower cars and pesky cabbies that it would very much like them to move out of its way.

In a way, it has the sort of visual musculature that draws your attention to it like a magnet to a refrigerator. You see it in the flesh parked at the lot, but your mind is working on believing how the Bavarian marque managed to come up with such a beaut.

Squatting ferociously at 4,468mm x 1,854mm x 1,410mm (L x W x H), the BMW M2 is longer, wider and lower than the regular 2 Series Coupe. As a result, you get the sense that the M2, although being the smallest M car, was made with a strong sense of purpose. The very fact that the car comes fitted with biggish 19-inch wheels further accentuates this point.

Interior

Here, the Bimmer doesn't have the complexity of the other M cars. The two M buttons that allow the driver to alter with the car's damping and the throttle map are lacking on the multi-functional steering wheel. Instead, driving adjustments are made via the recognisable button BMW is known for that allows you to select three driving modes - Comfort, Sport and Sport +.

Elsewhere is BMW M-familiar, with matte carbon fibre trimmings, alcantara and a short thrower. It seems the carmaker has created a cabin that's simple and straightforward without losing its ability to execute with a quality few carmakers can match.

Space wise, it'll fit four Asian adults with a bit of a squeeze for the two at the back. That doesn't mean the back seats are redundant or best left for kids. They're certainly usable, with adequate head and legroom.

While this doesn't sound impressive, the boot space is. At 390 litres, the M2's luggage space is bigger than the Audi S3 Sportback's as well as the bigger Lexus RC F's at 380 litres and 366 litres respectively.

The Drive

It's difficult to get comfortable and confident with a car so quickly, especially when it's with one that's loaded with a 3.0-litre in-line six powerplant that's capable of pumping out 370 Bavarian horses and a massive 465Nm of torque to the rear wheels via a lightning quick seven-speed Double Clutch Transmission (DCT). But what a delightful car this is!

You don't seem to have the need to slowly push the envelopes of the car before knowing what it can or cannot do. Instead, with the M2, you learn how the shifts are like, the sensitivity of the throttle and how well-calibrated the brake pedals are as you're pushing the car to the limits. Everything about it - from the talkative steering and the progressive accelerator to the sonorous soundtrack and the immense grip - makes you feel like you've known this car for a long time.

Thus, it's hard not to be dazzled by it. In fact, it's hard to think of another car that's as powerful and compliant yet playful and restless at the same time. The M2 isn't just a Speedy Gonzales in a straight line. It's speedy wherever you decide to take the car to, including a series of bends.

We were able to throw the Bimmer around corners with reckless abandon on sandy surfaces that would have sent almost any other high-performance car in a fluster. There's a tinge of oversteer in these conditions when you're in Sport+ mode, where electric nannies such as the traction control is disabled, keeping only the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) active, but it's never insecure or uncertain. You lift off the accelerator and the car straightens itself out slowly and steadily.

Once you're done toying with the car and are back on the main road, the M2 behaves exactly how any civilised car should. It eats up lumps and bumps wthout sending any degree of discomfort to the cabin while ensuring you get from point to point in a fuss-free and enjoyable fashion.

Conclusion

To be quite honest, you aren't wrong to say that the M2 is a shrunken version of the M4, both in terms of its size and price. The car you see here costs slightly over $100,000 cheaper than the M4, yet it manages to deliver the handling acumen of Christiano Ronaldo and rugged good looks of Brad Pitt without coming across as a raucous and arrogant machine.

More importantly, it's suffice to say that the BMW M2 didn't fall short in the aspect that matters the most - worthy back-to-basics driveability.
author
Written by Julian Kho 
Julian is a lot shorter than you think, but he has a big heart for cars. That sort of makes up for what he lacks.
Photos by Low Fai Ming
facebook icon
...
youtube icon
...
isntagram icon
...
tiktok icon
27.1k
 

Car Information

BMW M2 Coupe 3.0 (A)

4.5/5

CAT B|Petrol|12.6km/L

Horsepower

276kW (370 bhp)

Torque

465 Nm

Acceleration

4.3sec (0-100km /hr)

This model is no longer being sold by local distributor
All Used BMW M2 Coupe
emailIcon
Be Notified On The Latest News
notificationIcon
Thank You For Your Subscription.

Related Articles

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce Facelift Review

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce Facelift Review

BMW i5 eDrive40 Review

BMW i5 eDrive40 Review

BMW and Mercedes to build charging network in China

BMW and Mercedes to build charging network in China

BMW to head to Art Basel Miami with AI-powered installation

BMW to head to Art Basel Miami with AI-powered installation

BMW X5 xDrive40i vs Range Rover Sport 3.0

BMW X5 xDrive40i vs Range Rover Sport 3.0

Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron 55 Facelift Review

Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron 55 Facelift Review

BMW appoints new Head of IT

BMW appoints new Head of IT

BMW hosts Supplier Matching Day in Singapore

BMW hosts Supplier Matching Day in Singapore

You May Also Like

Amaron Singapore celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Amaron Singapore celebrates its 20th Anniversary

How can we make car rides safer for child passengers?

How can we make car rides safer for child passengers?

Audi releases its final video featuring Ken Block

Audi releases its final video featuring Ken Block

Motoring Icons: Commercial Heroes - Toyota Hiace H200

Motoring Icons: Commercial Heroes - Toyota Hiace H200

Lamborghini calls on Bridgestone for a new electrified age

Lamborghini calls on Bridgestone for a new electrified age

Is it difficult for new car brands to make it in Singapore?

Is it difficult for new car brands to make it in Singapore?

BMW i5 eDrive40 Review

BMW i5 eDrive40 Review

You aren't any better than drink drivers if you drive tired

You aren't any better than drink drivers if you drive tired

Tags

bmw bmw m2 bmw m2 coupe m2 coupe bimmer bmw m bmw 1m bmw 1m coupe

Contact Us
Careers
Follow Sgcarmart.com
facebook iconinstagram iconyoutube icontwitter icontelegram icon
sgcarmart app store download iconsgcarmart google play download iconsgcarmart app gallery download icon
Buy / Rent Cars
New Cars For SaleUsed Cars For SaleCars For Rent
Sell Your Car
Post an AdSell by BiddingSell by Consignment
Aftermarket
Workshop DirectoryAftermarket Products
Articles
Car ReviewsCar AdviceCar NewsCar FeaturesCar Videos
General
About UsContact UsCareersSite Map
Resources
COE PricesCar Loan CalculatorsCar Forum
 
Car InsuranceCar ValuationCOE Renewal
 
Used Car WarrantyBidded CarplatesCarpark Rates
Follow Sgcarmart.com
facebook iconinstagram iconyoutube icontwitter icontelegram icon
sgcarmart app store download iconsgcarmart google play download iconsgcarmart app gallery download icon
Sgcarmart is the number one car classifieds for buying vehicles like sports car, hybrid car, COE cars, OPC Car, hatchback, stationwagon, MPV, SUV, van, truck & parallel imported cars. Buy from new car dealer, parallel importer, car auction, etc. Also find useful products & services like car audio, car polishing, solar film, car accessories, car parts, car repair, car workshop, car bodykit, car tyre, sport rims, car mat, car stickers, mover, and motor insurance. Check out our car blog and coe prices. Find Rental Cars for short term rental, long term lease, private hire cars, wedding cars and cars for p-plate probation drivers.
Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyPersonal Data Protection Statement
©2004-2023 Sgcarmart, Singapore. All rights reserved.
Terms of Service | Privacy | PDPA
©2004-2023 Sgcarmart, Singapore. All rights reserved.