[MmmmmM2]

It took me awhile to find one that was available, but since I had 105 hours of vacation time, I decided to take the day off and drive down to Irvine BMW to check it out. This is the vehicle:

https://www.irvinebmw.com/new/BMW/20...6745902308.htm

So let's get into it!

Exterior: It is definitely a polarizing look. I don't love it and I don't hate it. Some angles it looks great and some angles it really doesn't. It's definitely big. It looked like a monster parked next to my F87. It also won the tire lottery.

Interior: Leaps and bounds better than my F87. I could really get used to living in there if I were to purchase one. High quality materials and I for one really like iDrive 8. I also loved that I could lower to seat farther down than my F87. As much as I love my car, I wish I could sit lower. Seats are super comfortable.

Driving Experience: It's a very nice a smooth ride. However, the roads around Irvine BMW are pretty flawless (nice and smooth with no bumps). It feels planted. A lot more planted than my F87. I could get used to that. I've always felt the F87 is rather twitchy at speeds and the G87 seems to rectify that. A longer test drive would probably give me a better idea, but to me, safer is always better.

Steering: I wasn't impressed with the steering (but then again, BMW still hasn't really figured this out with EPS). There was just something weird about it. Yes, it is more direct than my F87 but it feels very synthetic. Almost like they were TRYING too hard to add some sort of feedback but missed the boat. I honestly think the steering in my F87 is better, but to each their own.

Transmission: This was the 8-speed auto. I had started another thread a couple of weeks ago stating this transmission had no business being in a performance BMW (I had driven a G80 at M Town Tour). HOWEVER, that car must have been thrashed over countless people driving it and hammering on it. I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. Yes, it is not as engaging as my DCT but it isn't that bad at all. I could get used to it. I'm glad I was able to drive a not-abused M car. I would definitely prefer it over the manual.

Power: It definitely has good power and puts it down nice and easily. Being that this was a 10 minute test drive and that the car is brand new, I really didn't get on it. I'm not one of those a-holes that thrashes cars on test drives. My thought is that if I'm not going to buy it, I'm not going to hurt the car for another owner. So forgive me if I say it doesn't feel faster than my F87, but I'm sure it is. I just don't know by how much.

Sound: It's a definite improvement over the F87, but again, not by much. I drove a G80 at BMW's M Town Tour and THAT thing sounded amazing but it had the M Performance exhaust. I could see myself adding that because my god it makes the car sound good.

Brakes: Brakes are fine. They have good stopping power and again I wasn't really able to test them out.

At the end of the day, it just isn't leaps and bounds better than my F87 (to me that is). I am not really a fan of how big it has become. I really like smaller cars. Is it better than an F87? Of course it is! But not enough for me to fork over $70K plus when I own my car outright.

Hope this helps anyone looking to purchase one. It's a nice little ride and feel free to hit me up with any questions.

[MmmmmM2]

Originally Posted by M2siast

“I would definitely prefer it over the manual”

Why?

I'm just over driving a manual car.

[ModernAngel]

Originally Posted by MmmmmM2

At the end of the day, it just isn't leaps and bounds better than my F87 (to me that is). I am not really a fan of how big it has become. I really like smaller cars. Is it better than an F87? Of course it is! But not enough for me to fork over $70K plus when I own my car outright.

Makes sense. I had been seriously looking to move from the ND Miata I also owned outright to a 718 Boxster. I test drove some but just didn’t find them to be 300% more enjoyable than the Miata for the commensurate price increase.

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

That's awesome they let you "test drive" a brand new G87 M2. Around here in Northern CA you can't test drive a brand new M car. And id you did you could only put 4-5 miles on it. You must know the sales manager or sales advisor at this location pretty well.

[awg87]

Originally Posted by ModernAngel

Makes sense. I had been seriously looking to move from the ND Miata I also owned outright to a 718 Boxster. I test drove some but just didn’t find them to be 300% more enjoyable than the Miata for the commensurate price increase.

the 4.0 is definitely a big step up in enjoyment but also like 4x the price of a miata

[awg87]

Originally Posted by M2siast

LOL how do you buy a car without testing it first?
Test drives are the norm. Most cars around are HEA which are meant for this sole purpose.

Unless you were being sarcastic and I didn’t get it…

all heas in California were sold before the dealers even got them lol

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by M2siast

LOL how do you buy a car without testing it first?
Test drives are the norm. Most cars around are HEA which are meant for this sole purpose.

Unless you were being sarcastic and I didn’t get it…

No sarcasm intended or needed here. Just wish some the G87 M2 cars here in CA (some with $20k markups) could actually be driven before purchased.

[Squidget]

Originally Posted by M2siast

That sucks…

Lots of dealers in the US won't let you test drive high end sports cars, at all. Other places require a deposit before they'll let you get into them.

Not everywhere, and not all the time, but this definitely happens.

[EXE46]

Originally Posted by M2siast

I can appreciate that it happens.

I don’t think an M2 is “high end” or “sports car”, but I understand the definition is for the owner of these cars to make.

Exactly, not worth buying from those dealers. A new M2 can be had for M340i money so definitely not high end since we are not talking CSL money/exclusivity here.

[02M3ForMe]

Although not a great policy, I don't blame some dealers for not letting the cars out for test drives.

I'd be more comfortable letting someone take out a $120k X7 than a $65k M2.

I've let two friends drive my G87s. One was overly respectful; I had to keep telling him to have fun with it. The other, well ... thank goodness the car already had its 1200-mile service. You can't tell what type of driver you're going to get.

[npirnia]

Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1

No sarcasm intended or needed here. Just wish some the G87 M2 cars here in CA (some with $20k markups) could actually be driven before purchased.

It is quite variable in NorCal. I drove a new G80 M3 6-sp when it first hit dealers at BMW Marin and they were very cool about it. Let me run it around for a while and were very easy going about everything.

I think it really varies from dealer to dealer based on their M car volume and general high end volume. It probably also depends on how many allocations they have and whether they even need a customer for them.

The M3 I drove was one of their first allocations, but the guy who ordered it was waffling and they were very motivated to build interest in it - so happy to let me drive it. That same guy came back an hour or two later and bought it anyway.

I'd also argue that a test drive for most modern cars like this are not terribly helpful. Nearly every new car, especially from a maker like BMW, is very well put together with excellent ergonomics. But you can't really assess the cars personality in such a short period of time.

Nearly every BMW I'v driven of the past 8 years (since EPS) have basically felt the same with a couple of notable exceptions: the 6-sp 328i (F30) had somewhat unpleasant NVH that really pushed me to the 340i and the F80 M3 (6-sp) would consistently break traction in first and second due to the torque spike around 2500 rpms. But it is really hard to tell if a car will be fun to drive or get under your skin in just 10-15 minutes of driving. The best benefit is identifying if the car is comfortable for you.

I think that renting a car (Turo or similar) is the best way to feel confident, but it isn't available for everything.

-Nick

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

npirnia I'm in Nor-Cal too. So I agree with everything you mentioned. Some dealers treat brand new M cars like a 6 figure limos & executive sedans. But I get it. I wouldn't want to buy a brand new M car that had been test driven. I can see about not letting people drive the ones that have been ordered. But the ones sitting on the lot with crazy high markups & not letting a single person test drive, that's always funny to me. TURO is a much better option indeed.

[DanG]

What am I missing. Most dealers got HEA M2 which were supposed to be a demo. The GM at my dealership insisted that I take their M2 out for a drive. They even let BMW DYI Guy do a video while driving their demo.

[02M3ForMe]

Originally Posted by DanG

What am I missing. Most dealers got HEA M2 which were supposed to be a demo. The GM at my dealership insisted that I take their M2 out for a drive. They even let BMW DYI Guy do a video while driving their demo.

BMW Seattle always ensures that they have demos available to drive when new cars launch.

They are always flush with M allocations, so it's no surprise that they're OK with letting one of their units accrue mileage.

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by DanG

What am I missing. Most dealers got HEA M2 which were supposed to be a demo. The GM at my dealership insisted that I take their M2 out for a drive. They even let BMW DYI Guy do a video while driving their demo.

You're not missing anything. It's us here in certain parts of Norther CA that are surrounded by uptight sales managers at some of our local dealerships. These are the same guys & gals that think it's ok to charge a $20k markup on their first allotment of M2's.