[Bumpinjeep]

So a few months ago at an exotics meet, I was parked next to a 1 Series M and the owner and I got to talking about M cars. Over the weekend he came over and we swapped cars for a 30 minute or so drive each. His car is an orange 1 Series M, Ohlins coilovers, Carbon Ceramic Brembo BBK (yes the $35K one), Akrapovic exhaust, Recaro seats (M Performance-Recaro CS European), and a few other goodies.

Basically, the car is set up nearly perfectly as it should be for the money put into it. He’s owned a few manual Ferraris, Porsches (GT4 was the last), and a few M cars (including a E60 M5).

My impressions after hooning that little car: An experience. The car is very well balanced. The steering is communicative, you know exactly what the tires are doing. The suspension is well damped and because of the car’s footprint, it is easy to plant. The brakes, well, they are insane. You tap them and the car comes to a halt. The power is immediate and reminds me of my F87C, only with less punch. Which, in this car is perfect. It’s not too overwhelming and I think because of the way the car is set up, matches the character. It feels like a go cart in the sense that the small inputs can correct any mistakes or create them. What a fantastic little car. I doubt a stock car is this good, but still, what a treat!
He then took my manual G87 out.

MechE’s perspective of the G87 M2

I’ve owned my 1M since new, but it’s evolved over time with Ohlins, M-Performance seats, carbon prop. shaft and Brembo CCM-R brakes. As such, I believe it is about 600 pounds lighter than the G87 M2.

From the driver’s seat, the M2 just feels bigger. I wasn’t sure where the corners of the car were located. That said, it felt better put together and far more luxurious than the basic 1M. Interestingly, the M2’s carbon buckets are much tighter and have more padding than the M-Performance seats.

The n54 in the 1M is all low-end grunt and runs out of puff above 5,500 rpm. The M2’s S58 pulls hard to redline, but it is a little soft at low rpms. There is definitely a bit of turbo-lag in the newer car. In terms of raw acceleration, the M2 is a different league because it puts all of its power down very cleanly. The clutch pedal in my 1M with the UCP upgrade and CDV delete is a precision tool compared to the squishy thing the M2 uses as a clutch. After 15 minutes driving the M2 I was still not entirely comfortable with the clutch. That said, the M2’s shift lever is fantastic – short throws with no notchiness.

In terms of handling, the M2 feels a lot like a smaller M3. It’s very confidence inspiring and not overly stiff. Its turn-in is awesome, but I also felt the steering was rather light and had little feedback. The 1M is a go-cart by comparison with lots of feel and communication, but it’s also far less comfortable and less suited to long drives.

Overall, I really like the M2 and feel it is one of the best driving BMWs of the last 10 years. I definitely enjoyed driving it far more than I enjoyed the current generation M3/M4. Overall, I think it would be a fantastic daily driver, and I may be placing an order, but I’m not getting rid of my 1M any time soon.

*Back to me, one thing he did notice was that the throttle felt somewhat laggy in this car, however when I put it into M2 (Sport+ throttle), this alleviated the issue as the car is easy to get into the boost threshold with the sharper response.

[DSTR]

Originally Posted by Bumpinjeep

So a few months ago at an exotics meet, I was parked next to a 1 Series M and the owner and I got to talking about M cars. Over the weekend he came over and we swapped cars for a 30 minute or so drive each. His car is an orange 1 Series M, Ohlins coilovers, Carbon Ceramic Brembo BBK (yes the $35K one), Akrapovic exhaust, Recaro seats (M Performance-Recaro CS European), and a few other goodies.

Basically, the car is set up nearly perfectly as it should be for the money put into it. He’s owned a few manual Ferraris, Porsches (GT4 was the last), and a few M cars (including a E60 M5).

My impressions after hooning that little car: An experience. The car is very well balanced. The steering is communicative, you know exactly what the tires are doing. The suspension is well damped and because of the car’s footprint, it is easy to plant. The brakes, well, they are insane. You tap them and the car comes to a halt. The power is immediate and reminds me of my F87C, only with less punch. Which, in this car is perfect. It’s not too overwhelming and I think because of the way the car is set up, matches the character. It feels like a go cart in the sense that the small inputs can correct any mistakes or create them. What a fantastic little car. I doubt a stock car is this good, but still, what a treat!
He then took my manual G87 out.

MechE’s perspective of the G87 M2

I’ve owned my 1M since new, but it’s evolved over time with Ohlins, M-Performance seats, carbon prop. shaft and Brembo CCM-R brakes. As such, I believe it is about 600 pounds lighter than the G87 M2.

From the driver’s seat, the M2 just feels bigger. I wasn’t sure where the corners of the car were located. That said, it felt better put together and far more luxurious than the basic 1M. Interestingly, the M2’s carbon buckets are much tighter and have more padding than the M-Performance seats.

The n54 in the 1M is all low-end grunt and runs out of puff above 5,500 rpm. The M2’s S58 pulls hard to redline, but it is a little soft at low rpms. There is definitely a bit of turbo-lag in the newer car. In terms of raw acceleration, the M2 is a different league because it puts all of its power down very cleanly. The clutch pedal in my 1M with the UCP upgrade and CDV delete is a precision tool compared to the squishy thing the M2 uses as a clutch. After 15 minutes driving the M2 I was still not entirely comfortable with the clutch. That said, the M2’s shift lever is fantastic – short throws with no notchiness.

In terms of handling, the M2 feels a lot like a smaller M3. It’s very confidence inspiring and not overly stiff. Its turn-in is awesome, but I also felt the steering was rather light and had little feedback. The 1M is a go-cart by comparison with lots of feel and communication, but it’s also far less comfortable and less suited to long drives.

Overall, I really like the M2 and feel it is one of the best driving BMWs of the last 10 years. I definitely enjoyed driving it far more than I enjoyed the current generation M3/M4. Overall, I think it would be a fantastic daily driver, and I may be placing an order, but I’m not getting rid of my 1M any time soon.

*Back to me, one thing he did notice was that the throttle felt somewhat laggy in this car, however when I put it into M2 (Sport+ throttle), this alleviated the issue as the car is easy to get into the boost threshold with the sharper response.

The type of feedback/assessment not found on You-trashclik-Tube. Wonderful post.

[Squidget]

That matches my expectations.

The G87 (stock for stock) is a much better daily driver than the 1M or F87s, and at least as good a track performer. But it is also more civilized and numb, and less wild. That can be a plus or a minus depending on what you want.

So if daily driving or track times are what you value, the G87 may be the best option. If you value a primal, tactile experience more than comfort or speed, the older gens are better.

It's crazy that a stock G87 is competitive with an F87CS. The G87CS is probably gonna be nuts. I'm also looking forward to seeing what the mod community does with this platform over the next couple years.

[jmoh]

I really wish I could test drive this car before ordering. I owned a 2016 228i with a MT that I absolutely loved but still would like to get a feel for the car.

[Piyush]

I hope BMW work on Steering feel.

[Squidget]

Originally Posted by jmoh

I really wish I could test drive this car before ordering. I owned a 2016 228i with a MT that I absolutely loved but still would like to get a feel for the car.

Why not test drive a G82 M4? It's probably 80% the same, just with less room in the back seats. While there are differences, most wouldn't be apparent during a test drive.

[Bumpinjeep]

Originally Posted by Squidget

That matches my expectations.

The G87 (stock for stock) is a much better daily driver than the 1M or F87s, and at least as good a track performer. But it is also more civilized and numb, and less wild. That can be a plus or a minus depending on what you want.

The daily driver part is true. I noticed that the 6 speed is better suited for DD in the G87 as the car is no longer buzzing on the highway. It is less wild in a sense that the rear end is more progressive with far less chance of snap oversteer. I don't think it's more numb than the F87C. You also have to realize that the 1M I drove is modified with extremely high end items (like, the cost of the car's worth of mods), so it will feel much better than a stock 1M, F87/C/CS, or G87. I think stock for stock, you would be surprised just how good the G87 drives.

Originally Posted by Squidget

So if daily driving or track times are what you value, the G87 may be the best option. If you value a primal, tactile experience more than comfort or speed, the older gens are better.

On larger tracks, the G87 will demolish the previous gen cars, no question at all. Smaller tracks or autocross, I would say the F87C/CS would be better suited as those cars have right now power and less weight to carry through tight turns. You would just need better tires.

Originally Posted by Squidget

It's crazy that a stock G87 is competitive with an F87CS. The G87CS is probably gonna be nuts. I'm also looking forward to seeing what the mod community does with this platform over the next couple years.

Throw some KW HAS and some super sticky tires and the G87 is a freaking winner. Hell, just tires and the car is super competitive with cars far above it's class.

[jmoh]

Originally Posted by Squidget

Why not test drive a G82 M4? It's probably 80% the same, just with less room in the back seats. While there are differences, most wouldn't be apparent during a test drive.

Hard to find one in MT available to test drive.

[Squidget]

Originally Posted by jmoh

Hard to find one in MT available to test drive.

Yeah, fair point. I've driven enough MT BMWs that I was willing to order mine without a test drive of an MT. YMMV of course!