m5lvyn
RMS Regular
- Messages
- 1,642
- Drives
- GT4
Good evening gents, I've a new car to share with you all. It's a new M2 lci in Long Beach Blue!
DSC00121 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00142 by Mel, on Flickr
I've a bit of a write up on my reasoning for switching from the M4 to M2 so if you're only here for some pictures then feel free to scroll down! Otherwise here's my rambling
The last few months or so I've started to look online at various different cars as I started to get somewhat itchy feet with the M4. Reasons which I'll elaborate further on later on but the main hit list was the M4 lci Competition Pack, M2, Cayman or a C63.
The new C63 coupe is a beautiful thing, interior is a step up and the noise is.. but something just doesn't draw me to them as much as it should for the money. The 718 Cayman's are bloody stunning yet very impractical for my needs as a usable daily and carrying equipment in the boot is a must. Head rules that one out..for now lol
Next was the M4 lci Comp Pack which has been refined and tweaked compared to my '16 non comp which overall makes them a different beast altogether mixed with a individual colour would be a worthwhile change for sure.
This brings me onto the M2 which I've been interested in since the speculation rumours circulated about its potential release. It delivered the promises and in my opinion the perfect balance between power and size much like my old beloved e46 m3. I tried to secure an allocation before the launch but the wait time was roughly a year with no discounts which lead me to go for the M4 instead which was readily available and around 18% off as an incentive.
As brilliant as my M4 has been I've never 100% gelled with it. Its noticeably bigger than any of the previous gen M3's and almost feels GT like rather than fast sports coupe. This was my biggest gripe with the car and when pushing it on you feel the size even more. Aside from the physical size of it I found a few other smaller niggles that annoyed me using it as a daily drive.
-My drivers seatbelt had kinked through the design of the seat, it wouldn't fold back all the way sometimes and would naturally kink over making harder to grab next time, I tried to get it fixed under warranty but service dept said they couldn't see a fault nor repeat it kinking..
-The front seats folding lever is on the backside and nearly impossible to reach without bending your arm around it lol and it has a very sharp edge.. poor design.
-The odd dash rattle could be heard which is notorious for all the m3/4's, I'm not sure they've improved this with the latest gen.
-the doors are large and it hard to squeeze out sometimes in a tight parking space.
-the turning circle is laughable bad!
-non lci led rear lights look out dated now, retrofit lci's are circa 1k..
-noise from the exhaust is loud with the flaps open and very raw but overall not a particularly tuneful note rather just more noise as it pushes on.
-almost too much to setup and customise with the settings
-the paint on the bumpers is terrible, after 11k miles I had more stone chips than any of my previous 40-60k m3's, also the rear back bumper tyre underside had the paint peeling off from flicked stones. not noticeable unless you peered into the wheel arch but still..
-seats looked the business but not very comfortable and poor usability design
-lastly the values of the m3/4's are dropping like a stone! so many editions and revisions with massive Bmw discount support has made plenty of sales but hurt the used market for sure
Having said all that I still loved the M4 and it was a beautiful car inside and out. The power was ridiculous and certainly a handful! The engine bay was also a work of art.
I've been keeping my eye on the m2's since and with the lci tweaks towards the end of last year they look perfect. Speculation has already started on what the impending competition M2 will be like, a detuned m3/4 engine reportedly being adding with some more carbon bits and m3/4 seats. Due to be announced in the summer with deliveries around end of year early 2019. The smart move would have been to hold off and see what this has in store but reading on the f87 m2 forums many agree that the comp m2 will cost no doubt cost more and the s55 m3/4 engine might sound pants (compared to the glorious n55 on the current m2) and there's been leaked images of a revised front bumper and grills that looks somewhat dubious..
Which leads me onto a few Saturdays ago I was passing Bavarian BMW up at Boucher and stopped for a look with the intention of checking out some of their in stock comp pack M4's and mineral grey M2 I had seen online. I spotted in the showroom a new long beach blue m2 which was specc'd to what I had chosen online and a tidy discount already on the sticker.
IMG_5764 by Mel, on Flickr
IMG_5768 by Mel, on Flickr
Watching youtube videos and reading up on the M2 all weekend I went back Monday morning and confirmed my thoughts that I had to have the car!! I secured a good deal and traded the M4 as well to keep it simple.
SO here's the option spec of the car:
-Long Beach Blue, Black Dakota Leather with Blue stitching
-DCT
-Reverse cam
-Sun protection glass
-Electric seats
-Electric Folding mirrors
-Heated seats
-Harmon hifi
Fast forward 2 weeks of sorting my 2 digit reg transfer and getting everything lined up for my collection on Saturday. Finally I was able to get my hands on the m2!!
I left my proper full frame camera in work so excuse my rushed snaps!
DSC00084 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00085 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00088 by Mel, on Flickr
I took it for a blast today since it was a sunny Sunday and stopped at Billy Neill pitches for some initial pictures (it was bloody freezing!), the colour is hard to properly do justice with a camera:
DSC00096 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00099 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00101 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00106 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00109 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00114 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00121 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00122 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00125 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00128 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00136 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00137 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00140 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00142 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00143 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00148 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00149 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00153 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00158 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00164 by Mel, on Flickr
DSC00174 by Mel, on Flickr
First impressions:
I already love it, the colour really makes the car stand out. Driving through Belfast stopped at traffic lights 3 kids jumped onto the road with cameras to snap pics of it lol never got that attention in the m4! Also having had 3 white M's in a row I'm enjoying a brighter colour.
The interior is really nice, the small details, alcantara and stitching make it feel a bit more special. The seats are very comfy albeit not as 'sexy' as the m3/4's.
The exhaust in sport sounds amazing for a stock system. The over run burbles never get old! Ive heard it gets slightly louder as it beds in so I shall hold out and see before buying the M performance exhaust.
Cant accurately comment on the power in comparison to the M4 yet as it needs the run in service at 1200 miles firstly before properly unleashing it. Having said that it still feels proper quick!
Im not going to lie but I had some nervous anxiety on the lead up to collection on whether I was doing the right thing and would I miss the m4 but thats all disappeared. Its a very special car and the size, looks and noise combined are exactly what I was looking for.
Future plans/ mods.. to be decided if any at all. Thats it for now! Apologies for the long post but hopefully some useful insight to someone
DSC00121 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00142 by Mel, on FlickrI've a bit of a write up on my reasoning for switching from the M4 to M2 so if you're only here for some pictures then feel free to scroll down! Otherwise here's my rambling
The last few months or so I've started to look online at various different cars as I started to get somewhat itchy feet with the M4. Reasons which I'll elaborate further on later on but the main hit list was the M4 lci Competition Pack, M2, Cayman or a C63.
The new C63 coupe is a beautiful thing, interior is a step up and the noise is
.. but something just doesn't draw me to them as much as it should for the money. The 718 Cayman's are bloody stunning yet very impractical for my needs as a usable daily and carrying equipment in the boot is a must. Head rules that one out..for now lolNext was the M4 lci Comp Pack which has been refined and tweaked compared to my '16 non comp which overall makes them a different beast altogether mixed with a individual colour would be a worthwhile change for sure.
This brings me onto the M2 which I've been interested in since the speculation rumours circulated about its potential release. It delivered the promises and in my opinion the perfect balance between power and size much like my old beloved e46 m3. I tried to secure an allocation before the launch but the wait time was roughly a year with no discounts which lead me to go for the M4 instead which was readily available and around 18% off as an incentive.
As brilliant as my M4 has been I've never 100% gelled with it. Its noticeably bigger than any of the previous gen M3's and almost feels GT like rather than fast sports coupe. This was my biggest gripe with the car and when pushing it on you feel the size even more. Aside from the physical size of it I found a few other smaller niggles that annoyed me using it as a daily drive.
-My drivers seatbelt had kinked through the design of the seat, it wouldn't fold back all the way sometimes and would naturally kink over making harder to grab next time, I tried to get it fixed under warranty but service dept said they couldn't see a fault nor repeat it kinking..
-The front seats folding lever is on the backside and nearly impossible to reach without bending your arm around it lol and it has a very sharp edge.. poor design.
-The odd dash rattle could be heard which is notorious for all the m3/4's, I'm not sure they've improved this with the latest gen.
-the doors are large and it hard to squeeze out sometimes in a tight parking space.
-the turning circle is laughable bad!
-non lci led rear lights look out dated now, retrofit lci's are circa 1k..
-noise from the exhaust is loud with the flaps open and very raw but overall not a particularly tuneful note rather just more noise as it pushes on.
-almost too much to setup and customise with the settings
-the paint on the bumpers is terrible, after 11k miles I had more stone chips than any of my previous 40-60k m3's, also the rear back bumper tyre underside had the paint peeling off from flicked stones. not noticeable unless you peered into the wheel arch but still..
-seats looked the business but not very comfortable and poor usability design
-lastly the values of the m3/4's are dropping like a stone! so many editions and revisions with massive Bmw discount support has made plenty of sales but hurt the used market for sure
Having said all that I still loved the M4 and it was a beautiful car inside and out. The power was ridiculous and certainly a handful! The engine bay was also a work of art.
I've been keeping my eye on the m2's since and with the lci tweaks towards the end of last year they look perfect. Speculation has already started on what the impending competition M2 will be like, a detuned m3/4 engine reportedly being adding with some more carbon bits and m3/4 seats. Due to be announced in the summer with deliveries around end of year early 2019. The smart move would have been to hold off and see what this has in store but reading on the f87 m2 forums many agree that the comp m2 will cost no doubt cost more and the s55 m3/4 engine might sound pants (compared to the glorious n55 on the current m2) and there's been leaked images of a revised front bumper and grills that looks somewhat dubious..
Which leads me onto a few Saturdays ago I was passing Bavarian BMW up at Boucher and stopped for a look with the intention of checking out some of their in stock comp pack M4's and mineral grey M2 I had seen online. I spotted in the showroom a new long beach blue m2 which was specc'd to what I had chosen online and a tidy discount already on the sticker.
IMG_5764 by Mel, on FlickrIMG_5768 by Mel, on FlickrWatching youtube videos and reading up on the M2 all weekend I went back Monday morning and confirmed my thoughts that I had to have the car!! I secured a good deal and traded the M4 as well to keep it simple.
SO here's the option spec of the car:
-Long Beach Blue, Black Dakota Leather with Blue stitching
-DCT
-Reverse cam
-Sun protection glass
-Electric seats
-Electric Folding mirrors
-Heated seats
-Harmon hifi
Fast forward 2 weeks of sorting my 2 digit reg transfer and getting everything lined up for my collection on Saturday. Finally I was able to get my hands on the m2!!
I left my proper full frame camera in work so excuse my rushed snaps!
DSC00084 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00085 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00088 by Mel, on FlickrI took it for a blast today since it was a sunny Sunday and stopped at Billy Neill pitches for some initial pictures (it was bloody freezing!), the colour is hard to properly do justice with a camera:
DSC00096 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00099 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00101 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00106 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00109 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00114 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00121 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00122 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00125 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00128 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00136 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00137 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00140 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00142 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00143 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00148 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00149 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00153 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00158 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00164 by Mel, on FlickrDSC00174 by Mel, on FlickrFirst impressions:
I already love it, the colour really makes the car stand out. Driving through Belfast stopped at traffic lights 3 kids jumped onto the road with cameras to snap pics of it lol never got that attention in the m4! Also having had 3 white M's in a row I'm enjoying a brighter colour.
The interior is really nice, the small details, alcantara and stitching make it feel a bit more special. The seats are very comfy albeit not as 'sexy' as the m3/4's.
The exhaust in sport sounds amazing for a stock system. The over run burbles never get old! Ive heard it gets slightly louder as it beds in so I shall hold out and see before buying the M performance exhaust.
Cant accurately comment on the power in comparison to the M4 yet as it needs the run in service at 1200 miles firstly before properly unleashing it. Having said that it still feels proper quick!
Im not going to lie but I had some nervous anxiety on the lead up to collection on whether I was doing the right thing and would I miss the m4 but thats all disappeared. Its a very special car and the size, looks and noise combined are exactly what I was looking for.
Future plans/ mods.. to be decided if any at all. Thats it for now! Apologies for the long post but hopefully some useful insight to someone
