[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by JD6

Have you done any motorway runs in the M2 yet? This would have to be my distance cruiser as well as a toy, so I’d be interested to know how it feels on a run - comfort / noise / exhaust drone…

I’ve not done huge distances as yet, furthest is about a 90-mile round trip, mostly motorway & A-road.

Most noticeable difference from the X3 is the tyre noise, which on poor surfaces can be quite intrusive. Probably a combination of being lower to the ground, wider profile tyres (275 front/285 rear), and possibly less sound deadening. The last would make sense if overall weight was an issue.

I have the MSport seats rather than the carbon buckets, but they’re pretty comfortable so far. Vernasca is standard so a touch hard & shiny compared to Merino which is a cost option.

In Efficient mode with the flaps closed, the exhaust isn’t too bad, a slight drone but doesn’t grate. ASD is on by default, which adds an unpleasant resonant boom at times, but you can switch this off with a button on the console. It’s a different matter if you run in sport/sport+ as the flaps open and the map delivers more burbles & pops on overrun. Amusing in small doses, but you’d probably want to cruise in efficient mode.

On the subject of flaps (oo-err missus) the exhaust is pretty muted in efficient/sport modes, but you can pull fuse 203 with them fully open and it stays that way. A touch loud on cold start, but it settles down quickly and it makes the car sound way better when pottering about town. After all, one wants the proles to look at one and marvel at the paucity of one’s penis….

[JD6]

Blacktemplar Thanks. It does sound like an impressive machine. I guess I’d find quite an increase in tyre noise too, the 8 is relatively quiet like the X3. It’s very useful to hear a balanced view of how the car is to live with.

This is definitely something I shouldn’t do - I have 2 cars which I really like, but logic doesn’t always prevail with my car purchases.

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by JD6

Blacktemplar Thanks. It does sound like an impressive machine. I guess I’d find quite an increase in tyre noise too, the 8 is relatively quiet like the X3. It’s very useful to hear a balanced view of how the car is to live with.

This is definitely something I shouldn’t do - I have 2 cars which I really like, but logic doesn’t always prevail with my car purchases.

It feels very Jekyll & Hyde, like Connor McGregor in a sharp suit…

Have to say in my fantasy garage the M8 coupe would only be second to an RS6 Avant. One for looks, the other for practicality. Ish.

The other thing I like about the M2 is that the S58 is a well-traveled unit in both B and S guises for M-lite annd full fat M cars, and as such the maintenance regime is mostly palatable. I paid £2K for the 5-year service pack, which saves few hundred over the first 3-4 years. A mate bought a 2019 M5 comp for roughly the same money as the M2 new, and the service costs for that lovely 4.4 V8 have been less than welcome.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by JD6

The M2 is surprisingly heavy. The 8 is a bit of an outlier these days - they made a serious effort to keep the weight down with lightweight panels in aluminium and carbon reinforced plastic, together with carbon fibre in the chassis.

There’s no good logic behind moving from an 840i to an M2, expect the feeling that decent manual cars are on the way out. The two cars I regret selling more than any others are my mk2 Golf GTi and my E39 M5. The M2 would no doubt be worse than the 8 in many respects, but it might just scratch an itch…

I’ll be interested to hear how you find the Carrera T - it sounds special, but well outside my budget.

Not sure what it is about December, but I always seem to get an urge to buy cars at this time of year. Dec 23 I bought the Mini, Dec 22 the 840i and Dec 20 the previous 840i. Perhaps it’s the short days meaning less chance to get out on the fells and longer evenings to browse car sites!

Could you scrape together enough for a used Manual Cayman 4.0 GTS, I think you can nick a decent one for new M2 money?

I think my plan once I can liquidate the recent 'reno' is to get a Carrera T, a Golf GTi to replace the UP and obviously keep the '7'. Loathed to get rid of of Alpine so I might actually keep that in the garage alongside the '7' for high days and holidays. 4 cars is a bit excessive but that lot should fend off the 'Shitbox' for a good few years

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Could you scrape together enough for a used Manual Cayman 4.0 GTS, I think you can nick a decent one for new M2 money?

I think my plan once I can liquidate the recent 'reno' is to get a Carrera T, a Golf GTi to replace the UP and obviously keep the '7'. Loathed to get rid of of Alpine so I might actually keep that in the garage alongside the '7' for high days and holidays. 4 cars is a bit excessive but that lot should fend off the 'Shitbox' for a good few years

The M2 is already a significant compromise in terms of practicality for me. A 2 seater Cayman is a step too far given that my other car has a limited range. I can see the appeal of the Cayman GTS though, but I’d need to run more than 2 cars and the budget doesn’t allow that currently.

I’ve arranged to borrow a manual M2 for an hour on Monday and I’d like to give it a thorough test including a short motorway run. After all, it would have to take over long distance trips from the 8. No doubt it’ll be significantly less good than the 8 at those, but if it’s great at the other stuff, then that could be a compromise I’m willing to make.

I’ve had an 840i as a main car for 4.5 years (the current one for 2 years) so there is an appeal to something different and a bit more driver-focused. I guess the chance I’ll make the switch is below 50% though. I still rate the 8 very highly - it’s an excellent car, so the M2 has to be pretty special for me to make the move.

The Carrera T plus a Golf GTi sounds like a lovely pair, even without the other ones.

[Sennen]

I have always marvelled at your willingness and obvious capability of maneuvering your 8 series around the 'Lakes'. I took my smaller 8 coupe up there once and it was a bloody nightmare

I think the M2 could work really well for you, a bit of tyre noise but nothing excessive and i certainly wouldn't have any issues running one as a 'daily' but I think that was the problem for me..... it just wasn't 'special'.

Good luck Monday, be interested to hear your thoughts JD6

[boba-fett]

I think I might go down the roads of a GT4 now I don't need a big 4 door estate car!

I know there is some love for an RS Audi on here, so is anyone interested in a 2016 Matte grey RS6 performance with 27k miles and every possible optional extra!

[XAlp]

Swap with Sennen’s mildly spare Alpine?!

[gangzoom]

When I saw OPs post I thought it was going to be about something total different, sums up my excitement about cars these days

[boba-fett]

Originally Posted by XAlp

Swap with Sennen’s mildly spare Alpine?!

I know he loves it, and they are great to drive, they just have challenging looks for me.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Sennen

I have always marvelled at your willingness and obvious capability of maneuvering your 8 series around the 'Lakes'. I took my smaller 8 coupe up there once and it was a bloody nightmare

I think the M2 could work really well for you, a bit of tyre noise but nothing excessive and i certainly wouldn't have any issues running one as a 'daily' but I think that was the problem for me..... it just wasn't 'special'.

Good luck Monday, be interested to hear your thoughts JD6

When I venture into the narrowest roads in the Lakes, I do it in the Mini most of the time. There is one unavoidable narrow section to reach civilisation from the house so I just have to squeeze through. Not great in peak tourist season with lots of people who don’t seem to be able to work out where to stop!

Cheers - I’ll be really interested to try the M2.

[JD6]

I took it out for about an hour. Unfortunately it’s just too noisy at higher speeds. At 80 it’s at just over 3000rpm in 6th. It would be more like 2000rpm in 8th in the auto version which isn’t much worse than the 8. But there’s significantly more road and engine noise which would make my 600 mile round trip to visit my parents a challenge. I do quite a few 2-300 mile round trips too.

I’d hoped that the manual box would be more precise in an M car, but it didn’t add to the driving experience for me. Perhaps on the kind of road Chris Harris was using it might have felt better. I spent a while in traffic and it was a pain.

Performance is very impressive - it’s quicker than my current car, as it should be with an extra hundred horsepower. I just didn’t gel with it though. It might have helped driving on familiar roads - the smaller country roads near the dealer had very poor undulating surfaces - the worst I’ve seen in the UK, so I didn’t have the confidence to press on with the risk of grounding.

Even if it had been great on small roads, I just can’t imagine using one for longer distances. With a Mini Electric as a second car, the main car needs to do the longer trips. So the 840i stays…

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by JD6

I took it out for about an hour. Unfortunately it’s just too noisy at higher speeds. At 80 it’s at just over 3000rpm in 6th. It would be more like 2000rpm in 8th in the auto version which isn’t much worse than the 8. But there’s significantly more road and engine noise which would make my 600 mile round trip to visit my parents a challenge. I do quite a few 2-300 mile round trips too.

I’d hoped that the manual box would be more precise in an M car, but it didn’t add to the driving experience for me. Perhaps on the kind of road Chris Harris was using it might have felt better. I spent a while in traffic and it was a pain.

Performance is very impressive - it’s quicker than my current car, as it should be with an extra hundred horsepower. I just didn’t gel with it though. It might have helped driving on familiar roads - the smaller country roads near the dealer had very poor undulating surfaces - the worst I’ve seen in the UK, so I didn’t have the confidence to press on with the risk of grounding.

Even if it had been great on small roads, I just can’t imagine using one for longer distances. With a Mini Electric as a second car, the main car needs to do the longer trips. So the 840i stays…

Thanks for that - interesting. I agree noise suppression isn’t great on poor surfaces, I wonder if it would benefit from front/side acoustic glass. I sort of get the attraction of a manual, but it’s something BMW just can’t seem to get right in the way that Porsche or Honda have (if one believes what one reads). Almost every tester has commented that the manual is fine but the 8speed ZF box is a far better match for the S58. It would certainly resolve the high revs issue, and maybe make the performance a bit more accessible.

The 8 is a fine beast, and the extra size brings with it a significant uptick in refinement. In the end the M2 is the ruffian of the M coupés, so not surprising it suffers by comparison to the 8.

I don’t do a lot of mileage, and few long trips so the noise isn’t as much of an issue for me.

[Wills2]

I think road noise is going to be a given in an M car and relative to an 8GC I would imagine the difference was stark, the view on the manual box doesn't surprise me, BMW manuals are woeful and it's something I've never understood, Honda and Porsche manage to make great manuals.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I think road noise is going to be a given in an M car and relative to an 8GC I would imagine the difference was stark, the view on the manual box doesn't surprise me, BMW manuals are woeful and it's something I've never understood, Honda and Porsche manage to make great manuals.

I still like the 8GC a great deal. I just seem to get the random urge to buy cars in December! The 200 mile round trip to the dealer just reminded me of all the positives. It is a lovely car, I was just getting that buying itch after 4.5 years of driving two of them.

It has been a while since I’ve driven a manual BMW. Even the loan cars I get are all autos these days, but I know what you mean. It’s odd that Chris Harris rates the manual M2 so highly. The last good BMW manual I have driven was an E46 330i and before that an E39 M5. The ZF8 is such a good gearbox that it’s hard to see past it.

I don’t think I can afford any of the manual Porsches that I’d want to buy unfortunately.

[Sennen]

Now I didn't find the Manual box too bad, admittedly it isn't the best I have ever used.

Maybe the ZF is ultimately the best partner for the New M2 but I really want to get into a Manual before they become extinct but for me the driving dynamics of the New M2 are just not there.

JD6 I think the '8' is such a fabulous machine you are really going to struggle to replace it. Maybe I could suggest an M850i......... all the pace you could ever want without sacrificing the glorious '8' feeling. Not sure if there are any deals about but I reckon as a serious buyer you will be able to find a dealer that is willing to talk some serious Turkey

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by JD6

I still like the 8GC a great deal. I just seem to get the random urge to buy cars in December! The 200 mile round trip to the dealer just reminded me of all the positives. It is a lovely car, I was just getting that buying itch after 4.5 years of driving two of them.

It has been a while since I’ve driven a manual BMW. Even the loan cars I get are all autos these days, but I know what you mean. It’s odd that Chris Harris rates the manual M2 so highly. The last good BMW manual I have driven was an E46 330i and before that an E39 M5. The ZF8 is such a good gearbox that it’s hard to see past it.

I don’t think I can afford any of the manual Porsches that I’d want to buy unfortunately.

I nearly jumped in a bought a 840d GC but sense prevailed as I'm meant to be cutting my overheads, but I keep looking at 8 series as think they would be perfect for me more sporty than the 7 but still having the refinement you've probably got a perfect car.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Sennen

JD6 I think the '8' is such a fabulous machine you are really going to struggle to replace it. Maybe I could suggest an M850i......... all the pace you could ever want without sacrificing the glorious '8' feeling. Not sure if there are any deals about but I reckon as a serious buyer you will be able to find a dealer that is willing to talk some serious Turkey

The 50i is a great sounding engine but for me the M850i would be too similar to what I have now. I haven’t driven one but given all the effort they have put into keeping the weight down in the 8, I’d be reluctant to add 200kg moving from the 840i to M850i. The M8 is probably different enough (although still heavy) but it’s too expensive for me. Having paid £510 for an oil change on the 840i, I can only imagine M8 servicing costs with the M tax plus the 8 tax!

Ultimately I think this is a December thing where for some reason each December I feel the need to get a new car. Hopefully trying and deciding against the M2 will keep me going until next December…

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I nearly jumped in a bought a 840d GC but sense prevailed as I'm meant to be cutting my overheads, but I keep looking at 8 series as think they would be perfect for me more sporty than the 7 but still having the refinement you've probably got a perfect car.

The 7 is more comfortable than the 8. The Comfort seats, nappa leather and air suspension make quite a difference, but the 8 is still pretty good in that respect. The build quality is excellent, just like the 7. As you say though the 8 is designed to have a sporty feel.

I wouldn’t rule out an 840i even if you drive long distances. It’s remarkably efficient. I think the December urge to buy a new car is receding, so it’s probably with me for at least another year.

[AyrshireColin]

I'm not certain if I need a tin hat for this one or not, but you are already living an EV life so I'm guessing there's no issue there for you...

I went 840i GC to Taycan and to be honest it's a step up in every regard (mine is a Turbo, I don't know if the same logic would apply across the model range - can only talk for what I have and know).

Size wise it's a little shorter and a little wider than the 8GC, but it feels smaller and more nimble on the road. It's certainly more planted on the road.

Obviously with it being an EV it's quiet. Build quality is much of a muchness, they're both very well put together things. Ride is good on the air suspension. The 18-way adjustable sport seats are spot on.

Buy lightly used and there are some bargains out there...

[JD6]

Originally Posted by AyrshireColin

I'm not certain if I need a tin hat for this one or not, but you are already living an EV life so I'm guessing there's no issue there for you...

I went 840i GC to Taycan and to be honest it's a step up in every regard (mine is a Turbo, I don't know if the same logic would apply across the model range - can only talk for what I have and know).

Size wise it's a little shorter and a little wider than the 8GC, but it feels smaller and more nimble on the road. It's certainly more planted on the road.

Obviously with it being an EV it's quiet. Build quality is much of a muchness, they're both very well put together things. Ride is good on the air suspension. The 18-way adjustable sport seats are spot on.

Buy lightly used and there are some bargains out there...

I’m not living the full EV experience yet - in 9000 EV miles I’ve only used public charging twice - both times on the day I bought the car to drive it 200 miles home. Since then it’s just plugged in to the 13A socket at home.

Very interesting to hear your experiences though, particularly as you’ve come from an 840i. Glad you’re enjoying the Taycan. They do look pretty sharp, although I like the look of the e-tron GT even more.

While I really like my Mini Electric, I don’t think I’m ready to completely give up petrol just yet. I’ve also got a house where it’s fairly complex to fit a proper charger to the garage. I was quoted £5,700 as it’s a long run from the consumer board.

I think I’ll be keeping at least one petrol car for quite a few years to come. I just don’t really fancy the public charging thing on longer trips or having to keep the speed right down. I still get enjoyment from a good petrol engine too.