This 2025 BMW M2 Just Joined Our Yearlong Test Fleet—Will We Regret It?
Is the BMW M2 really a do-it-all sports car? We have a year to find out.
One problem with being a writer is that it’s immensely easy for others to throw your words right back in your face. They’re literally right here for the taking. A few months ago, when the BMW M2 earned our 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year award, I wrote, “The 2024 BMW M2 is everything enthusiasts say they want. Small, well balanced, engaging, and just plain fun whether you’re at Road America or on America’s roads. It’s a serious performance car yet one that requires little to no compromises.”
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It didn’t take long for the emails and social media comments to come in—focusing on those last five words. “You’d put your parents in the back of that thing?” “The M2 can’t even carry a week’s worth of groceries—the Ioniq 5 N is a way better choice!” “A two-door four-seat performance car is the very definition of ‘compromise’—you should’ve picked the Ferrari.” Well, time to put up or shut up: I’ll be living with MotorTrend’s new 2025 M2 for the next year and, boy, do I look forward to proving you all wrong about this shockingly practical and inspiring-to-drive sports car.
Worth the Wait
It’s been nearly a year since we awarded the M2 our Performance Vehicle of the Year calipers, but there’s a good reason we waited for our new yearlong review car—the 2025 M2 ought to be even better than the ’24 model.
For 2025 BMW updated the M2 by giving it the same full-bore 3.0-liter twin-turbo I-6 tune as its M3 and M4 big brothers. Power rises from 453 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque to 473 hp and, in cars with the eight-speed automatic, 443 lb-ft of twist. The allure of BMW’s great manual transmissions, however, saw us forgo the extra torque, opting for the M2’s six-speed stick instead. Other changes for 2025 include the extraordinarily pretty Twilight Purple Metallic paint we chose for our car, and an infotainment upgrade that includes BMW’s new OS 8.5 running on the car’s 12.3-inch instrument cluster and 14.9-inch center screen.
Those changes occur without modifying the core of what makes the M2 so fundamentally fantastic. Like an old-school hot rod, the 2025 M2 sports a chopped-up and shrunk-down version of a larger chassis (again from the M3/M4), as well as its big brothers’ variable electric power steering system and electronic adaptive suspension. The M2 also gets its own unique springs, a brake-by-wire system backed up by relatively large six-piston 15-inch front and single-piston 14.6-inch rear brakes, an electronic limited-slip rear differential, and BMW’s full suite of ever-improving performance software tying the whole car together.
What We Got
Considering how surprisingly well equipped the standard M2 is for a performance model from a German automaker (a non-exhaustive list of standard amenities: wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, heated seats, Harman Kardon audio, lane keep assist) we could have easily ordered a base 2025 M2 at its $66,075 starting price and driven off happy. Yet we couldn’t resist some choice options on our new M2. There’s the purple paint, for starters, which we’re sure you’ll agree was well worth the $3,000 price of admission (even if selecting it meant we were also forced to shell out another $2,600 for the otherwise optional carbon-fiber roof). Our bill also added the M Driver’s package ($2,500) that raises top speed from 155 to 177 mph (and includes a day on track at a BMW Performance Center), the new-for-’25 Live Cockpit Pro augmented reality head-up display ($1,100), and a slew of other odds and ends like a heated steering wheel, carbon-fiber interior trim, adaptive LED lights, and a wireless phone charger. We also opted for some refreshingly zero-cost options available with the manual transmission, namely M Dual-Spoke Bicolor 93 wheels and seat bolsters finished in M colors. Total out-the-door price for our 2025 BMW M2 was $77,325.
Early impressions as we break in our new M2 and get it ready for testing are promising. While we aren’t yet able to explore the upper reaches of its 7,200-rpm redline, we’re enjoying its composed ride, quick steering, and creature comforts. It’s also shockingly easy to live with thus far, swallowing large suitcases for an airport run, handling weekend errands, and carrying its first backseat adult passengers. Hell, the dog even loves it. I guess we’ll see who’ll eats whose words, won’t we?
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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