BMW M2 / Competition

Magic Bus

Sorry for the delay in responding, haven’t been checking the whole forum lately. To answer your question, over 3 years of ownership of my original M2, not M2C, I have 0 issues. I’m on the M2 forums a lot and it seems like it’s a very reliable car. The CSC or steering lock equivalent issue for the M2 is the charge pipe. Like the CSC or steering lock, it can be fixed for a very reasonable cost and not something you have to worry for at least 3 years. Other then that, most agree it’s very reliable.

I’d like to add, the Z is a very good sports car. It’s not the fastest, best handling or the most refined, but the sum of the whole makes it one of the best bang for the buck sports car out there.

The Z has better steering (hydraulic), shorter clutch travel, better shifter (manual only for me) and seating position is more sports car like and positions you better for the 3 pedals. The M2 seating position feels like you're driving a sedan. However don’t let what I just said fool you. The M2 is a hell of a sports car and I would not trade it back for my 13 sport Z.

Stock vs stock, the M2 is faster in every aspect. While sitting taller, it sways less, has quicker rebound over bumps making it feel more secure at speed and is more balanced weight wise. The Z always felt a little nose heavy to me. While I prefer the Z’s shifter, the synchros, rev match on the M2 is superior and the light clutch is a delight after getting used to to it. It’s not any slower than the stiffer Z clutch. However the clutch pedal travel on the M2 is longer, but can be shortened for $8 with a BMS clutch stop.

Stock exhaust, the M2 wins. However with an aftermarket exhaust, while close, in my opinion the Z wins. I loved the sound of m Z with just an axle back. I’ve put a high flow cat, mid pipe on the M2, as that’s the only slow down point, with 3 the inch stock exhaust pipes. No sense spending another $3k on an exhaust just for a louder sound. The high flow cat adds better sound plus power.

There have been other M2 owners on the forum, who took a test drive of an M2 and weren’t really impressed but they bought it anyway. After awhile, they loved it. It’s a car that needs to be pushed, as the more you push it, the more you truly begin to appreciate it.

I was also fortunate to take advantage of BMW’s European Delivery program and got to drive my M2 in Germany, France and Switzerland for 9 days. If any of you can, take advantage of that program for a 5% discount off of MSRP. But you gotta do it soon as the new M2C’s are gonna be assembled in Mexico. Then I’d be concerned about the M2C’s reliability.