2025 BMW M2 first drive review: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Let’s face it, the best days of proper analogue sports cars are probably behind us. Electrification and hybridisation are killing off manual transmissions, and advancements in driving assistance systems mean that soon cars won’t need a monkey behind the ’wheel. We could resign ourselves to our fate and embrace something like a BMW i5 M60 – a staggeringly impressive car in its own right – or we could choose to have a last hurrah in a car that’s among the last of its kind: the BMW M2. 

2025 BMW M2: Dimensions and design

From the outside, you’d be hard-pressed to spot the differences between the updated 2025 M2 and its predecessor, apart from a selection of bright new paint finishes, including the Dragon Fire Red metallic of our test car. While BMW could have used the opportunity to rectify the failings of the M2’s design, they have instead chosen to let it simmer – a choice that, in my opinion, has paid off. The styling, which started as a somewhat odd mix of curves and sharp edges, has grown on me and almost everyone in the office. The squared-off air intakes look suitably purposeful – almost motorsport-esque– in their execution. The kidney grille is the right size and those sharp headlamps give it quite an animated, angry-looking face. Boxed arches and wide sills make it quite clear that this is something special, while the short wheelbase gives it a butch, hunkered-down stance. The staggered 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels now come in a standard gloss black finish, but a silver option is available for a more timeless look. BMW has tried to detract attention from the boxy-looking rear by giving it a new M2 badge with a silver lining and a black finish to the quad exhausts, but unfortunately this still remains its least attractive angle.

2025 BMW M2: Power and performance

This is the last car to be made using the original BMW recipe: an inline-six up front sending dollops of power to the rear, presented in a delightfully compact chassis. It’s a recipe that has defined BMW as a brand and endeared it to countless enthusiasts. However, it’s also a recipe that is perhaps a bit too fiery for today’s palates. Nevertheless, BMW is giving us another year of M2 goodness with a dash of spice for good measure. Bringing the heat is the 3-litre straight-six engine with an additional 17bhp and 50Nm. Total outputs are a mouthwatering 473bhp and 600Nm but only if you opt for the 8-speed automatic. The 6-speed manual, meanwhile, makes do with ‘just’ 550Nm. While it might seem that the manual is getting the short end of the stick – no pun intended – I’m choosing to be grateful that it’s still on the menu – at no extra charge.

2025 BMW M2: Ride and dynamics

If you’ve gotten this far, then you’ve probably gathered that this Life Cycle Impulse, as BMW calls it, isn’t very extensive. Why bother driving it then? Because the M2 offers an experience that we might not be able to savour for much longer. The M4 – at least in India – is xDrive automatic only. The M5 has gone hybrid and put on a substantial amount of weight and don’t even get me started on the XM. The M2, therefore, is the only one that sticks to that original recipe I talked about – a recipe that has been perfected to Michelin star levels before it is ultimately taken off the menu. Driving what is the most affordable M car by some margin should feel like a compromise – the way the Cayman used to feel in comparison to a 911 – excellent, but handicapped to let the big brother shine. However, that is far from the case. This delivers sensations that the larger, heavier M4 and M5 will struggle to replicate. First there is the size – not too big, not too small, just right – any wider and driving it on our narrow ghat roads would be more a matter of walking a tightrope than actually enjoying a Sunday hoon session. As it stands, the M2 is able to carry plenty of speed through the corners without having to venture into the oncoming lane– always useful.

Enabling this is the steering, which is so well calibrated and direct that it lets you make incredibly minute inputs. Our chief lensman Rohit, following in the support car, was stunned at how the M2 was able to ride the border line without dropping the tyre off the road. All I had to do was feel the cat’s eyes through the wheel and make inputs accordingly. For an electrically-assisted unit, the steering does manage to replicate some steering feel – and I say replicate because it does feel a smidge artificial, particularly in anything other than comfort mode.

Similarly, the suspension works best in comfort mode on our less-than-perfect roads. It lets the suspension breathe over the road, absorb most of the minor bumps and ultimately put more of the power down. That last bit is crucial with 600Nm of torque going to the rear wheels. Encounter a mid-corner bump in the stiffest suspension setting while opening up the throttle in the most aggressive engine mode, and the M2 threatens to spit you off into the hedges. It might be the baby M car, but it demands your full attention. However, once you gather up the courage and pick the right settings from the myriad options, the M2 can flow down the road at an astonishing pace.

2025 BMW M2: Cabin and comfort

Interior updates are equally subtle – and that’s no bad thing. Fit and finish is superb, and the standard sports seats are very comfortable and supportive; however, if you are a glutton for punishment, then the M Carbon bucket seats remain an option. The dashboard is dominated by BMW’s curved display with the same 12.3-inch MID and 14.9-inch infotainment screens, now running the latest BMW OS 8.5. There are more small revisions, like more carbon on the dash, fewer buttons with more functions moving to the screen and tiny joysticks to move the AC vents.

To the layman, the biggest giveaway might be the steering wheel: it retains the thick rim and M1/M2 buttons but now has a flat bottom and can be trimmed in Alcantara. The automatic naturally gets paddle shifters fixed to the steering wheel that are made up of black and red plastic. They operate with a satisfying click, but I would prefer the tactility of metal units, or better still, a short, stubby manual shifter.

2025 BMW M2: Verdict and pricing

It runs the same track width and tyre size as the M4, so outright grip is incredible, and yet when the rear steps out, it does so progressively. The added power brings the 0 to 100kmph time down by 0.1 second, but who’s counting? It’s the in-gear acceleration that’s most impressive. When pushed, it charges out of corners ferociously, accompanied by a deep growl from the straight-six while the 8-speed auto fires through the cogs. But when you take it down a few notches, the engine delivers a robust, broad-shouldered performance that might leave you questioning whether eight gear ratios are truly necessary. The transmission itself is impressive, smooth when you need it to be and quick when you demand it. If this is going to be your daily driver, the auto is the logical choice. However, logic should take the back seat – which is surprisingly roomy on the M2 – when it comes to sports cars. Which is why, hand over heart, my vote would go to the manual every single time. The M2’s ride, interior and even its ability to clear most of our speed breakers with ease make it an excellent daily driver, but that manual – despite its notchiness – will ensure you are getting the authentic, ultimate driving machine experience, all for the low price of ₹1.03 crore. If that isn’t a bargain, I don’t know what is.