2025 BMW M2 Review and Driving Experience – The Last Great Manual BMW

What makes a BMW the Ultimate Driving Machine? When we think of a BMW, what is the first car that comes to mind? For most of us that is probably an E46 M3 coupe. Or, maybe an E92 M3 coupe. Just like the 911 is to Porsche, these cars represent everything we love about the brand. These M3 coupes nailed down a very special recipe with just the right amount of everything. These cars were incredibly capable for their time from a performance perspective. They were also fairly practical, had good build quality for their time and could still be used relatively comfortably as daily drivers. All of this well rounded capability for a generally reasonable price point that made them attainable for anyone who worked a little extra hard. What I just described above is exactly what the 2025 BMW M2 brings to the lineup.

The 2025 BMW M2: Carrying the Legacy Forward

Not only is it the true spiritual successor to the M3 coupes that make the brand what it is today, but, it is everything sports car enthusiasts want and I truly believe in the old phrase “We don’t realize how good we had it until it’s gone.” The sports coupe in 2025, is dying. They are nearly extinct. The Germans have all but abandoned them, at least for those with a manual transmission and some semblance of an angry power train. The Camaro is gone, and anything two doors that’s fun is either $150,000 or more, or, has under 200 hp.

However, in the year 2025, BMW offers a saving grace: The G87 M2. The car is special for two reasons. The first is that this car is what I believe is the true spiritual successor to the M3 coupes we have known and loved in the past. The second reason: This is the last BMW manual M car that will ever be made. This is a grand farewell to the manual, rear-wheel-drive M coupes that define what makes BMW… BMW.

The G87 2025 BMW M2 has been out now for just over a year and a half but has already received some updates for the 2025 Model Year. While not officially an LCI there are quite a few changes that are important for this year. The first big change is that there is now a wide variety of colors to choose from. I was disappointed when the G87 generation M2 first launched with only 5 colors available. Now, you can get in addition to these five colors, Sao Paulo Yellow, Portimao Blue Metallic (or Frozen), Skyscraper Grey, Vegas Red (gone is Melbourne Red) a number of BMW Individual colors to include Frozen Pure Grey, Grigio Telesto, Twilight Purple and Voodoo Blue. Additionally, there is now another all silver wheel option for the 930M wheels in addition to the bicolor and black wheel options.

Interior Enhancements

For the interior gone is the Cognac leather interior option and in its place are only three different black interior options with different M color accent options. One of these is the carbon bucket seats, which can be purchased with the Carbon Pack (a $9,900 option) or à la carte for $4,500. The ambient lighting has also been updated for 2025 that includes a new design on the center dashboard where the ambient lighting indirectly spills onto a surface with triangle shapes to create a unique light pattern. This update also introduces slightly revised air vent controls. The software update for 2025 brings iDrive 8.5 to the M2. While it looks largely similar to iDrive 8, there are some updates to the HVAC controls to make it quicker to make changes to the air speed and seat heating.

2025 BMW M2 Performance Upgrades: More Power and Torque

BMW was kind enough to also give the M2 to some performance upgrades for this year. Largely this comes in the form of a modest power bump up to 473hp. This is up from 453hp. Torque remains at 403 lb-ft for the Manual but rises to 443 lb-ft for the ZF 8-speed automatic. This all results in a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds for the automatic and 4.1 for the manual.

Weight Controversy: How Heavy is the G87 M2 Really?

The car is often criticized for its weight. BMW claimed the car weighs over 3850 lbs. However, I looked into the fine print and saw that this figure is for the heaviest configuration possible. Automatic Transmission, no carbon pack, sunroof, etc. This particular car that I was driving was a manual with the carbon pack. I took the car to the CAT certified scales (accurate to 0.1%) near my house and was surprised to see the actual weight of this M2: 3735 lbs. This makes the 2025 BMW M2 in certain spec, less than 100 lbs heavier than the F87 M2 despite being much more powerful, and a much stiffer chassis. Remember, much of that weight comes from the additional chassis bracing, cooling and heat exchangers, and bigger brakes. For under a 100 lbs difference, I would say that is a fair trade off.

Driving Impressions: Daily and Canyon Driving

The rest of the 2025 BMW M2 remains the same. That is a good thing.The G87’s incredibly well-sorted chassis dynamics and massive grip levels are remarkable. The adaptive dampers offer a wide variety of stiffness levels but I still find the sport and track settings to be overly stiff for anything short of an incredibly smoothly and freshly repaved track. BMW still struggles to understand that compliance isn’t a bad thing and suspension travel helps with improving pace. The overly stiff damper settings really limit traction mid corner exit when there isn’t a perfectly smooth surface. Keep it in comfort and you’ll be just fine as that actually seemed to be the best setting for the canyon roads around Southern California.

Numbers and options aside, the best part about the 2025 BMW M2 is how it drives and the way this car makes you feel behind the wheel. For me, how this car made me feel goes all the way back to 1997. Certain cars leave a lasting impression on you, and certain cars are the ones that made you into a car enthusiast. For me, that was my dad’s Boston Green E36. This was the first of the three BMW’s he would own. After this an E46 330i coupe and an E46 M3. The memories made driving around with my father and my brother in these cars are core memories in my mind. The sounds of the naturally aspirated inline sixes approaching redline right before I watched my dad row the shifter into the next gear. Learning to take corners at enthusiasts speeds brought me so much joy at how much man and machine can intertwine to create a shared experience involving all of the senses.

Transmission and Shifter Feel

The shifter itself is one of BMW’s best. If we’re being honest, that’s a fair low bar for sports car shifter feel compared to some of the German competition. In reality, this shifter feels fine. The shifter motion itself between and into the gates feels much more robust and stiff compared to the entirely delicate and weak shifters found in the E46 and E92 series cars (sorry if that hurt some feelings). Is it still the most direct feeling? No. Is there still some semblance of rubbery vagueness to it? Yes. But this is far from bad, and I enjoyed shifting through the gears on this car. The clutch engagement is closer to half way through the pedal travel which is more than I would like as some cars tend to have it closer to ¾ into the pedal travel and I feel like that allows me to be just a little bit more precise. This could just be something that you get used to over time. The clutch weight itself isn’t bad given the car’s power output and this is something you can easily daily drive through traffic.

I did drive this car, for testing purposes for you all, through 4 hours of LA traffic one day to drop off my foster kitten to a vet on the other side of town. The M2 is a surprisingly comfortable car on the highway and in traffic. The cabin is well insulated and in comfort mode the dampers do a good job absorbing much of the harshness found on LA’s rough concrete pavement of the 405 freeway. There is some tire noise but that is to be expected with the 275 front and 285 rear width summer tires (Michelin PS4S tires equipped on this car). Many dislike the artificial engine noise, but modern exhaust regulations and a well-insulated cabin leave little natural sound.

However, I suspect aftermarket exhausts will be popular on this car as the S58 sounds great even for a twin turbocharged engine that is typically dominated by the turbo woosh. Here, there is still some great intake noises of the straight six.

Fun On The Backroads

The best part of driving this car came in the canyons of the mountain roads around Los Angeles. Some were closed due to the fires nearby but luckily, I found a few of my favorite ones still open with nearly no traffic. There, I got to understand a lot more about the word “dynamic.” The M2 is simply meant to be on roads like these. While some cars require a lot of work to get their full capabilities unveiled, this car can turn almost anyone into a super hero. The level of grip afforded from the excellent chassis tuning, effective damper control and the wonder M limited slip differential allows the car to rotate beautifully and controllably.

This car does not feel scary or twitchy. However, the shorter wheelbase of the M2 compared to the M4 makes it feel much more playful and lively while still retaining incredible stability. While the steering feedback is still not anything especially exciting, it is very precise and the car helps make you a surgeon with your racing line. The brakes are outstanding and while going fast is important, stopping is even more important. Brake pedal feel is progressive and easy enough to modulate with precision you won’t have any issues here. My only gripe on an otherwise fantastic driving experience is the longer gearing. On a backroad, you’ll most likely stay in 3^rd gear for the entire drive. If you shift into fourth, you’re already at speeds that could get you in trouble.

The 2025 BMW M2 Is A Successor the E46 and E92

Driving this car brought me back to the BMW 3 Series coupes my dad drove me around in as a kid. I began to realize that the G87 wasn’t a true successor to the F87 M2. This is a successor to the E46 and E92 M3 coupe.

Let me explain.

The F87 M2 was a fantastic car and one of the best BMWs made in the last decade. However, its short wheelbase and playful nature may not have been the best for all out laptimes, but it was perfect for driving a bit sideways and raising pulses. This made it a perfect follow up to the 1M. The G87 follows along a slightly different philosophy. As the G87 as grown, it now nearly matches the sizes of the last two generations of M3 coupes within an inch of their wheelbases. With this growth came stability as a trade off for some of the edginess of the last generation car, it puts the car right into the sweet spot of well roundedness that I believe is what has always made the M3 the Ultimate Driving Machine.

You see, it’s a lot of fun when a car is as track focused as possible. Building a race car can be fun but generally they’re also miserable to drive on a daily basis. Owning a great daily driver is convenient but hardly gets you excited to go out and drive on a track or your favorite back road. The M3 coupe always slotted so perfectly between these two ends. They were luxurious and comfortable enough you wanted to drive it everyday. They were also exciting and capable enough that every drive became memorable and a serotonin boost. The coupe format is more focused on sportiness but the ability to still fit 4 people in a pinch and a trunk big enough to fit 95% of your daily cargo needs made them perfect one car solutions.

That is exactly what the G87 accomplishes. This is an incredibly fun and capable sports car that offers just enough feel and engagement to please enthusiasts but also practical and luxurious enough to want to enjoy it all the time. The best car is the one you want to drive every day and the M2 is certainly that car.

Final Thoughts: The End of an Era

This car is bittersweet to me. BMW got the formulate so right with this car. Its such a thrilling and enjoyable car but sadly its also the end of the line. The 2025 BMW M2 is the last BMW M car to ever be offered to consumers with a manual transmission. That added engagement a manual adds makes the driving experience so much more charming. The manual transmission is a dying breed and deserves to be saved. To see it go is disappointing.

If you want to be patron of the driving arts, buy the manual. If you love engagement: buy the manual. If you love and respect BMW’s heritage or the heritage of all sports cars: buy the manual.

You get what I’m saying? Get the manual. Join the manual gearbox preservation society.

The 2025 BMW M2 got so many things right. If I could, this would be the BMW I would buy over any other right now. While I loved the incredibly fun driving experience of the Z4 “Handschalter” manual that I drove last year, the added capability and practicality of this M2 makes it a nearly perfect one car solution for most enthusiasts. I think the problem is we often don’t realize how good we have it. In a world filled with less and less sports cars and more SUVs and EVs, the M2 is pretty much everything enthusiasts have been asking for and want in a car.

I absolutely adore this car and I hope I can pick one up within the next few years. This car is everything that makes a BMW M car so revered and respected within the car world. I hope people realize just how good we have it it. Because pretty soon, it’ll be gone. That’s a damn shame for such an incredible sports car.

Truly, the 2025 M2 is the ultimate driving machine.

[Photos: @thedrivingemotions and Sean Kealey]