Would you trade your M4/M3 for M2?

[imyourmaster]

Very interested to hear what you guys think. Let's hear it!

Side note - I currently own a 2017 M2 and I'm considering trading it in on a 2015 M4 coupe, under 6000 miles on the odometer and a Dinan package making 530hp.

[jeff@autocouture]

2 very different cars, one is a cruiser and one is a go kart

depends what your looking for, but depending on how each is optioned yes id consider an m2 over and m4, but that might just be wanting to change it up

[onetrader]

I'd consider it. I have a 2015 M3 6MT, with ceramics, yas blue, silverstone interior... $81,425 msrp!

[Carl L]

No; Too close in weight to overcome the inferior power and brakes.

[imyourmaster]

Originally Posted by Carl L

No; Too close in weight to overcome the inferior power and brakes.

Are you saying the M4/M3 brakes outperform those on the M2?

[495evo]

Yes. If they made the interior and seats better and more color options were available.

[RickFLM4]

No.

[instantexpert]

I read that as the M4 is modded?

You're going to take a bath on the M2 after less than a year of ownership AND you get to inherit someone else's hoonage history. My dealership rarely takes in M3s because they've often been tracked, I can imagine the abuse goes double when someone's added 100HP to the engine.

IIRC, they won't CPO a Dinan so you're going to be stuck with the remainder of the original warranty... on a modified car.

Do you want to inherit someone else's problem and are you willing to take the huge loss to do so? My answer would be a resounding no.

[Carl L]

Originally Posted by imyourmaster

Are you saying the M4/M3 breaks outperform those on the M2?

*Brakes. Yes, absolutely. Have you tried the MCCBs on the F8x? Much improved over the earlier versions on the M5/6 and not an available option on the M2.

Standard steelies I think are the same specs on each. Track pads and fluid and they do well. Needed SS lines on the E92 and still wasn't up to snuff.

[SD ///M4]

For our #CentennialMTour group Euro Delivery in May 2016 I had the option of changing my preference from an M4 to an M2 but I stuck with the M4. Most of the people in our group opted for the M2, where they were previously going to get an M3/M4 or a M235i. (The trip was originally planned for May 2015, prior to the M2 becoming a reality, which was one of the reasons for the postponement.) My comparison is based on the MY 2016 models.

Some of the things I didn't like about the M2 were that it looks a lot cheaper inside. I ordered Full Merino leather and love the way it looks, whereas on the M2, full leather is not available and the leather is Dakota leather, which has a cheaper, course feeling, although the contrasting blue stitching looks awesome. The "carbon fiber" trim in the M2 is a cheap, dimpled, plastic material. The glove box door is plastic and very cheap feeling. The interior is where a driver spends most of their time. I wanted my interior to be better and look better.

Overall, I think the M4 Coupe looks better than the M2 Coupe, with a more flowing, better integrated design. The M2 doesn't look bad, but it's kind of stubby looking, although not as much as the 1M Coupe.

There is only one option, the Executive Package for $1400 (I believe this was $1250 for a '16), which is a bargain for what you get. To get the same features in an M4, you need to order the Executive Package and the Driver Assistance Package for a lot more money, although in total there are more features in these two packages for the M4 than the Executive Package on the M2.

Some other things not available on the M2: M Adaptive Suspension, HUD, LEDs, and cameras, all of which I really like. It does have DCT, but if I had ordered an M2, I would most likely have gotten the 6MT.

I've had small, lightweight, fast sports cars before. I had a 2000 S2000 which was a pretty spartan car. I also still have a Z4 M Roadster. This time around I wanted something more high-tech and comfortable.

[imyourmaster]

Originally Posted by instantexpert

I read that as the M4 is modded?

You're going to take a bath on the M2 after less than a year of ownership AND you get to inherit someone else's hoonage history. My dealership rarely takes in M3s because they've often been tracked, I can imagine the abuse goes double when someone's added 100HP to the engine.

IIRC, they won't CPO a Dinan so you're going to be stuck with the remainder of the original warranty... on a modified car.

Do you want to inherit someone else's problem and are you willing to take the huge loss to do so? My answer would be a resounding no.

Let's assume we leave dollars and cents out of the equation. I agree with possibly inheriting a vehicle that was driven hard. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

[imyourmaster]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

For our #CentennialMTour group Euro Delivery in May 2016 I had the option of changing my preference from an M4 to an M2 but I stuck with the M4. Most of the people in our group opted for the M2, where they were previously going to get an M3/M4 or a M235i. (The trip was originally planned for May 2015, prior to the M2 becoming a reality, which was one of the reasons for the postponement.) My comparison is based on the MY 2016 models.

Some of the things I didn't like about the M2 were that it looks a lot cheaper inside. I ordered Full Merino leather and love the way it looks, whereas on the M2, full leather is not available and the leather is Dakota leather, which has a cheaper, course feeling, although the contrasting blue stitching looks awesome. The "carbon fiber" trim in the M2 is a cheap, dimpled, plastic material. The glove box door is plastic and very cheap feeling. The interior is where a driver spends most of their time. I wanted my interior to be better and look better.

Overall, I think the M4 Coupe looks better than the M2 Coupe, with a more flowing, better integrated design. The M2 doesn't look bad, but it's kind of stubby looking, although not as much as the 1M Coupe.

There is only one option, the Executive Package for $1400 (I believe this was $1250 for a '16), which is a bargain for what you get. To get the same features in an M4, you need to order the Executive Package and the Driver Assistance Package for a lot more money, although in total there are more features in these package for the M4 than the Executive Package on the M2.

Some other things not available on the M2: M Adaptive Suspension, HUD, LEDs, and cameras, all of which I really like. It does have DCT, but if I had ordered an M2, I would most likely have gotten the 6MT.

I've had small, lightweight, fast sports cars before. I had a 2000 S2000 which was a pretty spartan car. I also still have a Z4 M Roadster. This time around I wanted something more high-tech and comfortable.

Thanks so much for your comparison and explaining your preference for the M4. They are very much the same reasons I would be willing to go from the M2 to a M4. The M4, for lack of better explanation, just seems more "grown up".

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Carl L

No; Too close in weight to overcome the inferior power and brakes.

Originally Posted by imyourmaster

Are you saying the M4/M3 brakes outperform those on the M2?

The standard brakes on the M2 and the M3/M4 are identical, with the exact same rotors, calipers, and brake pads. The M2 is barely lighter than the M4 so I would expect stopping distances to be similar. But the M4 has 425 HP vs. the M2's 365 HP.

I had the opportunity to drive Nurburgring Nordschleife, Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands, and Spa Francorchamps with 5 M2s that were part of our #CentennialMTour group Euro Delivery.

At Zandvoort and Spa I could either pull away or catch the M2s on the straights, but the M2s would either be on my tail all the way through the corners or pull away if in front. Bottom line, the M4 was faster and pulled better on the straights, but wasn't as quick through the corners. This happened time after time, on both tracks.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

No.

Agreed. I would never trade for the M2.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by imyourmaster

Thanks so much for your comparison and explaining your preference for the M4. They are very much the same reasons I would be willing to go from the M2 to a M4. The M4, for lack of better explanation, just seems more "grown up".

This is a good way of putting it. Many people say the same thing when comparing the M3 to M5. M5 is more grown up. It really boils down to what that individual is looking for in a car.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by imyourmaster

Thanks so much for your comparison and explaining your preference for the M4. They are very much the same reasons I would be willing to go from the M2 to a M4. The M4, for lack of better explanation, just seems more "grown up".

The other thing I forgot to mention is the color choices and interior choices. Long Beach Blue is a great color on the M2. Just over half of the people in our group ordered this color. The Alpine White also looks awesome with the optional tri-color M stripes applied. Just under half of our group ordered this color. The M3/M4 has a lot more color choice, including the awesome Sakhir Orange (I'm biased!). One of the best looking M4s I've seen is a friend's Individual Long Beach Blue M4 which IMHO looks a lot better on an M4 than an M2!

The M3/M4 also has far more choices for the interior. One of the M3s in our group got the Individual Amaro Brown interior, which was beautiful.

Of course, if you're buying used you won't have a choice, but hopefully you'll end up with something you would have ordered new.

[dmk08]

Hell no.

[ksa]

I was contemplating getting a M2 before I got the M3 but coming from a 2012 E92 M3, I thought I would be downgrading if I went the M2 route. That's why stuck with the M3. That being said, M2 is definitely more fun to drive in many ways. However, the overall feel, luxury, sportiness etc for my needs was better in the M3.

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Originally Posted by dmk08

Hell no.

^this.

[e90-4aj]

+1

[BickUW89]

No.

Not even tempted. Even a little.

[M-Pilot]

I ordered a 2016 M2 last April and changed my order to M4 ZCP just before M2 went into production. Never regretted since then! I honestly couldn't care less about the interior and M2 has a decent interior IMO. Some of my criteria were exterior look, performance, and engine spec. I think M4 wins when it comes to exterior look. In terms of performance, at some tracks M2 performed slightly better than Non-ZCP M4 and it was pretty impressive for its power and weight. However, I'm not living on a track and my ZCP is more than enough for track duty while also offering a crazy straight line/highway performance which M2 cannot offer. Also, engine was probably one of the biggest factors that pulled me away from M2. Normally BMW underrates its engines however this is not the case with M2. N55 makes around 330whp from factory and it's already maxed out while S55 has a ton of tuning potential. On top of all this, leasing an M4 ZCP was significantly cheaper than leasing an M2. Since I'm leasing I cannot answer your question in terms trading my M4 in. However, if I was offered the same lease deal, that I have right now, for an M2, I wouldn't do it.