BMW M2 G87 vs BMW M3 G80
“Same S58 twin-turbo straight-six, two different missions: the M2 is the compact, sharper, far cheaper one; the M3 is the more powerful, more practical, far pricier one.
The G87 M2 is the value-and-sharpness play — the shortest-wheelbase S58 car, reviewers' pick as the sharpest M2 yet, and the most usable everyday footprint, from around $63k. It gives up outright power and a proper back seat.
The G80 M3 brings the muscle and the practicality — up to 543 hp in the hottest CS, genuine four-door usability, and agility that belies its near-two-tonne mass — for roughly $110k.
Both still offer a manual. The decision is size, doors and budget more than pace: the tight cheap coupe, or the fast usable sedan.
Performance
Handling
Fun to drive
“There's a kind of an effervescence to the way this car handles compared to the M3 M4.”
“All in, the drivetrain is hugely enjoyable. It's not just brutally effective, but it's responsive and exciting, too.”
“I think BMW is starting to go back into the right direction with their M cars making them a little bit more fizzy a little bit more visceral”
Daily drivability
“the manual M2 I found to be really difficult to drive smoothly in any drive mode outside of efficient. The automatic, no issues there.”
“The back seat of the m3cs is without a doubt more comfortable than the m2's back seat because you have a lot more space I'd even argue that it's probably more comfortable than the front seats in this M3.”
Value
“This M2 on the other hand is about $63,000 starting price so if you want to get into something more affordably certainly this is the way to go.”
“If you're going to spend most of your time on road though and you don't visit the track, then I think the good thing is that it's not compromised, but it's certainly not worth an extra £36,000.”
“If you consider the fact that this is $110,000 luxury sedan, maybe would like to see some standard adaptive cruise, but it's probably the only thing I'm going to say negatively about this car.”
