Is The BMW M2 Worth the Price Tag?

For years, BMW has been the go-to automobile manufacturer for people who want luxury, quality and performance. Some people say that they’ve outdone themselves with the BMW M2, a performance coupe that offers style and luxury, all while giving you enough horsepower to kick you back firmly in the seat. As you probably already expect, this type of performance and styling doesn’t exactly come cheap. In fact, some people have even mentioned that the car may not be worth the price tag. Of course, everyone has their own opinion, but if you’re trying to decide whether or not this is a car for you, it’s important to evaluate what it has to offer as well as how much it is likely to cost you in order to get one.

A Car Like No Other

BMW has been advertising the car as a race car that just happens to be street legal. If you look at its specifications, they’re not really all that far off. In fact, the car is reported to have an astounding 444 horsepower and 406 ft-lb of torque. Most people have never even experienced a car with that much horsepower, much less have the opportunity to own one for themselves. The car is capable of going from 0 to 60 in just 3.8 seconds and that’s enough to get the adrenaline pumping no matter how hard you are to impress. How does the car achieve such speed? It’s all because of its 3.0 L inline 6-cylinder engine and it’s 6-speed manual transmission. Not only does the car accelerate quickly, but it also has a top speed of 174 mph. You know this car is going to be special at first glance. It’s not as big as some other BMWs, but it’s still a respectable size. Even though it’s a two-door, it’s not so small that you’re going to be cramped and uncomfortable inside. In fact, the car is comfortable enough to take on long road trips without any trouble whatsoever. If you have the opportunity to open it up a bit, you’ll likely notice it’s remarkable handling on corners. It’s definitely capable of taking those corners faster than most other cars and it doesn’t have a tendency to slip nearly as much. That’s largely responsible for the limited slip differential in the high performance tires, along with the special onboard computer that puts power and braking to each individual wheel as needed in order to keep the car tracking as opposed to letting it break contact with the road.

Potential Drawbacks

Of course, no one is capable of pleasing everyone all the time, not even BMW. As a matter of fact, some people claim this car just isn’t worth the purchase price, largely because it doesn’t provide the smoothest ride in the world. It’s true, the car isn’t one of those that provides a ride that is smooth as glass. There has to be some kind of trade-off in order to get this type of performance and that trade-off comes with a ride that can practically beat the fillings out of your teeth if you’re driving on a rough road. That said, you can enjoy a car that provides a ride that is just as smooth as the day is long, but you’re not likely to get the performance or the responsiveness from that car that you will from this one. That means that you have to make a choice. Do you want a car that’s capable of performing at the highest level or do you want something that is much tamer, yet allows you to drive over even the roughest roads without feeling a single bump? BMW has marketed this car as a true driver’s car and that’s really where the heart of it all lies. People that love driving for the sake of being able to drive a performance car know ahead of time that they can’t have everything their way. Most of them are more than willing to sacrifice a smooth ride for better performance. That individual is probably willing to pay virtually any price in order to get their hands on the right performance car. Someone that will never even crack 100 mph may not feel the same way. Speaking of the cost, exactly how much can you expect to pay if you want to get one of these cars for yourself?

The Cost

Edmunds calls this car a throwback to an earlier time when it comes to the car’s overall design. Much of this is attributed to the fact that they use old-school shocks that are actually hand-tuned instead of fancy computer electronics to give you a smoother ride. You can definitely feel the difference when you’re riding in the car, but it also makes a difference in how the car handles. For all the quality that BMW has to offer, the base price for a car like this is $58,900. That’s how much you can expect to pay if you want the car with the manual transmission. Of course, it’s important to know that BMW also offers the car with an automatic transmission. If that’s your cup of tea, you can expect to pay $61,800. It’s not the cheapest car around, but it’s certainly not the most expensive one, either.

So, is this car worth the purchase price? It all comes down to what you consider to be most important. If you’re all about having a car that makes you feel like you’re driving a race car, then this car is a bargain. There are other cars that offer similar levels of performance and they cost a lot more. Some of them even cost closer to $100,000. On the other hand, if you’re in it only for the luxury and you want a ride that makes you feel like you’re sitting at home in your easy chair, this is probably not going to be a car that makes you very happy. At least now, you can truly make an educated decision about whether or not you should go give one a test drive or keep looking for something else that is better suited to your tastes.