Forget The Looks, Harris Says The New BMW M2 Is A Brilliant Sports Car

Many believe that the new BMW M2 doesn’t just look significantly worse than its predecessor but is downright ugly. Chris Harris was one of these people but as he reveals in his latest review for Collecting Cars, the new M2 is actually a much better car than the old one.

The improvements start with the engine. Driving the new M2 is a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six derived from the engine of the new M3 and M4. While the previous-generation M2 Competition and M2 CS also had 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged sixes, they had an older version of this engine known as the S55.

Harris says that the engine of the new model is much more responsive than its predecessor and while he acknowledges that it doesn’t sound as good because of all the required emissions controls, he says it “pulls like a bastard,” hardly a surprise given that it produces 453 hp at 6,250 rpm and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque between 2,600 rpm and 5,950 rpm.

Watch: How Does The New BMW M2 Stack Up To The Porsche Cayman GT4 And The 1M?

It’s not just the engine of the new M2 that makes it better than the car it replaces. Shoppers can order it with a six-speed manual and while the old car also offered a stick shift, Harris says the six-speed of the new car is much better and provides a more intuitive experience, making it an absolute pleasure to row through the gears. The brakes are also excellent and while the steering feel is quite inert, the journalist is blown away by the chassis, calling it “sublime.”

Advances in suspension technology have allowed BMW M’s engineers to develop a car that handles brilliantly while smoothing out imperfections in the road. This makes it much more comfortable to drive on long journeys and the increased size also makes it much more practical. Harris is so full of praise for the new M2 that he says it could be considered the true successor to the E46 M3.