BMW M2 CS review

The M2 CS is a £75,000 car which owes most of its cabin fixtures and fittings to a decade-old hatchback. So, if you’re choosing between this, a Porsche Cayman GT4 or, say, a Jaguar F-Type V8 based on dashboard artistry, forget the Bimmer. It doesn’t bleed sense of occasion. You don’t even sit particularly low, though the seats grab your love handles like an amorous aunt at a wedding, and there’s miles of reach adjustment for the overstuffed steering wheel.

Some of the details are nice, mind. The perforated 12-o-clock marker in the Alcantara wheel rim is a delight, and so’s the CS moniker on the dashboard. The carbon fibre trim looks glossy and expensive, but a tad incongruous, because there are still back seats that could house an adult without much complaint, and other concessions to lightweighting are few. Note the metal door handles – no fabric straps here. The CS retains floor mats and ice-cool air con. There’s even a bassy Harmon Kardon hi-fi.  

You could argue that a few more M Performance bits would’ve been nice – the steering wheel complete with LED change-up lights, perhaps. Or some alloy pedals; in the DCT-equipped car you don’t even get an extended brake pedal, so left-foot braking on a track, where the M2 CS is a riot, is trickier than it need be. 

Operating the tech inside, on the other hand, is a doddle. iDrive is peerless. There are proper buttons for the climate control and volume – an increasingly rare treat in expensive new German cars. For the money, there are certainly more lavish cockpits – it’s punching into the small super-saloon category, alongside the AMG C63 and Alfa Giulia QV – but the M2 CS just about holds its own. If anything, the dour dashboard is just one less distraction in this no-nonsense machine. At least it’s still got proper dials. Why aren’t these uber-clear clocks resident in every car you build, BMW?