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This is no downward progression of the M brand. The M2 wasn't going through design phases at the same time the 2 series cars were. I would bet that the M3 and M4 were well on the minds of the designers creating the 3 and 4 series cars though. They had years of development to get it right and they didn't have to worry about fitting into such a rigid price/performance range - the M5 is many thousands of dollars more than the..... oh wait, before the M2, there was NOTHING under the M3/4 to bookend the price/performance gaps, those cars were the bookends. The M2 on the other hand had to create a new space for itself between the M235i and the M3 - from the price/performance scale, that means it could be built to exceed a price point of $44k USD, but it had to be built to be less than $62k USD and underperform a 425hp vehicle.
When the M2 got the nod, it had to be designed after the 2 series started production (so no further input could be given to help guide the M team to a smooth transition from standard 2 series to an M2). So nobody thought, hey guys, we should make sure to use the base of the side mirrors on the 3 series for the 2 series cars... you know, so we can fit the M3 side mirrors onto them when we build the M2. THAT is the kind of development needed to get all these things right. This is what happens otherwise, you are forced to compromise on certain things because it's too expensive to go back and fix the mistakes you could have prevented with proper planning.
As far the engine, how would it be possible to use an S motor for this car and keep it in the right price range? You would need an S motor that underperforms the M3, so using any available S engine is obviously out of the question. You would have to build a new S motor JUST for this low volume vehicle, which means it would have toppled the price out of its target.
A more expensive M2 would have sold just as well as a cheaper one, at such a low volume, but all it would do is likely reward the M loyalists, rather than bring in new M followers. Maybe one day if the M2 becomes a staple of the brand, it will have the same kind of product development time afforded to the M3, rather than handing the M division a car after its churning out of the factory, and saying do what you can within X, Y, Z.
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