Post break-in stage and 2000km/1200mi maintenance (BMW lifted the pre-2000km break-in limits). The bonding continues.
Granted the grey pussycat to flex its muscles and stretch its paws a little more. But the yearning itches for some more one-on-one quality time to venture around for longer stints on the Autobahn and twisties.
As it may be floored more now (2 to 5K km), I finally could play a bit with the overboost surge. And yes, it damn pushes (couldn't technically say 'it pulls' for a RWD). Planted: firmly keeping its feet on the ground while bringing all the power down. As many already pointed out, the M2 is more 'indulgent' than the 1M (the 1M can be a handful, more rebel, under some circumstances).
The M Performance Exhaust purrs, gurgles, burbles and bangs in a cool way in SPORT mode and SPORT+ mode. With the feet and hands working the 6MT in close harmony + the Bluetooth MPE remote, you decide how it meows and claws the way you like it best: kitty-kitty or tiger.
Rev-match is a bit of a wail like when stepping by accident on a cat's tail (in slow city traffic you wish you could switch it off - DSC OFF to achieve this is a no-no in my book). Too bad that BMW did not give us an on/off button, alike the SPORT button in the Cayman GT4.
And then there is also the 'GRIN MODE': those overruns whenever suddenly lifting the gas pedal during acceleration. Normally you ignore tailgating cars - eventually slow down to force them to pass. However, if you happen to be in a rather mischievous mood and a tailgating car has an open driver's window: let the tailgating car overtake you, first allow that car to move to the right lane further down the road, then move closer, get in the left lane to overtake, floor the gas pedal and release it with revs somewhere North of the 4K rpm mark
exactly when passing the open driver's window: believe me, the sound of the overrun inside that other car is outright brutal. Frantic faces in your rear view mirror. Alternative: keep the revs sub 3K rpm and downshift one gear right when passing: the rev match wail can also be a pretty scary surprise (alike a biker who makes clear with a brief revs swoop that he's not quite amused by some situation of disrespect).
Also further toyed with the programmable seats settings to get the most convenient position for me: seat height level at absolute minimum + maximum seat tilt to lift the knees + creep forward but arm wrists rest on the top of the steering wheel to determine distance (experiment with the steering wheel setting: higher/lower + pull out/push in) + finally, position the backrest and steering wheel together to allow a decent overview of the instrument cluster (manage to see both the orange/green cruise control dot above the 120 km/h mark + the last line of the onboard computer at the bottom) + inflatable side pads to be properly squeezed in. You feel more one with the machine.
I wish that I could have the
full 'accelerator pedal characteristic mode' (remap) of the SPORT+ mode already available in (safer) SPORT mode. With the 1M life was easier on the safe side: simply push the M button on the steering wheel and you're in SPORT mode. Then you already got the full accelerator pedal characteristic mode (it's a remap: more sensitive accelerator) + all nannies are still active. If you want to send some 1M nannies away, get into M Dynamic Mode (MDM) in the 1M. Impossible in the M2: true that SPORT mode is already better than COMFORT mode. However if you want the
full accelerator pedal characteristic mode (remap) you must inevitably send a couple of nannies away: SPORT+ mode.
