[stulio2181]

Originally Posted by Mproved

M2 hands down and the interior is a lot better than people give it credit for. My M2 is like new even after 99k miles

99k miles! That's awesome!! Any issues?

[moiatto]

M2 is more fun. Then it depends on what you are looking for.

[jefe2000]

It's interesting to see folks' perspective that the M2 has a low rent interior and harsh ride. Maybe in comparison to the M4 it does!

I've just come from daily-driving a 2010 WRX hatchback for the last decade+: the new-to-me OG M2 I just recently purchased is oozing interior refinement and ride quality in comparison. So, in the M2 vs M4 comparison, a healthy dose of individual perspective seems to be in the mix.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by jefe2000

It's interesting to see folks' perspective that the M2 has a low rent interior and harsh ride. Maybe in comparison to the M4 it does!

I've just come from daily-driving a 2010 WRX hatchback for the last decade+: the new-to-me OG M2 I just recently purchased is oozing interior refinement and ride quality in comparison. So, in the M2 vs M4 comparison, a healthy dose of individual perspective seems to be in the mix.

It's literally the same interior... the only difference is that the M3 gets a better style of leather and Gloss CF instead of dry... (the latter is arguably a style preference).

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by ASAP

It's literally the same interior... the only difference is that the M3 gets a better style of leather and Gloss CF instead of dry... (the latter is arguably a style preference).

The door panels in the M3/M4 are a LOT nicer than the M2's. M2 has hard plastic on the upper section - something you rarely see outside of a $20k Korean econobox. My Golf R has hard plastic there on the rear doors only and when the car came out, owners shrieked at how awful this was at the $40k price point. And that was ONLY the rears. On the fronts? Never should happen on something like this. Also just hard plastic in the door pockets, nothing to dampen noise - but that's not particularly uncommon. Even the Golf R has nice felt-like lining.

But I can forgive this sin because the rest of the interior is just fine IMHO. Dakota leather is definitely a lower-grade leather than Merino or Nappa, but it's also VERY durable, something I've personally experienced. Everything is well-screwed-together and as along as the interior proves to be durable, I'm 100% ok with it, despite the M3/M4 being clearly more upscale. Look back at the E46 - interior was totally appropriate for its time/price point, but proved to be horrendously fragile - peeling coated surfaces and pillar material being particularly bad weak spots. I don't see any of those issues cropping up here, based on what the materials look like.

As for the rest of the comparison - my best pal has a '15 M4 that I've driven once and ridden in a hundred times. I MUCH prefer the driving experience in my M2c. The shorter wheelbase makes the car feel like it's rotating around your hips in turns, which is great in canyon-carving type driving. The adaptive suspension is fine, but what it can't do is adjust the springs along with the shock/strut damping rates. You wind up somewhat oversprung at the Comfort setting, and undersprung as the Sport Plus setting. My Golf R is is the same way and for that reason I drive it in "Normal" mode 99% of the time. I'm totally fine with the suspension tuning on the M2c and wouldn't want to fiddle with adaptive settings anyways. I do wish there was less unsprung weight - the 2NH massive brakes are overkill for a street car and I'd have gladly stuck with the lighter standard brakes had the car been offered with them stateside. Also the 788 wheels, while forged, are still very heavy - 437's are several pounds lighter and that's enough to be noticeable. Lighter wheels & brakes would be welcomed for sure. But I'm nit-picking here. Lastly I think the M2/M2c is a better looking car than the F82 M4, but that's totally subjective.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by ASAP

It's literally the same interior... the only difference is that the M3 gets a better style of leather and Gloss CF instead of dry... (the latter is arguably a style preference).

Aside from what KevinC said, the dash and surrounding plastics look better in the F8x. The gauges are also much better because you can see all the info you want without cycling through with the BC button. The audio system is better as well if it has HK; the HK system in the 2 series is very similar to the base Hi-Fi system in the 3 series. The M2C helped bring it closer with the seats, but the F8x does have a nicer interior. Still nothing close to the G8x cars, though.

[Silverlining_m2]

I just came from a 2016 m4 on Swift springs, to a 2020 m2c and its honestly very similar. M2c to Swift springs that is. The m4 when stock was a softer ride and definitely more luxurious. Full merino leather and whatnot. That said, I would so much rather have the m2c. Inside seems cheaper but still nice enough for me. I'd rather have the fun in a manual. I did not care for the dct in my m4.

[6speed_M2]

M2 for the parking lots or track, M3/4 for daily driving.

[Killed by Death]

M4c = too big

[DrChase]

Originally Posted by MiamiM235iEstorilBlue

Curious if anyone has owned both and has opinions either way?
Is the M2 profoundly more fun or just a bit?
Curious for some firsthand experience!

Not owned both, but driven both. I own a 6-speed M2C. The S55 tune is much more linear and fun to manage in the M2 versus the M4. The shorter wheelbase of the M2 made for loads more fun compared to the M4, especially on public roads. Just my personal take.

[Humdizzle]

owned a 2015 M3 6 speed for 3 years (stage 1, springs, spacers)
just bought a 2021 M2C DCT last week

the cars are very similar. But the M2 is more fun and nimble to drive around town, even though weight is similar. the power band feels more linear and you want to rev it out. i never got that feeling in the m3. i actually removed the stage 1 93 tune from my M3 and put the CS tune on it

ride is a weird one. i think the m2 rides better around town. just feels... better damped. Bumps are just 'one and done' and not 'crashy' like my M3 was over small imperfections. My M3 was lowered on swift springs and had spacers though, so the geometry was altered. maybe a more fair comparison would be an m3 comp and m2 comp. M2 ride quality is similar to my GT3, and i prefer it over the M3.

on the highway the m3 is better. much less NVH and wind noise. long wheelbase stability.

seating position is better on the M3. You can get lower down and the car is lower overall. but the seats are pretty much the same. m3 gets nappa leather, m2 gets dakota (rough) leather.

stereo is slightly better in the M3. M2 isn't bad though. no complaints from me.

[stefan]

An M2 with adaptive suspension would be the way to go. The M4 genuinely feels heavier and a little more luxobargey

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

owned a 2015 M3 6 speed for 3 years (stage 1, springs, spacers)
just bought a 2021 M2C DCT last week

the cars are very similar. But the M2 is more fun and nimble to drive around town, even though weight is similar. the power band feels more linear and you want to rev it out. i never got that feeling in the m3. i actually removed the stage 1 93 tune from my M3 and put the CS tune on it

ride is a weird one. i think the m2 rides better around town. just feels... better damped. Bumps are just 'one and done' and not 'crashy' like my M3 was over small imperfections. My M3 was lowered on swift springs and had spacers though, so the geometry was altered. maybe a more fair comparison would be an m3 comp and m2 comp. M2 ride quality is similar to my GT3, and i prefer it over the M3.

on the highway the m3 is better. much less NVH and wind noise. long wheelbase stability.

seating position is better on the M3. You can get lower down and the car is lower overall. but the seats are pretty much the same. m3 gets nappa leather, m2 gets dakota (rough) leather.

stereo is slightly better in the M3. M2 isn't bad though. no complaints from me.

Agree with your M3 vs M2 comparison, except on the stereo . The HK stereo in the M2 is really bad IMO. It has no mid-bass and weird frequency response overall. Most of the components are from what would be the Hi-Fi system in a 3 series, not the HK.