[Artemis]

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I recently did a 3500 km drive to the mighty Dolomites (Northern Italy), featuring quite some stretches of German Autobahn with unrestricted speed limit + at least 1000 km across mountain passes/backroads in the Dolomites (Northern Italy). Brief, "such stuff as dreams are made on" (W. Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 4, Scene 1). Neither the first visit, nor the last to this extraordinary area on the face of the planet.

Was looking forward to that 'M2 maiden voyage' - after the 2000km/1200mi break-in period and first maintenance - because that's the kind of terrain where the M2 can ultimately shine its true colors. Exploring during consecutive hours of pulling G's through the S's how (well) it behaves under all sorts of load + checking the stamina of the brakes and cooling system. Knowledge that is useful for driving in more 'normal' road conditions.

I also asked a couple of friends to join me during one of the days with their 1M's for a 10 hours stint. 3 times 6MT. Each of us drove the 1M and M2 back-to-back, up and down awesome mountain passes in that 'twisties heaven' (an opportunity which also allowed me to behold my own car in motion from a distance and to enjoy some seat time behind the wheel with the 1M again). All sorts of weather and road conditions, from safe to very treacherous (point to note: 'Sport Mode' active all the time - deliberately no 'Sport+ Mode' or 'DSC OFF' for obvious safety reasons and equally to check at what point nannies intervene). It gave us all a pretty clear idea of the peculiar character of both cars.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And this M2 pudding, dear forum fellows, tastes very good. The verdict of all four drivers (each of them with quite some 1M experience clocked in the meantime) was unanimous: the M2 feels more planted than the 1M. Easier/safer to drive. Significantly less twitchy/bouncing over bumps compared to the 1M. Brakes keep up with the heavy duty job thrown at them. Remarkable cooling (the temperature needle doesn't budge).

Also during the other days of the same trip, the experience confirmed the thoughts I had expressed in the past:

"The M2 is indeed more indulgent/forgiving/lenient for driver's excitement than the 1M, awarding it (i.e. the M2) a more mature stature: the M2's back is broad enough to take the strain at a point where the 1M gives up and throws you out of the saddle. Some will like this kind of indulgence for safety reasons (staying on course), others probably don't (preferring a more challenging 'no risk no fun' on-the-edge behavior, requiring more attention or skill from the driver to avoid going off course). As indicated, in the end it's a personal thing."
(http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...6#post20069276)

Freude am Fahren !

Weak points from a practical point of view ? Allow me to pick out one: the general complaint of most M2 owners about the poor visibility of the speedometer and rev-counter dials and needles in overcast weather or at dawn/dusk (especially when wearing sun glasses) (to be distinguished from the orange dashboard light at night itself: clear visibility). Hard to understand how BMW M managed to overlook this (back)lighting aspect. BMW can remedy this through a simple coding change: offering the possibility in the iDrive settings to choose between - on the one hand - automatic instrument lighting adapting to the light intensity (as bad as it's now) and - on the other hand - permanently activate maximum instrument lighting (as if it were pitch dark outside). And while we're at it: furthermore, it would be more logical to show the 'Speed Limit Info' on the same OBC screen of the OBC digital speedometer (instead of being an OBC standalone screen and/or part of the OBC navigation screen), but that's maybe nitpicking.

Pictures below taken by smartphone. No enhancement processed. Should have taken much more, but we were too focused on driving.

EDIT 1: in the meantime one of the 1M drivers reported as follows about his impressions regarding our extensive 1M and M2 back-to-back drives over Dolomites mountain passes (points of view which are fairly compatible with mine, as expressed above):

"The driver's experience of the 1M and M2 is surprisingly different. From my point of view the driver's experience of the 1M is far more engaging and entertaining. The weakest point of the M2 IMO is definitely the steering feel which is too soft and which lacks connection to the road compared to the 1M. The strongest point I found with the M2 are the brakes. M Performance Exhaust: the exhaust sounds of the M2 are amazing. Deeper tone than the 1M and much better IMO compared to the M3. And the pops when gearing is a very nice and fun feature. In addition, the M Performance Exhaust looks great. The M2 feels planted and is more forgiving, yes, but that has come at the expense of driver's engagement in my opinion. These are of course personal tastes, but for driving fun my take is that the 1M is still a winner."

EDIT 2: the pictures shown below are not mine (except for the first one), but give you an impression about the awesome Dolomites. Extraordinary place.

[CanadianDriver]

amazing photos! thank you for sharing!

[Twix]

I drove through parts of northern Italy as well as Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France. I didn't notice as well as my old father hadn't noticed a problem with reading the cluster during any conditions. I even wore my sunglasses (prescription for light sensitivity, so they're illegally dark) and still could see the gauges.

I'm really trying to find out how people can't see them.

Thanks for the photos, it's such a beautiful drive through that part of the world!

[JustChris]

Brilliant!

[Corinne]

Great photos and write up ! Thanks very much ! There's no place like mountains for driving a powerful car. Any idea what your average fuel consumption was during that trip ?

[Nine Lives]

Great adventure !

Going by the last but one photo it certainly looks like you gave the brakes a good workout !

With regards to the backlit speedo,does not having the daytime/headlights on not give you ample illumination ?

[Dackelone]

Awesome pics Luc!

Sorry I couldn't make this trip. But we will have our "fun" soon enough!

[Verdi]

If I didn't have small children and a not so understanding wife I would join you!

Great pictures. I do love the mountains. Wish I could live around that area, or elsewhere in the Alp region, as I'm a keen skier as well.

[Prodigy.]

Wow, what an amazing experience that would of been, thanks for the great pics.

[OrangeCrush]

Awesome! Did driving the 1M again make you miss it? I wish I could have that chance just to really compare the two again.

[///M-pressed]

I was just having a look at those petrol prices and you filled up with super +. 1.60euro (1.80USD) a litre.

[Pol]

Luc

[M3 Adjuster]

Enjoyed the photos thank you!

[fanshu]

[WFS]

great pics. thanks for sharing.

[alterrain]

Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing!!

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Attuale

I was just having a look at those petrol prices and you filled up with super +. 1.60euro (1.80USD) a litre.

1.60 euro per liter in Italy is kind of cheap. Two years ago we paid over 2.09!!!

Right now in Germany SuperPlus is running about 1.40 euro. In Austria its about 20 euro cents less(due to less fuel taxes) there.

It is also very hard to find SuperPlus in Italy. Most gas stations only sell Super or Diesel.

2014 fuel prices in Italy...

[Bosozoku]

Spectacular photos! What an epic drive!

[N & M]

I am jealous! Lovely photos. I have to do this someday.

[Benzima]

How did the M2 (and 1M) handled compared to that Ferrari FF(or GTC4 Lusso)?

[luvmybmmr]

Great write up and pics! Ugh my time to order later this year can't come soon enough!!

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Benzima

How did the M2 (and 1M) handle compared to that Ferrari FF(or GTC4 Lusso)?

As you can expect, that Ferrari GTC4Lusso growled in a cool way. However the driver drove it pretty conservatively in the slight drizzle on the Pordoi Pass (connecting the 'Sella Ronda' towns Canazei and Arabba). With a more involved driver, that car normally trashes the 1M/M2 in the blink of an eye. He followed us on the Campolungo Pass (connecting the 'Sella Ronda' towns Arabba and Corvara), but unfortunately called it a day once we turned right inside the town La Villa to get onto the Valparola Pass.