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      12-01-2020, 11:50 AM   #1
Hollowman
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M235i Owner Upgrading

Hi Guys

Currently have an M235i and got the urge to get myself an M2. Just wanted to firstly, get thoughts of people who made the jump from the 235i to the M2?

Secondly, I'm currently looking at 2016ish models for the price range within my budget. Is it really worth pushing the LCI? I currently have NBT iDrive on my 235i and it still looks pretty fresh and runs smooth, can't imagine the newer idrives are drastically better, please correct me if I'm wrong?

Secondly I know I'd still have the older orange dials on a 2016 model, but is it easy enough to retrofit the white digital dials? This is probably the one thing I'd want to do the most.
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      12-06-2020, 12:10 PM   #2
Aero-1971
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Hi

I did not jump from an M235i to the current M2, I swapped out the M235i for a Mercedes A45AMG, which I then changed for wonderful M4, then the current M2 LCi.
I often use to think the M235i was not in real terms, that much slower than the M2 could have been! This could not be further from the truth, I have had both an M235i coupe and a slightly newer M235i convertible, which came from the factory dressed in all the M Performance options, including the exhaust. This car, despite being a soft top, honestly felt very quick and with the exhaust, sounded amazing. When I moved to the A45 AMG (facelift), this was a wakeup call, this little red hatchback was so quick point to point, but so terribly boring to drive and due to how quick it went through the gears, it was pointless using the manual change, not enough revs with the 2.0ltr lump, but it was so, so very quick! But I missed that rear wheel drive and excitement, so I went for an M4 (the wife hated it), almost as fast off the point, and quicker once up and moving, i loved the handling except post changing the tires from MPSS to PS4's, this was a huge mistake (despite advice to do so by a fellow M3 owner). Then while popping into BMW Guilford to look at a Z4 M40i (yes, I like the way it looks), I saw my next car, it was a tough change as the M4 was stunning in its Austin Yellow finish, but the M2 was a late 18LCi with lots of M Performance bits and sounded wonderful. That was around 12 months ago, and I still love the M2. The drive is so far away from an M235i, not in a bad or better way, just a different car to drive, it is incredibly fun to 'enjoy' more so than the M4 was, MPG 'can' be almost as good as the M235i and to be honest the cabins are almost the same (more so if you are looking at a pre-LCi M2). Will you be happy, for sure, will it cost a huge amount more (excluding the purchase of it), I do not think so, apart from maybe another £150 or so to insure it and obviously servicing is a little higher and the tires are bigger. But the day-to-day ownership and driving, if driven in an enjoyable manner (within the realms enjoyment, not track days or driving it hard all day every day), the cost should not be a great deal higher, vs. the huge jump in what you get for the money. The M2 is truly a fantastic machine in every way, my only single issue is that the seats (now rectified on the Competition), should have been the same as an M3/4, oh, I also hate the ridiculous after thought on the BMW M Performance exhaust system, but you will not need to worry about this unless you buy a car with it fitted, don’t get me wrong I’d not, not have the system, it’s just badly designed with the button in the boot and the Bluetooth connection). I will say that the later touchscreen in later LCi’s is worth the extra money and I love having Carplay, I prefer the LCi rear taillights, but this is very much an individual thing. Colour, I wanted Long Beach Blue, I ended up with Mineral Grey and would not change it now.
So; if you can stretch to the LCi, it might be worth it and donĀ’t quote me (and I hope some of the more knowledgeable will correct me if I’m wrong), but I believe the LCi wasn’t just a face left, but some suspension tweaks as well, all be it minor, it improved the overall handling. That said, if your budget does not stretch to an LCi, but still get’s you into an M2, do it, just make sure you get one with the HK audio, it’s not as good as on the M3/4 or any non-2 series, but it’s certainly better than the base system.
Good luck on your purchase…..for me, it might be time to move to an M5 as the M2 has spoilt me and I can only imagine that an M5 or that other German brand beginning with P, have the next step up for me. But I simply love the M2 and they seem to be holding their values, in fact I think they might even be rising now that the M2 Comps are discontinued and the last few CS’s are almost gone, the next M2’s are 18-24months away, so it’s a great time to buy one.

Good luck.
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      12-10-2020, 04:32 PM   #3
3t3p
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LCI suspension tweaks, no just no.

LCI dials are black but still analogue, can make reading them in certain lighting conditions easier.

LCI has a different carbon bit over the glovebox area and fake stitching in the plastic of the dash.

Air vents are flush in LCI. Some LCIs have the icon light shape headlights/LED headlights.
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      12-10-2020, 08:19 PM   #4
m3username
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One note on 2016 vs 2017, the 2017 can be equipped with car play easily while the 2016 cannot. If you care at all about car play it may be worth taking that into consideration.
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      04-29-2021, 12:04 PM   #5
ivancrx
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I am just swapping from a M140i and picking up a 2017 M2 DCT, lots to learn but looking forward to Saturday.
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