We love reading different publications’ long-term reviews. There’s no better way to asses what a car is like to actually own than to live with it for a long period of time. Typically, press car loans are a week long. That’s enough to get a good feel for a car and to write a review. But having it for a year really helps you understand its intricacies and nuances. Automobile recently had a BMW M2 for a year, with that year recently ending, and has giving their final thoughts on the little blue coupe.

So what did Automobile have to say about it?

“I couldn’t disagree more with the people who go on about dead-feeling electric power steering and a disconnected chassis,” Said Automobile’s in-house racer Andy Pilgrim. “This steering has excellent weight, razor-sharp response, and predictable precision. There’s better road feel in the 1M, but that’s it.”

That’s pretty high praise, especially from a racing driving. But the praise didn’t end there.

“The M2 doesn’t just hug the road—it takes it and strangles it,” said Editor-In-Chief Mike Floyd. “This car is more than capable of handling any stretch of broken concrete or asphalt in its way, any urban environment. But it excels where you expect it to, on a circuit, your favorite mountain road, and anywhere else a performance car roams with impunity.”

Executive Editor Mac Morrison then said “The M2 is an easy car to manipulate with the gas pedal, and its quick steering and reasonably lively chassis setup made me happy every time I drove it.”

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. “I continue to dislike the BMW shifter setup,” said Mike Floyd. “I get the shift-by-wire thing, but I don’t get why it has to be so clunky to operate.”

Automobile Mag’s Marc Noordeloos also had disdain for the M2’s DCT gearbox. “You can tell the DCT isn’t the latest and greatest dual-clutch setup,” said Noordeloos. “The clutch can be quite grabby and jerky from a stop, especially when cold. I also find the auto mode shift points sometimes have a mind of their own. There are times it shifts when you’d hope and other times it hangs on far too long. I end up switching to manual mode 95 percent of the time.”

Rory Jurnecka also threw a jab at the DCT, recommending the manual.  “The M2’s dual-clutch gearbox makes traffic a breeze, but it’s not perfect in its operation,” said Rory. “Especially when cold, the transmission’s response moving away from a stop can be lazy, with longer-than-expected periods of clutch slippage followed by abrupt take-up and the resulting jerk forward. It’s an inconvenience more than a serious issue, but I can’t help but think I’d just save myself the hassle—and the $2,900—and spec the standard manual gearbox.”

Still, the overwhelming response about the way the BMW M2 drives was very good. It seems as if almost all of the Automobile staffers really enjoyed driving the M2, both as a daily driver and as a track car. Even in the snow, where its tail-happy antics could be a blast.

[Source: Automobile Mag]