MISSION CREEP

How did the M2 get to be so heavy and expensive? And does that stop it being M division's most fun car?

- Ben Barry

THIS SHOULD BE M2 HEAVEN. I AM HEADING into the hills on Route 89A in Arizona and the desert landscape is giving way to evergreens standing proud of fast-thawing snowfall, residual salt wisping over bone-dry roads that trace the mountainous topography. Big on corners, low on straights, it is the kind of road the Mz is built for.

Or at least the old one was. I am in the longer and heavier new version and have spent a morning finding that it has excellent straight-line stability at speed. But now, in the hills, I am relieved and astonished at how reactive the front end feels, jinking left and right to tiny steering adjustments as if it is trying to wrong-foot its own reflection—the ratio has been carried over, the wheelbase some five centimetres longer, but it feels more alert and backs that up with way more front-end bite.

Select Sport and there is a little more chop to the ride, but consistent” is the more appropriate adjective—the Mz settles out of compressions like a gymnast nailing a perfect landing and the steering is so pure and free of kickback that you can commit to a line with total confidence. Given similar stick, the previous M2 felt clumsier.

It all goads you to dig into the throttle early. When you do, the rear end stands to attention like a drill sergeant reporting for duty—the diff tightening, alert to the throttle and ready to be driven hard while you work against monster traction. It feels a more playful, nimbler M3. I would have guessed it was much lighter.

But it is not. The new G87-generation Mz is 110 millimetres longer, 150 kilograms heavier, and some 15k Rs 15 lakh) costlier than its predecessor at 66,430 Rs 66.43 lakh) or 65,885 Rs 65.89 lakh for the paddle-shift auto). It is an important car for BMW, as the previous one was both M’s most affordable car and its bestseller, shifting almost 60,000 units over a seven-year run.