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BMW M2 ownership: Ex-Jaguar XF owner shares his 1st 1000 km review

29th July 2024, 16:32 by Rahul Nagaraj

The combined fuel efficiency I got during my 1000 kms is 5 km/l.

BHPian AdiSinghV12 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As I bid adieu to my purring Jaguar XF for the G87 M2 which reignited the lost love for a brand I once thought had faded in the rearview mirror as mentioned in the ownership thread of my XF. The start of the journey to upgrade my faithful 7-year tuned Jag that had stood the test of time and become the longest companion in my automotive adventures started back in 2022 but blame it on inflation and some Swedish kids the cars had just started to become more pricier and more boring with the 1.25-1.50 crore bracket going on a diet with performance options.

One would expect a bit of pizzazz for that kind of investment, wouldn't you agree? It was then this controversial-looking car was launched and the folks at M GMBH decided to give it a full-blown S58 engine which somewhat reincarnated the Euphoria in the early 8-digit bracket as with the beastly 530d discontinued there’s hardly even a decent 6 pot in the late 7 digits!

Initially, as I laid eyes on it, it struck me as a Lego - and as cliche as this might be, the angular lines and bold design cues seemed almost too boxy for my tastes. In reality, the car looked different in the flesh. It just goes to show, that one must never judge a vehicle by its initial appearance especially in BMW’s case by their “press release” pictures. What felt boxy turned out to be Muscular as if BMW had made a full-fledged Muscle Car taking on the Challengers and the Camaros. Much like the perfect girlfriend who may not fit the conventional mould of a “10” at first glance, the more I delved into the details and let the aesthetics sink in, the more enamoured I became. In less romantic terms, this is like a pair of tailored Polo & Jeans in an era of oversized clothing.

The moment it started to grow on me I knew I had to get this as I desperately waited to move towards my imminent ascension into the revered ranks of “senior BHPian” Someday it was then about time and God’s Plan.

Finding the Right One

It was a tough choice to make, Picture this: a sleek and sophisticated car from Modena, tempting with the fact that it’s somewhere a distant cousin of a Ferrari, the first option I considered was the Maserati Ghibli

This was more of a heart-over-head decision and I was trying to justify and to some extent also mute the petrolhead in me only for the fact of its origin and the extended family it comes from. The 2.0 GTS version was within reach as I was cross-shopping with a budget which was flexible by +/- 50%. I ultimately never managed a test drive of the same and despite receiving all the details and literature and watching reviews I ultimately decided that it’ll be a poser instead of the performance I’m looking for and as good as it might look for Instagram pics at the starters I might just get bored of it and wouldn’t able to justify the equated monthly instalments and ultimately didn’t seem like a win-win situation as I don’t see a good secondary market for them had I wanted to get rid off.

The Porsches

A badge that every car lover would dream to add to his garage and it was no different for me. The 911 is still a childhood favourite ever since I saw Al Pacino buy it in the movie Scarface. Watching this movie a hundred times only added to it. It was a dream and is a dream to get the badge one day. But “practically” a 2 seater and with the pricing of over 2.25 cr it wasn’t happening as I strictly needed something that could carry someone at the back so I started looking at the Panamera & the Taycan.

While the Panamera offered a decent amount of luxury and performance, it didn't quite hit the mark. Its size and handling left me wanting for more and for some reason after the Taycan, this felt very bumpy on our roads which was surprising. It ticked fewer boxes than the one it didn’t for me. On the other hand, the Taycan's rocket launching power and sleek design almost made me sign a cheque to them, heck it was almost final if the M2 hadn’t grown on me by now after all who wouldn’t want a 4-door “911”? It defied all the arguments against the EVs and was nothing short of perfect. Just when I was about to write a cheque for the Taycan 4S, Volkswagen India decided to boost the price which put me on second thoughts, as they say when you toss the coin it’s the side you’re hoping for matters rather than the side it comes so while I was at it, somewhere I thought why not get an Internal Combustion while I still can and not regret later, then came further arguments like the charging infrastructure during a cross country trip, etc but still wasn’t sure if I want a BMW again and it was then they left the car with me for a day and here we are.

I simply don’t like the idea of wasting others’ time which is why I didn’t check out Audi as I knew I wouldn’t be closing it, it’s a wonderful brand no offence meant but the S and RS cars feel a bit dated and regular. Also dismissed the C43. The idea of a four-cylinder F1 technology did not quite excite me, and let's not even mention how the larger AMGs have lost it with their pricing. If only the E53 Cabrio were still an option, I might have indulged in some serious contemplation. Alas, Mercedes-Benz India had other plans and chose to discontinue the car.

Booking Process

I had the car for a day from Navnit Motors, Mumbai and that was it, it was the ONLY car that I test-drove out of the ones mentioned above as a potential replacement that flashed a devilish grin on my face and the more hate it got the more I was drawn closer to it! The bond was seized and I knew this was it. A gradual unravelling of beauty and charm, a realization that perfection comes in many forms, and sometimes, it's the unexpected quirks that steal your heart and soul.

I found this car to be much better looking in a single-tone and the fact that I had been drooling over the all-white appearance of the 3.0 CSL and higher-up cars I decided to give the carbon roof a skip for which my wallet thanked me as it was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual ++ in costs which didn’t make much sense to me for a meagre 6 kg weight saving and something I’d anyway have painted or wrapped in body colour, here are the options I went for along with its pricing:

Base Ex-Showroom: ₹99,90,0000
M Compound Brake Calipers in Red: ₹60,000
Carbon Fibre Interior : ₹140,000
Carbon Fibre Air Ducts: ₹100,000 (Port Installed)

The rest of the things that were standard were M Sport Seats with Exclusive Highlights which are basically the M coloured bolsters on the front seats, M Shadowline Exterior, Lip Spoiler, Harmon Kardon Stereo, Lane Departure Warning with Automated Steering Assist, Pedestrian Detection and Automatic Mirrors (heck I had to mention this as if this wasn’t the one then it’d have been a Porsche Panamera / Taycan and as good as they are now, I can’t help but rewind back in time when even this was a cost option) while this here were available as a part of the package / NCO.

And so, I had been thinking and thinking about this car having played on the configurator but the last and big dilemma was whether to go with the last manual or the 8AT. The car that the dealership left with me was a manual and while I literally had a ball with it for a day, by evening once the traffic of Mumbai straightened me out I thought the 8AT would be a better option or I might just end up using this car on weekends. Also if I have to mention one negative of the manual it’d be the hard and rubbery feeling of the clutch and the gearbox with the lower-end torque being delayed. Impulsively, one fine day in November 2023 I dropped to Navnit Motors, Mumbai and booked the car as I had the configuration ready in my mind. I was clear that I’d want a 2024 MFG and not just MY24 and the dealer happily obliged despite them having a few M2s in allocation to them for 2023 which was a nice touch as usual with CBUs it’s the trend where all the dealers try to get rid of outgoing year’s stock and allocations.

As committed, the car entered production in my birthday month of January 2024 and was later shipped from their San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico in early February in an American vessel named Alliance Fairfax.

Delivery

As the sun-kissed shores of Mexico bid farewell to the car, little did it know that its journey to Mumbai would be nothing short of a whimsical odyssey. Despite the dealer's initial under-commitment, the car arrived punctually in April and by the end of the month I got the PDI report as well then the dealer had to take care of the car for 2 more months as it was on June 24 on a date which held high sentimental and nostalgic value for me I requested them to align the delivery which they made a memorable experience and I say that despite the fact of having been part of many car deliveries. Here, they just went a little ahead with personal touches which was really appreciated. The below snaps were all clicked during the photo shoot organised by the dealership at the delivery by “Petrolheads Paradise”.