Reviewer Consensus · Head to Head
Comparisons
Every matchup is built from real reviewers driving both cars — their head-to-head verdicts, aggregated.
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compare › M2 G87 vs M3 G80
BMW M2 G87 vs BMW M3 G80
11 reviewers · 14 videos · updated TheTopher · 4·TopherDrives · 1·8020 Automotive · 1·Petrolhead Podcasts · 1
// the short answer
We watched 14 videos from 11 reviewers. Buying with your heart? Get the M2: shorter wheelbase, more playful at the limit, and the notchier six-speed. The M3 earns its extra money with back doors and xDrive traction, not with more fun.
When two reviewers had driven both, the handling looked like a coin flip. Eleven later, it isn't: the M2 is clearly the playful one, and the M3's case is back doors and all-wheel-drive traction, not fun.
// who each one is for
// category by category
№ 01
Performance
M3 wins4–0thin
M3 is quicker due to xDrive and higher power.
“It's a tick slower to 60 than the M3 and M4.”
“the M3 and M4 all wheel drive models are capable of hitting 0 to 60 miles an hour in about 2.8 seconds. On the other hand, the M2 is going to be looking at about 3.4 to 3.6 seconds.
№ 02
Handling
M2 wins6–1clear
M2 is more agile and playful due to lower weight and shorter wheelbase.
Where reviewers split. Handling leans M2 six wins to one, but it isn't unanimous: BMWBLOG thought the M2's turn-in "not as good," and OG Schaefchen, while finding the M2 faster through corners, warned it's "way snappier" and called the G80 friendlier for beginners. The fun-to-drive and shifter edge for the M2 rests mostly on TheTopher and TopherDrives (likely the same driver on two channels), backed by MilesPerHr's knock on the M3 manual. Value has only one head-to-head data point (Tuxon Speed's roughly $22k gap).
“there is an extra degree of lightness and nimleness of the M2 thanks to its shorter wheelbase and lower weight that made it more enjoyable to hustle around the corners”
№ 03
Fun to drive
M2 wins3–1thin
M2 shifter is notchier and preferred over the M3/M4.
“I feel like it's a little bit notchier than the rest. Say the M3 and M4 for example... This is my favorite shifter, I believe, out of all of those.”
“I prefer the manual driving experience in this over the M3, which felt a little bit underpowered”
№ 04
Daily drivability
M3 wins5–0clear
M3 is more practical with four doors and more space.
“the manual M2 I found to be really difficult to drive smoothly in any drive mode outside of efficient. The automatic, no issues there.”
the M3, the four door sedan, is going to have the clear advantage here... having those two extra doors can be very helpful if you have a family
№ 05
Value
M2 wins1–0thin
M2 is significantly cheaper.
“you're looking up at a price difference of almost twenty two thousand dollars between each car”
“If you're going to spend most of your time on road though and you don't visit the track, then I think the good thing is that it's not compromised, but it's certainly not worth an extra £36,000.
№ 06// the footage
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
BMWBLOG
Posted Jul 18, 2023Open on YouTube
Moments worth your time
Petrolhead Podcasts
Posted Jul 4, 2025Open on YouTube
Moments worth your time
Tuxon Speed
Posted Jul 26, 2023Open on YouTube
Moments worth your time
// the long version
“Same S58 straight-six, opposite briefs: the G87 M2 is the short, light coupe you hustle and slide, the G80 M3 is the four-door that puts its power down and carries the family.
The M2's case is chassis. Petrolhead Podcasts felt "an extra degree of lightness and nimleness" from the shorter wheelbase and lower weight; OG Schaefchen found the M2 "way faster around corners and while sliding"; TheTopher spun the M3 "a lot more" on the skidpad. The shifter follows suit: TopherDrives calls the M2's notchier box his "favorite shifter" of the bunch, and MilesPerHr found the standard M3 manual "elastic" with a "lack of engagement." The cost of that tight wheelbase is a car that's "way snappier" at the limit (the G80 is "a bit more for beginners"), and BMWBLOG thought the M2's turn-in "not as good."
The M3's case is doors and drive. In base form both make 473 hp, so much of the M3's edge off the line is xDrive, and performance goes its way four calls to none (TFLnow, 8020 Automotive, Zygrene, BMWBLOG, who found it "definitely a little faster"). On practicality it's a sweep: 8020 Automotive, Petrolhead Podcasts, Bros FOURR Speed and Tuxon Speed all hand it the back seat. The M2 isn't fully at ease in town either; TheTopher found the manual "really difficult to drive smoothly" outside its efficient mode.
The price gap pays for the second pair of doors, not for more fun. If the back seat is optional, the M2 is the driver's S58.