One Week With My Brand NEW (2025 LCI) G87 BMW M2 - 7 Likes and 7 Dislikes!

[@explorationk9792]

Excellent Review!

[@NeilCrossy]

Thanks :)

[@thoopra]

Great breakdown!

[@meady200]

I'd pay NOT to have a heavy motor opening my boot! And the HK in my F87 was very ordinary, too. Car looks absolutely stunning - love the colour!

[@NeilCrossy]

I only just remembered that with my F83, very early on when I got it I used some software called ESD or something via OBD to toggle it to either Bang & Olufson or Bowers & Wilkins, but I did it so early on that I can't remember what it was like before that... but it was absolutely incredible. This is, my wife had a regular 420i with the HK system and that was amazing too... and she obviously hadnt dicked about with the sound. So maybe it was a 3/4 series thing. But yea as I mentioned in another comment, sometimes when you're carrying heavy objects it's nice to have the boot open with assists but it's no stress really. And thanks, very glad I went for this colour!

[@beatslucas]

I 2nd you. My F30 340i came with HK sound and it doesn't sound very good either. I previously owned an Audi a4 b8.5 2013 with a B&O sound system, and it was far superior compared to the BM even though the Audi was older.

[@nicholasdrivingacademy9435]

@@meady200 most modern cars today are heavy all gadgets gizmos think that powerful 3 litre M engine big wheels etc.

[@MrElnuno]

Neil, regarding the HK sound system... have you coded in the Bowers & Wilkins sound profile via Bimmercode? Apparently this significantly improves the sound. There are quite a few YT videos regarding this modification.

[@MrElnuno]

@@NeilCrossy I have the MHD Universal which is a common one, but on the Bimmercode App there is a list of compatible OBD2 adaptors. They all work pretty much the same.

[@NeilCrossy]

One final follow up here (I deleted my previous comments as they're no longer valid). Bimmercode DOES NOT support the G87 2025 LCI with iDrive 8.5. They have neglected to mention this on the sales page so I'm in the process of getting a refund whilst being fucking fuming with them at the same time, fucking can't stand incompetence like this.

[@Tibialstone7]

@@NeilCrossyoh no!! I’m sorry to hear that mate. Is that your main reason for wanting a refund or are there other reasons like the ones in this video?

[@NeilCrossy]

@@Tibialstone7 Well the only reason I bought Bimmercode was to do the HK edit to enable Bowers & Wilkins profiles, I don't particularly care about changing anything else! Not enough to drop £33 on a license that I'll basically use once in the whole time I've got the car!

[@ayyjayy5018]

@@NeilCrossyjeez I’m glad I read your comment I’m taking delivery tomorrow and was thinking of trying bimmercode for some small things

[@NeilCrossy]

I think the phone cradle was rattling as I was recording this, soz, there's literally always something that happens!

[@chrisdeming9287]

Some of the dislikes you mentioned are simply a result of having a lower model M car. If it had all the things you want, it would be the cost of an M3. It's a balance of still having a nice interior and features, while still balancing cost. Most M2 buyers are unlikely to cross shop an M3 or any higher M models. Big price difference. It's still a very nice car and good value for the price point, IMO.

[@nicholasdrivingacademy9435]

@@chrisdeming9287 in some cases agree M2 cross between modern day hi performance and 80/90s hot hatches. Bare in mind fully spect M2 can cost well over 70k id reckon anyone with that sort of cash could have stretched to an M3 or 4, I was going to buy a M4 I fell in love with the 2 and when I drove it my mind was made up!

[@qtone3296]

love these videos

[@JamesPrince1979]

I think the gearbox can be remapped, there's tuners out there that can improve this.

[@NeilCrossy]

Yea I enabled CSL throttle mapping on my old M4, gonna give it a few months before I do anything like that. It's good to have options but I'm judging what BMW are selling and supporting!

[@wrxTO]

Nice video. For seats, try not driving while wearing that puffy jacket 😀 I am sure seat will feel different without big, thick winter jackets.

[@NeilCrossy]

lol I appreciate the sentiment but obviously I've driven the car off camera quite a few times without the massive jacket on haha

[@wrxTO]

@@NeilCrossyyeah just joking. Congrats! My dream car! Maybe seats will feel better once they are broken in.

[@alasdairstuart3394]

I like the likes. But I am more than happy to open & close the boot without assistance - how did we get that lazy?? Youth of today etc etc 😂 thanks for another great video 🙏

[@NeilCrossy]

😂sometimes it just comes in handy at times you don't expect, like today just before I started filming this I'd just been into Halfords... walking back to the car carrying a heavy AF trolley jack box, 2 heavy axle stands on top of that with a third box of wheel stops balancing on top of those, just would have been nice to kick under the car to open the boot rather than do the usual juggling to find which pocket your keys are in! Quality of life thing, not needed but almost everything these days is designed to make us a bit more lazy!

[@Melvin-belvin]

I have a ‘25 lci as well. My one disappointment was with the ambient lighting. Pre-lci had a strip that spanned almost the entire width of the dash (including driver side vents by the door). Lci minimized the light to just the middle area above the central vents.

[@NeilCrossy]

Same, that probably would have been on this list if it was a bigger list. When you see what they're doing in the higher models like the M5, that's got a huge actaul screen spanning the entire interior which is used for interior lighting, it can play videos ffs, that'll end up filtering down into the lower models but the likes of the 2 series will always have the shitty end of the stick!

[@beatslucas]

Good video. The M2 LCI 2025 is not the one that comes with the D-shaped steering wheel, a small gear lever and the vents for the aircon are hidden?

[@NeilCrossy]

thanks! The LCI has the flat bottomed steering wheel yes, but the gear level is the same as pre-LCI they haven't changed that on this one, and I dunno what you mean about the vents being hidden... they've redesigned that part but I wouldn't describe them as being hidden tbh but yea there isn't a silver trim around them now, they do blend in more

[@beatslucas]

@@NeilCrossy Yes you are right, I saw a picture in a forum but the new 3/4 series are the ones with no gear levers anymore. Before the m2 dash looks almost identical to the m3 and m4. About the vents, I mean they don't have those things (knobs I think they call them) to move the air direction, maybe they are on the side hidden and as you say the vents are blended a bit more on the dash due to the dark colour. Anyway, your car looks great and I thought many times to get one of these.

[@NafeLive]

"Emerald Struts" for boot opening automatically on key press, fairly cost effective. I have it on my 1 series. My only gripe with it is that it's not electrical and it does make the boot heavier to close as a trade off. Would probably be my first "mod" on my M2, otherwise the boot release button on the key feels redundant.

[@NeilCrossy]

It really does! Its easy to criticise people for being lazy but there absolutely are times when you're carrying loads of shit in both hands, the ground is wet and you'd rather not put it there to free your hands to open the boot, just a quality of life thing that would have been nice to have!

[@paulcotterill7247]

Ive got a Java Green coming to the UK end of December but its going straight for satin ppf :)

[@NeilCrossy]

yesssssssssssss omg I can't wait to start seeing some of these! I got mine ceramic coated last week (made a video about it) as I couldn't justify a ppf, not when I'll only be keeping the car 3-4yrs max, but I 100% get it. Get some videos up when it comes, that green is lush!

[@nicholasdrivingacademy9435]

Tell what I find tricky is witdh of the car thought I was buying med sized hot hatch it's bloody massive I put next to rather nice Golf R M2 made the R look like a baby. You look though your door mirrors see massive arches sticking out. Do you find it easy to manoeuvre?

[@NeilCrossy]

Still adapting to it, I've just come out of a HUGE Audi Q7 into the M2 so to me it feels absolutely tiny! But yea it's been easy enough so far but I haven't been in any tricky or delicate situations with it yet, only just been tootling around at 20-30 on the streets. I did a U turn yesterday for the first time in it and the turning circle was surprisingly bigger than I thought it would be, nearly bounced it off a curb! But yea my perspectives are a bit warped after coming out the Q7 into this!

[@adielouch]

The car is listed as an M2 480 DCT. What does the DCT mean then, if not Dual Clutch? Genuine question

[@NeilCrossy]

I did notice that myself, I just assumed wherever that was written that it was a mistake, it definitely doesn't have a double clutch setup so I dunno wtf that's about to be honest. The gearbox in the G87 is an 8 speed box made by ZF.

[@ChrisDavis333]

I didn’t like this color until watching this video, all the footage out of this color are the promo footage with the silver wheels.. this color needs the black wheels, maybe the bi-color I haven’t seen those yet. It’s a deeper richer grey and the black wheels just go with it, it’s a moody color and the moody wheels look very good in my opinion. Cool spec.

[@NeilCrossy]

Exactly! I first saw the colour around 7-8 years ago and fell in love with it there and then, when I saw the press car with the silver wheels... not gonna lie I thought it looked canny shit, but I 100% knew it would have a completely different vibe with the black wheels. It's such a unique colour, looks like wet cement in some lights and beige in others, and it's super rare cos most people will talk themselves out of grey when picking the individual colour if they've decided that's what they want. Totally agree that bi-colour would work as well, but for me this was bang on the money

[@kdjunkins]

I have an m240i, upgraded with bavsound speakers and subwoofers, but quite honestly improve your source, use your phone with a DAC and some Apple Music or Amazon hi res audio. Tremendous improvement over FM or SAT radio

[@NeilCrossy]

I never ever listen to the FM or any kind of radio, the constant relentless cringe inducing commercials that you hear on the radio make me want to self harm so I just don't ever listen to it haha I did mess about with the source and got it to slightly improve, messed about with the EQ within my phone and Samsung phones have frequency boosters which make a difference, but it's still not great. Honestly though, what I've noticed is when Android Auto activates... the sound being piped in from your phone immediately dulls down a bit and goes softer. I dunno if the source is being degraded because it's sent over bluetooth to the car, but I don't think these cars even support wired Android Auto now?

[@kdjunkins]

@ if you have an aux input jack and attach a DAC adapter (I spent less than $100 on a Helm Audio device) to your phone and play hi res music from Amazon or Apple Music, you will be amazed by the sound quality and dynamics

[@matth8205]

Still trying so hard to like the looks of these 😢 hope they grow on me

[@NeilCrossy]

It might not grow on you m8 it's probably why some people absolutely love it, cos it's quite different and edgy

[@matth8205]

@ the g8 m3 did eventually and I love everything else about these so fingers crossed 🤞

[@bermudavipertv]

How have you set the digital key to lock as you walk away? I have to put my phone next to the nfc reader on the door handle?

[@NeilCrossy]

It kinda just did it by itself? Is yours a pre-LCI? I think there was a comfort pack on those which might have included it, not sure, but all that is standard in the LCI. I can have a dive through the iDrive to see if there is a setting for it but I'm 99% sure it just did it from the get go. I haven't even set up my phone as a digital key either, it's doing it based on the location of the actual BMW fob thing

[@bermudavipertv]

@@NeilCrossy No mine is an LCI. I think you are mixing your keys up. The digital key is phone only. You are referring to the standard key which unlocks and locks upon proximity.

[@bermudavipertv]

@@NeilCrossy I've found out the M2 doesn't have the UWB radio switched on to work with the phone although there was an article saying BMW were planning on updating it via software. So for now comfort access is key only.

[@waynemiller1609]

Thank you for this video, I was considering purchasing an M2 but you are correct with all of your dislikes!…I am no longer considering purchasing this car.

[@fzr1000981]

M4?

[@NeilCrossy]

fair enough!

[@NeilCrossy]

M4 is a completely different price bracket obviously, for me there wasn't enough in the M4 to justify going near £100k for a few extra conveniences. It would be nice if there was a few more in the M2, but for me the M4 needs to offer a bit more to justify that much of a price jump. It's also seen an unreasonably large price hike from the F model which I can't work out why.

[@bobstarr]

Ya, i'm in the market for this car so i am wondering what car you would choose over this?

[@fzr1000981]

@@bobstarr nothing else beats it in the price range with 490 rwhp on a dyno. C8 vette if you can live with GM quality

[@David-ju5ci]

Stunning car health to enjoy.

[@dj1nnie]

2025 M2, Samsung S24 Ultra... what do you do for a living, Neil ? :)

[@NeilCrossy]

Self employed :) if you look up a company called Autodesk, I work with their stuff

[@Tibialstone7]

Great video again! It’s a shame they are getting cheaper and cheaper interiors and less premium feel; it’s a reflection of the state of the car market currently. For me the sound system is HUGE so this is really disappointing to hear. I thought it was just me but when I test drove a 2024 model last summer I was so disappointed with how it sounded. No thump or real body to the sound, just flat and lifeless.

[@NeilCrossy]

Yea that's a pretty good explanation of it. Someone suggested coding in the B&W profiles through Bimmercode but after buying a license, it turns out that iDrive 8.5 no longer supports 3rd party coding changes so it's not possible anymore. I made a talking head video about that too but decided not to post it cos it was just 15 minutes of me whinging haha

[@ChrisDavis333]

I sell Kia’s that have dual clutch transmissions lol

[@NeilCrossy]

My wife has a Kia... that might be the only positive thing to say about them then haha it's one of her biggest regrets in like buying a Kia after marrying me mwa haha