I wanted to love the BMW M2 CS, but the old one is better | evo REVIEW

Last year I drove this, the 92 grand BMW M2 CS and it was good but I couldn't figure out why it's so expensive. It's meant to be the most hardcore focused M2, it looks like a mini touring car but it didn't really get me going. It didn't feel like a proper Cayman GT4 rival but that was then, that was on the road. Today we've got it on a circuit to see if it can change my mind. This thing is a wild ride. It is pretty damn lairy this car. and it just wants to spin its tyres the whole time. But let's back it off a little bit because I need to explain why this car didn't do it for me when I drove it last year on the road. It was the South of France, it was our Car of the Year test and I had really high hopes for this thing because the last M2 CS, the F-Series car, that was an awesome thing to drive. It was a Car of the Year winner and it felt like a proper rival to the Cayman GT4. manual gearbox as an option and really kind of pugnacious and lairy but quite focused at the same time. But I drove this car and it didn't quite hit the spot for me. It feels about as good as this latest generation M2 gets but it didn't feel like it quite deserved the CS badge, it didn't feel like a massive step on. All the details, the steering, the control, the chassis and the extra power They do make a difference. They they bring the car to life a bit, but on the road I still wasn't feeling that connection to it. So yeah, it's the best M2 there is to drive but for 90 plus grand I wasn't convinced and here and now this is the environment where the CS needs to shine on a track This should be where the CS comes to life where you can really use that performance get it moving around a bit And you know what? I am really enjoying it on a circuit this thing is a wild ride because it's 523 horsepower and no matter the corner, no matter the gear, no matter the speed, it just wants to slide at the rear. And there's way more to a car than that obviously, we're not just looking for a drift king here but I love how brave they've been with the setup. If you turn everything off you really are on your own and you've got to hustle this thing, you've got to be absolutely on top of it. let's try through here so that's third into fourth and it's still spinning up the rears i hope that gives you a sense of just how lairy this car is this is one of the most traction limited cars i've ever driven on track the cs is rear drive only and this one is on michelin ps4s rather than the optional cup twos or cup 2rs which would be a much better match for its lower stiffer chassis and massive power, the torque of the CS engine is too much for BMW's manual gearbox to handle so sadly there's no three pedal option unlike the old car, it's a shame but the shift in the normal manual M2 isn't actually that great so you're not missing out on much, the CS is a little lighter than the base M2 but it's still 1700 kilograms which is a hell of a lot for a baby M car that doesn't stop it feeling absolutely rapid though, now we'd love to time this car on a set of Cup 2s and put it on the Evo leaderboard but right now there are a few complicated reasons why we can't do that, so this is just about getting a feel for the CS, seeing if it can change my mind I tell you what, I know it's on a track and I know that you naturally have more fun than you do on the road but I've got a huge smile on my face because this car is such a challenge and that's quite rare for a modern car actually to to feel quite intimidating and demand so much respect people say modern cars are easy to drive, turn everything off in this and it's really not, it's really not, even if I try to drive cleanly out the corner, I've got to manage it. If I took this car on a track day I'd want a bit more security a bit more bite from the tires, a bit more confidence because you can't drive sideways everywhere and there are certain times when you just want it to put the power down, so Cup 2s I think is what you need in an M2 CS on circuit, I'm still a bit conflicted by it, I do find myself enjoying it a lot here but is it a Cayman GT4 rival? Is it as good as that original M2 CS? I don't think it is, I think it's just a little bit too big, a little bit too disconnected. It just feels like a slightly bigger sports saloon that's been shrunken down rather than a purpose-built sports car. To be fair, that is what this car is. It's not like a Cayman. It wasn't designed as a sports car from the outset, but it's still a great car to drive. I'm still absolutely loving it, but we need to get one back. We need one on a set of Cup 2s. I want to find out how quick it is and what it feels like with just a little bit more grip, particularly at the back, but that'll have to wait for another day. For now, I'm just going to enjoy myself for a little bit longer in this proper hooligan of an M car.