[msej449]

Over here in the UK the majority of 2 Series I see are the 6-cylinder versions of M235i and M240i. I asked my dealer about this and he said this was a reasonable reflection of actual sales. I also went for the M235i after driving both it and the 4-cyl. He also said that a lot of customers come in looking for an M2 then after test drives, opt for the M-Lite (especially since some dealers like mine will add the cosmetic bits and LSD at near cost price).

So it's interesting to speculate as to why this is so here, when there's a 12%-15% price premium for the 6-Cyl and premium petrol is £1.30/L (£4.92/US Gallon, $6.65/USG).

For me, the reasons were that (a) I felt the M235i handled better overall (whatever R&T belatedly invented just to be different) and (b) if I wanted to be sensible I'd buy a Toyota. For me, spending all that on a BMW and not going for the best engine made no sense.

This isn't to say that all the other options in the range are somehow inferior. Of course, they're not, just that they were for me.

Generally here, people don't seem to mod as much as in the US, and there's usually a big insurance hike if you do. So perhaps also the buying strategy is more likely to be to get a stock car that's as close to your expectations (and budget) as possible, without mods. But the main discussion of models here is between the M2 and the M-Lites. In terms of both what is the better DD and whether there's any point in buying an M-Lite and tying to retro-fit what is standard on an M2.