Where each one leads
Audi R8
- Against cars of the same age, the Audi R8 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 30% more often than average) than the BMW M2 (passes 8% more often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi R8 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 78% less often than average) than the BMW M2 (fails 33% less often than average).
BMW M2
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW M2 uses 12.5 l/100 km, the 2023 Audi R8 13.7.
- New BMW M2 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 186 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 296 for the Audi R8 in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol BMW M2 uses 12.0 l/100 km on the road, the Audi R8 17.5.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi R8 | BMW M2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2006–2025 | 2016–2024 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 6,301 (2010–2022) | 32,347 (2015–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 3,126 | 24,433 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 715 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi R8 | BMW M2 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 90% | 89% |
| … against cars of the same age | +30% | +8% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −78% | −33% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 2.9% |
| US owner complaints | 14 | 30 |
| Most complaints about | Suspension | Exterior lighting |
| Model year with most complaints | 2009 (6) | 2017 (17) |
| US recall campaigns | 2 | 6 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 5,671 | 508 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi R8 | BMW M2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 13.7 l/100 km (2023) | 12.5 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 17.5 l/100 km | 12.0 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 296 g/km | 186 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 436 kW (585 hp) | 266 kW (357 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,670 kg | 1,734 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €105,775 |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).