...last weekend for our trip to Florida. (They didn't have a Lexus available)

Got a chance to drive a 328i for a few days and I must say

A bit bumpy in both comfort and sport modes. Seats were nowhere near the comfort level of my GS. Being used to the navigation and other items on the Lexus, the BMW system was a tad confusing. My left leg, when bent while driving bumped against the door and was a tad painful.

I did test drive a BMW before settling for the GS350, and this time around, I'm glad I went with the Lexus.

A no-brainier.

 

A 328 vs a GS350 isn't quite fair.
The 5 Series is the GS competitor.

 

By size, yes. And of course, driving dynamics (power to weight ratios, balance, etc).

But the materials and tech should be the same. As much as we'd love to think the 5-Series is closer to the 7-Series (like the GS-Line to the LS-Line), material quality truly is more similar to their smaller sportier brethren (the 3-Series and IS-Line).

 

I don't know where the LS or 7 Series plays into this but Vasilli posted about comfort,ride quality,roominess....
The size,room,comfort etc is much better in a 5 Series vs a 3 Series.
When the GS was road tested it was against the 5 Series,A6 etc.
Yes,a GS over a 328 is a no brainer.

 

I was simply making a point on materials.

Otherwise, I agreed with you. Yes, size matters.

 

Classic Phil

 

 

Depends on the trim level, base model stripped down 328i with the leatherette is very low grade

Since it is a rental car, it is likely a base model stripper.

 

3-Series interior in general is pretty low grade. Amazing how much a badge can make people forget that

 

so is base 5 series ... although a lot better than 3 series.

I spent a weekend looking at BMWs with a friend, and trying to make him buy one instead of Audi but it was a hard sell... interiors dont look special enough.

 

Have to agree - the interior of the 3 series, especially the current generation, is just about as bad as it gets for that class.

 

Easy to explain, some people only look at the badge and nothing else.

For a very long time, Ferrari made some very low quality cars, but because of the badge they are the coolest cars to some people.

 

I'm no big F30 fan but...

1) Guarantee that car had base model seats
2) We wonder why BMW's are getting softer with each generation

Going to have disagree with this. While I do agree the gap from 5-series to 7-series is better, to say they should be the same is questionable at best.

 

I would agree that the interior materials feel on the Lexus in general feels a lot better than on the BMW. I would disagree though about the ride quality and driving feel. I think that all comes down to preference. For me personally I lived the way my BMW 3 series with sports suspension drove much better then my LS and GS. I like the more firm and sporty feel. I'm not really a huge fan of a soft isolated ride. The steering feel in the 3 series was also more to my liking. So much so that I actually disconnected the power steering ECU on my GS. That helped a bit, but it's not the same.

To tell you the truth I don't think the plastics used in the Lexus is all that much better. I think Lexus does a better job of adding padding, or thicker vinyl to the exterior of their plastics. If you remove the plastic panels on the Lexus you'd find it's just as hard as any other plastics used in other cars.

 

You are dead on

Somehow Lexus managed to make their low end model feels more premium then they are, low end base model from European brands just down right feels cheap, it is due to their a la carte pricing menu, you really have to pay to get nice stuff from the European brands, even base model Benz S550 and 911 Carrera are still plastic everywhere, they give you nothing if you are not paying extra. I guess their base model is designed for poser who just want the image and the badge.

European cars are just very expensive, you pay to play. The low price base model comes with nothing.