Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

In short the IS350 offered virtually identical (stock) performance to the 335i, better resale, much higher reliability, a much nicer interior, and cost like 10-15k less similarly equipped (and even then the BMW would've been missing a few things). Was pretty much a no brainer to me.


The ONLY thing the BMW offered, for all those negatives, was it has a ton more aftermarket performance things you can do to modify the car. But if I"m going to mod the hell out of a car to make it much faster I'd just save a mountain of cash and do it to an older (and still more reliable) car than a brand new one.

Doco21

I needed a reliable bang-for-my-buck car for a few years. I needed to be where I need to go, on time and I didn't want to worry about if my car can get me there. My short list was Toyota and Lexus. Fortunately, Lexus CPO gave me more warranty miles than even new cars. Even if I didn't get a CPO, I would have still went Toyota or Lexus. (It didn't help that the style and color were perfect!)

Once I'm done however... You can't beat the steering response of the BMW and it'll be cool to pick one up in Germany. Straight away speed, smooth drive, looks and reliability - Lexus. Both companies had different goals IMHO.

pelucidor

I am also in the market for my next sporty sedan in the $45k-$50k range to replace my IS350 in October.

So far I have test-driven:
BMW 335i
BMW 335xi
Audi A4 2.0t
Audi A4 3.2
Mercedes C350
Mercedes E350
Lexus GS350 AWD
Jaguar XF

In reverse order of preference:
Jaguar - was very big on the outside for its interior space, felt big and unwieldy, interior looked great in photos and felt awful in real life. Only considered because it has such great magazine reviews - massively overpriced IMO, and anchor-like depreciation (so leasing at $900 per month compared to Lexus/BMW at $600).

Mercedes C350 - wonderful exterior but had the worst interior of any car above $30k I have sat in and everything felt cheap (model I looked at was about $47k) and car felt SLOOOW. The E class had nice old interior but was a boat, and being replaced in a few months - only considered because they will be dealing on these big time soon.

Audi A4 - the interior was quite good, weak NAV, reasonable leather etc. Exterior was good (S5 looks incredible - vastly better than sedans). The V6 engine made wonderful sounds but so slow and car felt ponderous, the 2.0t was about as quick but engine sounded strained and not pleasant all the time. Note I really wanted to like the Audi but the 2.0t Prestige with NAV etc cost $44k - the same as an loaded IS350 - crazy.

Lexus GS350 AWD - similar to IS350 but bigger, slightly slower, not as handsome (duh). Don't know if I need to 'grow up' and get this kind of vehicle yet but the IS is sometimes a little cramped - certainly GS is way better than Mercedes E350 or Jaguar XF in my book. Would prefer RWD but cannot wait 4 months for a custom order due to Lexus' silly dealership ordering process.

BMW - 335xi felt higher and slightly slower than 335i (which it is) - the RWD is a better fit where I live. New idrive is vastly better than what I have in my 2008 BMW X5 and better than Audi's MMI or Mercedes COMAND. Car is incredible to drive - a real rocket ship and better in the corners than an IS - and Audi/Mercedes should replace their 260HP engines with something better asap. New styling for 2009 finally made me consider the 3 series. Also has about 2" more knee space in the back than my IS350, and rear seats can fold down which is handy. Options are very overpriced but car is incredibly good, very solidly put together even if not as luxurious as Lexus (e.g. hard leather) - also not a single problem with our hard driven X5 in 15k miles.



Factoring price into it (all similarly equipped) the 335i is $49k, the GS350 is $52k, the IS350 is $44k and the so-slow Audi A4 3.2 is $47k.
If I can get a good lease deal I will take the 335i (free servicing and parts make up about $2k of the $5k difference over an IS350 in 3 years/45k miles), otherwise I will probably get another IS350 (bulletproof, wonderful car). The GS might still be a contender if I feel I really need more space come October and there are really good deals to move them (recently had $9k off list price I believe).

Fizzboy7

Exterior and interior styling was number one on my list. The amount of standard features was second. At the time, Lexus had the best lease deals out of all cars listed. Was waiting for new A4, but the new body style (B8) had not debuted yet (and is now much more expensive). I have no regrets with the IS. It lacks some power, but it looks great, is very comfortable, and affordable. I've detailed the new 3 series and was not impressived with the interior materials and quality.

Little E

iTrader: (2)

Lexus = Fancy Toyota. Toyota = Reliability

Lots of luxury features come standard on a Lexus....whereas BMW will nickel and dime you for every little upgrade. That's what sold me on getting my IS250.

bronz

bmw is nice, But i went with lexus because of the reliability and the sexy body style, and the power in the is350.

ApoK

I absolutely love the 335i coupe! I love its lines and the exhaust notes are great. I really thought about getting that over my IS 350, but there were many mitigating factors that persuaded me towards the Lexus.

First, is PRICE ... I got a brand new IS 350 for $36500 by getting two dealers to compete against each other. That's about 13k-15k less than the 335i coupe...

Next, I thought the BMW coupe looked much better than the IS 350 sedan (although the lexus still looked great). But, it wasn't really a fair comparison. The Lexus is so much cheaper that I would have much more money to modify it to my taste. Hence, I was able to add lowering springs, sways, new wheels/tires, GFX kit, redout, intake ... and now I actually think my 350 is better than a stock 335i coupe. With all those mods, it's STILL cheaper to get the lexus over the bimmer.

Then, there's the whole reliability factor. Lexus is more reliable than BMW. period.


Also, in response to your question about how it drives in the snow, the car is great with Blizzaks on the stock 18 inch wheels. It doesn't really slip at all if you are a careful driver that realizes the snow means you shouldn't act like you're on the track. I feel really confident with my Lexus in the Minnesota winters ... which tend to last forever...

Best of luck!

cc16ue

iTrader: (1)

great car reviews for all these different models, but why would you get another IS350 to replace your current one if none of these cars are good enough? it seems to me you prefer euro cars except for the lexus, but what about the TL (yes is ugly), or the new G37 or even the M series, because I would get those over some of the cars in your list, ie Benz and Jag.

All4sho350

iTrader: (7)

interior, exterior, and reliability confidentally stated

Stevoe88

iTrader: (1)

Driving feel wise, the lexus doesn't steer too far from the A4. Both the A4 and the ISx50's felt numb. I don't know if you're choosing those cars for performance or not but the A4 isn't the sports sedan it was before (assuming you test drove the 2009)'s. The reason why I went with the Lexus is that it satisfied my needs of the perfect daily driver, not a car I would take it up to the mountain passes to drive spiritedly, or track it. With the Bmw 328i vs. IS250, I'd go Bmw hands down. The only thing that made me choose the IS250 was the lower monthly + 0 down. (4 year lease) The 328i is more peppy and more of a drivers car rather than a settled down mature sedan like the IS250. If you're not looking at performance in any aspect, go with the IS250. If you're looking for a little more "umph" in your daily commute, 328i is the way to go.

If you want to be in a whole different ball park in price and power:

Basically the same thing with IS350 vs. 335i. More performance, raw sports car feel, go for 335i. For the refined, settled down, and comfortable ride, go for the IS350.

For the other selections, not much of a jaguar/mercedes fan (unless its the AMG Black series) so I didn't bother comparing since I didn't have any seat time in any of those. But overall, the BMW will be more expensive in the end so take that into consideration too.
Hope this helps.

Doco21

Talks about the Audi reminds me of a promo Audi did with the A4. They brought us out and let us drive the A4, BMW 325i AWD, IS250 AWD, Mercedes something AWD. Of course they took the best trim for the A4 and as low below baseline they could for the rest.

At the end of the test drive in the course, they asked us which car had better steering, everyone pointed to the BMW. The Benz felt like driving a fish tank. The AWD ISx50 sucked because the tires were bald which caused the annoying TC beep to come on ALL the time. The A4 is a nice car and looks good but I've heard horror stories about its reliability, even on their infamous R8.

Kevin350

OMG 83 pages! This suck. I'm stuck between the 2 cars. Well back to reading I guess. This blows.

iSuxeL

iTrader: (21)

Stock/lightly modified 335i's can't hang with me!

mvlbr

1: It's a Toyota (meaning much more reliable)
2: Better bang for the buck
3: Leather is an option on those other cars

abelhands

I am not completely convinved that just because it is a Toyota that it is more reliable than BMW.