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Sedans BMW 3-Series BMW 3-series vs Lexus IS
1527 messages, Last post on May 20, 2009 at 1:33 PM
You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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I had a Lexus IS 300 and my cousin had an 328 and my Lexus definitely held up much better over time, despite far more aggresive driving on my part. His 328 had numerous problems, perhaps the most embarasing failure being a water pump failure, which required me to help him out. My Lexus had never failed me mechanically despite very aggresive and constant hard driving. The car was in abysmal cosmetic condition I only got a $5,000 trade in value but the car was mechanically sound at 130K miles and probably had at least 70k-100k miles of service life. His bmw according to him was literally falling apart at 118K. If you like driving fast I think it means driving hard and there is nothing more important than having a car that can be abused day and day out, this is where Lexus and Toyota shine. If you want to just transportation just buy a Prius. Sure the BMW'r may be a great handling and fast car but most modern cars are so fast that most people will never even approach a car's limit in even something so humble as an ES 350. I've driven one too and in the right hands it can be very quick and fast around high speed corners, although the "feel" may be disagreeable to some. The handling limits of modern cars are just too high to be a true issue for most drivers on public roads,perhaps at a race track but certainly not on our streets and highways. So reliability in my opinion should be key criteria. |
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Replying to: grylexis300 (May 04, 2007 1:56 am) Don't know about the current generation (E90) 3-series, but the previous generation (the E46) has been a pretty reliable car. My 330i, purchased new in 2001, has been out of warranty for almost 2 years & has only in the shop once. It helps that when I ordered the car, I stacked the deck in my favor by avoiding the navigation system -- the Japanese are better at that stuff than the Germans -- & the automatic transmission. Since I prefer a stick, that wasn't a hardship. I respect Toyota/Lexus. My wife so liked her '99 ES 300 that she replaced it a few months ago with an '07 ES 350. It's just that they aren't a whole lot of fun to drive. I've driven the IS 350. It's a well-made, comfortable car. But the best thing that you can say about the driving experience is that it's pleasant. It's just too soft around the edges to be genuinely engaging. I'll probably replace my BMW in a couple of years. Since I'm not blindly loyal to BMW, I'll test-drive every car on the market with RWD & a stick that's priced under $50K. If Toyota can see its way clear to offering a stick on the IS 350 by then, I'll certainly test-drive it & seriously consider it. After all, I'm a reasonable guy.
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Replying to: jimbres (May 04, 2007 4:12 am) Well, that's not going to take you long -- my top two requirements are the same as yours & there's only a handful of cars involved. The RWD eliminates all the less-expensive cars & the manual transmission cuts out the vast majority of the really expensive ones -- does simplify the search though, I guess. If you want a fold-down rear seat, two fall off & if you don't want to get stung with another American effort that could be derailed at any moment, another couple go by the wayside. The IS is simply too small inside, particularly in back (& not all that light in the bargain) & doesn't have that fold-down seat thing. Good luck with your search. Let us know how it turns out when the time comes.
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Replying to: cdnpinhead (May 04, 2007 5:06 am) I'm intrigued by what I've read about the upcoming Cadillac CTS & I'm just unstable enough to find the idea of a stick-shift Caddy perversely appealing. By the time I'm ready to buy anything, the new CTS will have been on the market for 2 years. If it hasn't disgraced itself by then, I'll look closely at it. |
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Replying to: jimbres (May 04, 2007 5:49 am) Said another way, BMW has already raised the bar with the 335. Regards, OW
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Replying to: circlew (May 04, 2007 6:47 am) Don't know about "raised the bar". More like came even with the other players...
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Replying to: jimbres (May 04, 2007 5:49 am) I know exactly what you're saying here, BTW. I had the same idea when I bought my Lincoln LS in 2000 with a manual -- the first one for Lincoln in 47 years or something like that. The car's fine, but FLM left it high & dry, along with all the fools who bought it the first year for at or near invoice. So, fool me once. . . I've heard quite a few good things about the CTS, and the next iteration may be an excellent car, especially after the first year or so to work the bugs out.
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Replying to: circlew (May 04, 2007 6:47 am)
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Replying to: cdnpinhead (May 04, 2007 7:28 am) |
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Replying to: legar (Oct 20, 2005 8:42 pm) Better feeling, handling, and strong engine. I know without a doubt can handle my very very very fast speeds with absolute confidence. I test drove Lexus, really liked it a lot. I tell other people they should buy one. But for me and my 'spirited' driving; only BMW. If BMW ever really pisses me off. I would buy that IS in a hearbeat. Realy good looks, AIR comes THROUGH their seats! that was really cool. decent power, nice interior. Just doesn't ride or corner as good as BMW. K |
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