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2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL

41 messages,  Last post on Jun 26, 2009 at 6:24 AM

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What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 5

#12 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [Mr_Shiftright] by lili1

Mar 09, 2007 (10:40 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 09, 2007 9:40 am)
no having to drive in the snow, I will go for the BMW for the RWD which is much more natural to accelerate out of a turn aided by weight transfer under power till you overdo teh speed. Altima is FWD and normally require drifting oversteer/plow out of a turn requiring room as you drift out of a turn in a line which a normal road's width and flow of the turn does not lend well to that.
 
The Altima with the power is enticing for more simple the straight road accleration with the seat of the pants feel and the BMW is more all rounded and mature handling as well as feel of driving a solidly built mahinery rather than a figer tip steering machine. BMW is more a well crafted piece of design w/ all of its pieces moving more in harmony and the Altima is a raw basket of coponents each carrying its own technical specs put together, that is one is designed around the human being who is controlling the machine and the Altima put together for an operator of the machine. For deep enjoyment and artistically chiseled out 3D shape Vs a less deep shaped to please who who can see simpler line, that is BMW Vs Altima. So, that is 10K dollar difference in the feel, feeling, taste.... However, everything is relative, the Altima on the other hand is a much soother design, more artistic shape than Accords and Camry.....
 
Driving wise, all the three FWD will behave and feel more or less the same if you do a blind fold test, I bet.

#13 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [lili1] by fedlawman

Mar 09, 2007 (8:29 pm)

Replying to: lili1 (Mar 09, 2007 10:40 am)
Hmmm, sounds interetsing. I'm going to find a dealer that will let me test-drive them blind-folded.

#14 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [fedlawman] by lili1

Mar 10, 2007 (3:34 pm)

Replying to: fedlawman (Mar 09, 2007 8:29 pm)
Too late already. You have seen all those three 'Japanese barnded' cars already, and you can include the Fusion but I think that is a different category (AWD is always neutral even back in the days of the Audi Quattro fo the 80's therefore easier to corner a little faster while also gripping better to therefore power out of the corner a that little edge. So, unfair comparison.)!!!! You can't even be led to each of the car blindfolded and all logo taped up... just joking.
 
Well, MBW Vs ALtima, it is a bottle of older wine Vs a bottle of regular stuff. The former you have a longer after taste and more to feel and explore, the latter, the most you got is get drunk.
 
However, there is no bias and pure reality. A difference of 10k is not all eaten up by margin. We all have to ralized that the Nissan designers have taken a significantly pain staking exercises to cut $1 by $1 on each piece of whatever in the car, down to drill 3 holes instead of 4 to save $1 cents for example. The non-margin share of the 10K has a LONG way to go $1 by $1. In this global economy and WW outsourcing, there is a pretty normal price for each way of design, materials, manufacturing, quality, life, etc. You are paying 25% more, you should be getting closer to 25% more of a car. You don't have the extra money, you can't ask for the fine tuning, the last touch, the life, the tightness of mechanical parts.... However, the SE/SL by no mean is the entry level all 'cheap' design.

#15 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [car111] by mf15

Mar 11, 2007 (11:01 am)

Replying to: car111 (Mar 07, 2007 7:20 pm)
My son has an 05 Altima I really love the power.
So I went to the Nissan dealer and sat on an 07 loaded 32000
sl it was white with blond leather. Perhaps I did not like the light colored leather, not sure why but my cheapness meter went off for some reason. I will have to test drive another color. The other bad thing I noticed was that on the sides of the doors I could see though the paint, and it looked like fish scales, not good. I really want to like the Altima since I can get the Nissan VPP program. Then I went to the Acura dealer and sat in a TSX, wow, wow was this car nice inside, I liked it so much had to test drive. Great car but underwhelmed by the power will have to drive without the salesman. While the TSX is not a BMW, my experience may show the difference between the Altima and another upscale car. Old Mike

#16 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [mf15] by fedlawman

Mar 11, 2007 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: mf15 (Mar 11, 2007 11:01 am)
You can't go wrong with the Altima or the TSX (or BMW for that matter), it just depends on what moves you.
 
I will say that I think you should look at other colors before you dismiss the Altima. The new model is greatly improved over the 2005 model in quality and fit/finish.
 
The scales you saw through the white paint were probably a result of the paint NOT being a pure white. Nissan doesn't offer the Altima in white, but instead has a color called "Winter Frost." While I haven't seen it in person myself, I suspect it is a metallic/pearlescent color - which might explain the "fish scales."
 
Good luck with whatever you choose.

#17 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [fedlawman] by mf15

Mar 11, 2007 (5:03 pm)

Replying to: fedlawman (Mar 11, 2007 2:47 pm)
Yes I want to like the new Altima I know all about it, as I said I can use the Nissan VPP program to get a real good price. But I could see through the paint to the metal on the doors while the hood did not have this problem. Old Mike

#18 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [mf15] by jd10013

Mar 12, 2007 (11:08 am)

Replying to: mf15 (Mar 11, 2007 5:03 pm)
you could try pointing it out to the dealer, and telling him you'll buy if its corrected. If, as you say, you can see through the paint; it is obioulsy a defect. That being the case, the dealership can probably have it corrected at minimal to no charge to them. Especially if it's just the doors. They can just take them off, strip, prime, paint, and clear coat em in a day or two.

#19 of 41 I have both Bmw 328i 2007and Nissan Altima 2006 by absolutic

Mar 12, 2007 (3:58 pm)

I own both. I mean my wife drives the Altima and I drive the new 328i. But we drive each other's car almost daily; we have a back-to-back parking, and usually I just pick up whatever car is parked behind that day when I need to go anywhere. I've had the Altima for about 7 months and the BMW for about 2 weeks. Now, our Altima is a 2006 style, I know they changed the style in 2007 and I don't know if it changed the dynamics. We've driven Altima on 1000-mile trips to Grand Canyon, in snow, in rain, to Vegas etc.
 
I think Altima is clearly a great sports sedan. It is definately more fun than Camry or Accord. It has a feel of a sports sedan. It is very 'lively.' It has logical compartments (and lots of them). It has great telescopic wheel. Nice trunk size. It is very comfy yet sporty and I tend to push it. It is also extremely comfortable on trips and provides plenty of room for 4 people. Now again I am not sure about the 2007 model because I know they made it narrower than 2006 (I hate when they do it, width = comfort). And my wife averages 24 mpg with mostly city traffic on a regular non-premium gas.
 
BMW, in addition to status factor of course, is even more fun around town. It is a very fast and confident car, which I want to drive. It is shorter than Altima and compartments are non-existent. As with everyone else, it is hard to explain but the car seems to know what I want to do next and is very quick to change lanes and to go in and out of traffic. The seats are comfortable and you don't get tired. I think I prefer it to Altima around town. However, on a long trip, I probably will take Altima, it is more roomy with more compartments. Things like place to put your sun glasses and logical cup holders.

#20 of 41 Re: 2007 BMW 328/335 vs Nissan Altima 2007 3.5 SE/SL [kdshapiro] by fighter1

Mar 13, 2007 (8:34 am)

Replying to: kdshapiro (Mar 09, 2007 8:33 am)
I agree. Altima just a nice family car with nice VQ engine, but it has so-so brakes, suspension & etc.

#21 of 41 :) by absolutic

Mar 13, 2007 (9:03 am)

I think breaks on Altima are actually very good. But BMW is just different. I get everywhere faster with BMW than with Altima

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