from the USA Today weekly car blog:

a writer asks:

Good Afternoon, Jim. My question is my lease is up on my 2008 BMW 528xi and I would like to trade down. My considerations are a Merecedes C class, BMW 3 series or InfinitiG37x. Each I know has there own good qualities but really which is the best vehicle all around. Thanks and have a nice day.

James Healey: Trick question, right? For my money, G37x all the way. Same answer I'm pretty sure I've given often in M-B, BMW, etc comparison questions. I prefer Infiniti's driving feel and its awd system, among other things. Doesn't have the snob appeal, perhaps, of a German brand, but the way it goes down the road is more important than that on my scale.

 

Obviously I agree. Wouldn't say the G has the same feel as a bmw going down the road, but it's pretty close. When considering everything else, the G trumps the bmw for the same price.

 

If they were the same price I would take a 335i over the G, but they are not anywhere near the same price....

 

ding ding we have a winner. That and the much nicer interior sold me on the G. The 12-15k price difference (in Canada) helped too.

 

The interior of the 3 series is seriously lacking. I've read some complaints on a few BMW sites about this years model being even more DE-contented than last years model. One thread showed a guy's new 3 series and he was complaining about the interior quality. It really looked sub-standard. Maybe it was the interior options he chose but really it shouldn't ever get that bad. I barely found prior year's interiors to be acceptable myself.

Couple that with costing more and having a high cost of ownership and I don't know what else there is to say. However, I understand that the driving feel is why a lot of people love BMW.

 

that and also the "look at meh I gots a bimmer! (although its a base 3 series)" douchebaggery.