Yet another Infiniti G35 and BMW 330i comparison.

Lost due to ???

JUGNU

Everyone knows BMW is the king when it comes to performance and they are difficult to beat. But concerning the new G35, it is one heck of a competitor and definitely gives BMW a run for it's money. Even Motortrend admitted (in the first test) that the G35 was excellent, but the BMW still won out because it was TOO good.
But from an everyday driving (practical) point of view, how many people on the average will notice the subtle differences in the driving? If anything, regular people will notice the areas where Infiniti did beat the BMW, notably in straight line acceleration and braking. Your average consumer isn't gonna rip through the slalom and see what the speed is or also make the next right hand turn at 60mph. To quote Car and Driver, "If you don't need the BMW cachet, this car(Infiniti) has everything else."
So yes, the BMW is the best when it comes to handling, but for the average consumer, I reckon the difference will be negligible.

One other interesting note. Everyone knows that Infiniti's name isn't as big as BMW's which is why they must undercut their prices so much. In this case a whopping $9000. But BMW's are expensive because of the special materials used and the design of the chasis to give the car such great handling. One has to wonder if Infiniti could sell a car at the same price as BMW, they would probably invest all the tons of extra money into developing something that could handle as well as the BMW. Motortrend says BMW's handling is 'magical' and simply cannot be reverse engineered because it would've been done by now. I say, you usually get what you pay for, and in this case, $9000 less won't get you THE EXACT same handling(although close) as the BMW. I'm sure things could be different if the price difference wasn't so far apart.

funny how it beat the BMW in Acceleration, and Braking; tied in grip, lost in comfort and yet somehow lost... Id say this is alittle biased.... BMW = overrated

Last sentence of that biased comparison by MT:
...the G35 is a better package....the BMW is the better car...////?whatever that means?
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The G35 is more powerful (by far), much better acceleration and braking...great interior...great interior room....more, many more standard features AND all for less....but...but it lost neverthelss ?
Well done MT....brilliant job of comparing indeed!

I agree with Logical. The 335i will give BMW not only fastest acceleration, but also best handling and driving dynamics in class.

That is a truly unbeatable combination, especially consdering the 335i starts at only $41,500.

Unfortunately what a BMW "starts at" and what it costs "out the door" are thousands of dollars apart. Compare two cars with similar features, one made by Lexus or Infiniti and the other by the Bavarians and see the difference.

The competition is catching up, there's no denying that. I still think that BMW seems to always have that "little something extra" which the competition always seems to miss.

BTW, raw performance was never really BMW's philosophy. When BMW builds a car, they aim for BALANCE. Driving dynamics, power etc. all have to complement each other and make the car drive like a true BMW. Balance is the key. The Infiniti might be faster, but will that help on the twisty racetrack? Only in straightaways: and the BMW is no slouch either.

The 335i will be faster in a straightline and on a track than the G35. They have got those two threats from Infiniti clearly addressed.

Of the 5 test, BMW won 2 and one was very subjective. From this information it was crowned the Best in the Entry Level Sedan division?
WOW

Go BMW

Well, unless I'm reading the info wrong, the 335i may end up extending BMW's lead a bit more, but the 335i is BMW's first use of a turbo engine. A twin turbocharged inline 6 to be exact. BMW was always known to be for the 'purists', meaning no forced induction engines. This is their first turbo engine offered in a production car. Infiniti has no plans for a turbo engine at this time(unless they change the next GT-R to Infiniti). So it isn't exactly fair to compare the 335i(turbo) to the G35(normally aspirated).
Nevertheless, traditional 'purist' companies like Acura and BMW are finding out that turbos are very good at increasing horsepower without having to increase the engine displacement. This is an advantage for giving good gas milage and being more powerful at the same time. Acura introduced their first turbo in the RDX, and now BMW is doing it with the 335i. Will Lexus and Infiniti eventually go to turbos? I think that's the direction things are moving.

GermanNut-

"ONLY" $41,500? That makes it the most expensive entry-luxury sedan on earth (335i)!

I'm tired of this crap. People are making excuses like, "the only reason the BMW will be better is because it will have turbos!" You're saying it like it's a handicap that Infiniti or Lexus don't have turbos. They could've taken the time to turbocharge their cars, but unlike BMW, they don't want to extract every droplet out of their engines.

However... I applaud Lexus and Infinti for reaching the exact same power output from the exact same size engines. Couldn't Infiniti have put 307hp in the new G35, so that they could one-up Lexus? (-;

Now, the wildcards in this class will be the new A4 and the new C-Class. Both promising improved performance, efficiency, styling and luxury, this segment will really heat up in the next year or so.

personally, i'm tired of hearing "almost as good as the BMW but for thousands less". it's been said on here enough times but somehow leasing still always seems to get overlooked. Nobody, not lexus, mbz, audi, lease as well as a bmw.

considering most people (here in so cal at least) lease a new car every 2-3 years, the fact that you can lease a bmw with a much heavier sticker for the same as the "thousands less competition" surely needs to be considered when comparing (or arguing as this website seems to work) "price"

also, isn't it a little ironic that they compare a 2007 against a 2006. screw the turbo excuse, how about a 2007 vs a 2007? sound fair?

will-heck ya thats why! who cares if my car isn't reliable at 100,000 miles if i'm done with it at 35,000 miles? very few people (comparing bmw/lexus/infiniti/mbz/audi keep their cars long enough for reliablity to be an issue. i'm on my third bmw lease in the last 6 years and have never once had any of the cars in the shop (excluding my FREE 15,000 mile and 30,000 mile services)

price (MSRP) is no doubt valid. just not as important to most so cal buyers b/c they lease. all we care about is drive off and payment when comparing price.

The placements were given by Motor Trend. However, I agree with Motor Trend because a comparison of this kind is not meant to compare which vehicle is superior but which vehicle fulfills the category (entry-level luxury sedan) better.

Motor Trend gave the win to the 3 only because it knows that the new G35 coupe is gonna wax the 335. Motor Trend sells mags and can't ticked off its customers.

It's hard to comparison shop for a lease, since so many dealers are so high-pressure and close-lipped. I'm looking to lease a new 3 series. Found one web posting (http://www.bmwleasepayment.com) where someone's specifically trying to get others to post the terms they're offered, in the hopes that it'll build up to a sort of clearing house of Beemer lease info to help everyone make a better-informed choice.