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Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans

19091939596435

Comments

  • deweydewey Member Posts: 5,251
    If you honestly think BMWs are like overpriced crystal jewelery then that is fine with me!

    But I can assure you that you will feel exasperation when those auto mags continue picking BMW as a number one choice! Your simple crystal jewelery theory will fail to explain auto mag choices.

    Why not just forget auto rags and your theories. Just go out there and do your own test drive comparisons. My brother-in-law test drove a Infiniti G35, a BMW330i and a Lexus ES 330. He chose a ES330 and thinks I am nuts in trying to persuade him that a Infiniti G35 or BMW330i are more exciting cars. To each his own!
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    "Sedan market existed long before BMW made 2002 (the predecessor of 3 series)."

    True, but we're talking about Entry-level luxury performance sedans on this forum. By most accounts that started with 3 series. 2002's were very spartan.
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    Or maybe it's the roadfeel and the at-the-limit handling the G35 still can't match.

    Match what? G35 have long surpassed the 5 series in "roadfeel" (is that a German word, just kidding ;-) and at-the-limit handling.

    BTW, what does the M35/45 compete with then?

    In price it competes against 5 series, but in size, once again, half a size bigger (or slightly less than that). Also notice, the difference in wheel base among G, M and Q is only a couple inches (112 ~ 114) whereas the difference among the BMW's is quite wide, from 108 all the way to 117, with 5 smack in the 113", closest to G, M and Q.
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    "Match what? G35 have long surpassed the 5 series in "roadfeel" (is that a German word, just kidding and at-the-limit handling."

    Huh??
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    Huh??

    5 series is actually a very staid car, compared to 3 series and G35.
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    True, but we're talking about Entry-level luxury performance sedans on this forum. By most accounts that started with 3 series. 2002's were very spartan.

    So did entry-level luxury performance sedan market exist or not before the 3 series? Didn't BMW have to steal sedan market buyers for its 3 series? That's the point I have been making, BMW wins points by charging premium for a small sedan that naturally out-handles much bigger competitions at the same price point.
  • maxellmanmaxellman Member Posts: 43
    Which one has Cd of 0.3 and which one has 0.28?

    MPG: Which one has 21/29 and which one has 24/32?

    That is a 15% engineering handicap. Why can't BMW just copy a Lexus? Is it really that hard to make a copy with those over flow of German engineers that is so hard to lay off?

    Come on, 15%? Is this the best we can get after that 7 long years?
  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    Match what? G35 have long surpassed the 5 series in "roadfeel" (is that a German word, just kidding and at-the-limit handling.

    Maybe on your planet. The G35 in my time with it was a fun car but its NVH was unbearable, the tranny notchy and the car's handling was skittish (especially when pushed...the FM platform has a nasty proclivity for snap oversteer). Of course this is just my experience driving manual versions and my friends automatic.
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    Since you appear NOT to have any issues w.r.t. expressing your over-imaginative opinions regarding these cars, allow me to express mine...

    You might be among the very few people on the planet to arive at the conclusion that the 5-Series is "very staid". Coupled with your off-the-charts opinions in general, allow me say that you that you are coming at this from someplace I've never heard of :P

    Some humans are actually larger than the average Hobbit, so no "performance" car will do if it is impossible to drive comfortably. That said, the 5-Series sedans and estates continue to set the bar from a "total balance" performance perspective.

    Your comments are simply out there on their own and do not offer an intelligent counter-point to the relative performance merits of BMW and Infiniti. Trust me, if you and I were to show up at Road Atlanta in our respective auto's, I'd give myself a better than even chance to out run you over a 10-lap circuit. You can drive the G35 (or your SAAB) and I'll drive my little '03 530SP and the issue of being "staid" will most likely be laid to rest.
  • kdshapirokdshapiro Member Posts: 5,751
    "That's the point I have been making, BMW wins points by charging premium for a small sedan that naturally out-handles much bigger competitions at the same price point."

    So your point is a smaller car will naturally outhandle a bigger car everything else being equal? So a Civic can outhandle a 550?
  • deweydewey Member Posts: 5,251
    Which one has Cd of 0.3 and which one has 0.28?

    MPG: Which one has 21/29 and which one has 24/32?


    LOL, I am so impressed!!! It just makes me want to jump right out of my seat and place an order for that potent, agile and high-performance king called the Lexus IS250! :P

    Regarding MPG, did you compare a manual IS250 to a manual BMW325i? Contrary to your example above the manual BMW has a bit of an edge over the manual IS250 in terms of MPG!

    BUT I dont think BMW engineers are too concerned about MPG for a 325i when they have fuel miser turbodiesel versions of the e90 (BMW intends to sell diesels to our continent in a few years)
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    The G35 in my time with it was a fun car but its NVH was unbearable, the tranny notchy and the car's handling was skittish (especially when pushed...the FM platform has a nasty proclivity for snap oversteer).

    Where's your sense of adventure? ;-) What you have described is the soul of a 911, in case you did not notice, served up in smaller portions.
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    So your point is a smaller car will naturally outhandle a bigger car everything else being equal? So a Civic can outhandle a 550?

    Not sure where you are getting your strawman. A Ferrari 550 cost 15 times as much as a Civic, and a BMW 550i costs nearly 5 times as much. If that's what it takes to beat the lowly Civic . . . On the other hand, when cost are anywhere within shouting distance, a 550i certainly lags a 330i in the handling department.
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    LPS = Luxury Performance Sedans. What BGDC described has absolutely NOTHING in common with or to do with a 911. The more thoughts you express here, the more you make my prior point of coming at this from an unknown place. A G35 has the "soul of a 911 served up in smaller portions"? Rich, my man... rich.
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    YOU are making the vain attempt to compare the larger and smaller platforms! Also, in the spirit of this discussion, 550 can ONLY refer to the 5-Series sedan you believe is an underperformer. Guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, and yours are abolutely thought-provoking :D
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    In case you did not know, the "skittishness" i.e. the readiness to swap the front and back ends has been the hallmark of 911's fun handling for decades. To a lesser degree, that oversteer tendancy is also what makes RWD more fun and "sporty."
  • brightness04brightness04 Member Posts: 3,148
    V8 5 series has been described to be the lesser in handling compared to the V6 brethrens for years. 5 series being a lesser handler compared to the 3 series is not only well known, but also reflected in the SCCA rule book. 5 series is a whole class or two below the 3 series of comparable vintage. 330i is way ahead of the non-M 5 series.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    "V8 5 series has been described to be the lesser in handling compared to the V6 brethrens for years."

    Ummm, last time I checked, BMW was not in the business of producing V6 engines. The only six pot engines that they produce are of the inline six or I6 configuration, and to the best of my knowledge, they have never produced a single V6 engine for a production car.

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • kdshapirokdshapiro Member Posts: 5,751
    Whew finally we agree. An IS350 will outhandle a GS430. A 330i will outhandle a 5 series. A G35 will outhandle an M45. An S2000 will outhandle an RL.

    So back to your original point, they invented the market by taking a small sedan and making it fun to drive. And then along comes the competitors making bigger cars and the E46 gets dinged. But now the shoe is on the other foot as the 330i is bigger than the IS350 and can still outhandle it.

    The disparity in hp is only temporary as BMW is working on it's version of the 3.5L twin-turbo engin.
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    "So did entry-level luxury performance sedan market exist or not before the 3 series?"

    No. BMW created that market.

    "BMW wins points by charging premium for a small sedan that naturally out-handles much bigger competitions at the same price point."

    The flaw in your arguement is that BMW isn't building a small car, it's the competitions (mostly Japanese) that's building a big cars.
  • victord1victord1 Member Posts: 94
    I don't know if this will contribute anything to the discussion, but I believe Car and Driver did a brief comparo between an M3, CTS-V and M5 (not the new one) a few months back.

    As I remember, they ranked the cars from most sportiest: M3, CTS-V and then M5. It does seem that smaller size (and weight, in most cases) tends to give you the advantage in agility and maneuverability (handling) when everything else (drivetrain, dynamics, suspension......) are comparable.

    Personally, I wouldn't bet a 530SP against a G35 w/sport. Against a SAAB......., of course. :D
  • saablcpsaablcp Member Posts: 195
    Yeah....all you would get with the Saab would be a car with 250 h.p./258 lb./ft of torque,90% available from 1,800 r.p.m. and up.A double best pick crash test rating,
    every available option except Navigation,36months of paid maintenance. And the car barely breaks $35,000 M.S.R.P.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    "Yeah....all you would get with the Saab would be a car with 250 h.p./258 lb./ft of torque,90% available from 1,800 r.p.m. and up.A double best pick crash test rating, every available option..."

    And no BlueTooth and no AWD.

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • saablcpsaablcp Member Posts: 195
    for $800 bucks I buy a set of snow/m&s rated tires on nice looking alloy wheels from my Saab dealers parts dept.and with the 7 grand grand left over I can buy the most expensive after market blue tooth set-up known to man and still take a 3 week vacation in ARUBA!!!!1
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    Hmmm, $7,000 left over. Compared to what? A 330i? Yup, $7,000 (as close to apples to apples as possible) for a car that will flat embarras a 93 Aero in any performance category.

    Then again there is the G35. A price difference of $7,000 there? Nope, more like $1,000 (as close to apples to apples as possible). Of course while the G35 apparently cannot get around a race track as fast as the 330i can, it can still handily destroy the aforementioned 93 Aero in that same environment.

    The Saab is a competent car (I drove one last week), but it ain't no performance oriented RWD sedan, and it doesn't drive like one either.

    Me, I'll spend that $7,000 and figure that the three years of smiles on my face was well worth not going to Aruba for three weeks. ;-)

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • duudeeduudee Member Posts: 2
    Hi i am torn between getting a C55, M3, CTS-V, and 550i
    Can you please tell me in what order which is best and which is worst.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    Are you sure you made that post in the correct discussion?

    If you are, are you prepared for lots of conflicting answers and potentially heated disucssion?

    Personally I'd rank them as follows:

    BMW 550i 6-Speed
    BMW M3 6-Speed (not a sedan by the way)
    Mercedes-Benz C55
    Cadillac CTS-V

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • bscadambscadam Member Posts: 4
    Not a bad dilemma to have, but it seems there are three classes of auto's there. The M3 being the true blue sports car (coupe), the C55 a step up towards family life and the bigger road wreckers blingin' in as the 550 and CTS-V. There's something awfully tempting about a Beemer being called a 550; I suppose it reminds me of something I know I’ll never have from Italy. Of course, I've always wanted an M3 too...
  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    Drive them and decide for yourself.
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    It looks like you're more interested in sport and speed based on your selections. The 550i is definitely the most expensive of the bunch once you pile on the options (even before you add any options). The most sporting of the bunch will be the M3 and CTS-V. It would probably be a toss-up between the C55 and 550i (non-sport) on which is the least sporting. The 550i is decidedly larger than the others. The C55 can't be had with a manual, all the others can (the CTS-V is manual only).

    If you want a fast highway cruiser for you and guests that won't beat you up on the rough roads, but won't let you down when the road gets twisty, 550i all the way.

    If you want hard-core performance all the time and want to be able to get the kids "scared straight" in the twisties, CTS-V will do nicely.

    If you want all out balls-to-the-wall performance for you and a mate, and you don't mind your body taking a little beating on the city streets, the M3 will work.

    If you want to blaze down the freeway as hard as you can and don't mind slowing down a bit for the occasional bend in the road, the C55 will suit.

    By process of elimination, the M3 is the only coupe in the bunch so out with that. The 550i is much bigger than the others so out it goes. By mentioning the M3, you showed that you are more on the sport side of the spectrum, and mentioning the 550i showed that you probably have passengers to haul from time to time. Both of those eliminate the C55 and that just leaves the CTS-V.

    Get the CTS-V!
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    "Hi i am torn between getting a C55, M3, CTS-V, and 550i
    Can you please tell me in what order which is best and which is worst."

    You need to define what's best and worst. Are you talking about overall performance, straight line acceleration, luxury?
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    And this means what on the road race course?
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    The "readiness to swap the front and back ends" is called oversteer, not skittishness. To me, skittishness is from uncontrolled body motions due to a less than ideal suspension setup. Controlled oversteer is, indeed, fun on the road course. Skittishness is not :) A 911 and it's rear engine layout has nothing in common with these cars from a handling persperctive. Most of the severe oversteer tendencies of the 911 went away several platform generations ago anyway.

    Granted, a lesser skilled driver in a 997 today could drive around a road course more easily today than he/she could in a pre-993 911. Today's RWD cars - at least the ones we are discussing in this forum - are all competent... some moreso than others. The 3-Series BMW offers the finest driving experience in its class, IMO. That is not to say the IS and G are incompetent - far from it. The little things add up over the course of a road race, and I believe the 330 shines when taking this into account.

    The day-to-day driving experience evens the field to a certain degree, and that is the world that contributes to the perspective taken by many drivers of these autos. Some just like knowing they have a superior driving machine, some prefer creature comforts, some are driven by their own sense of styling, etc... there is something for everyone in this class.
  • saigonboi21saigonboi21 Member Posts: 150
    this is just my opinion- if i have the money I would either buy a C55 AMG or an M3 because to me those cars are Sport/Luxury. To me the 550 is just luxury- this doesnt mean it doesnt perform. IM just saying i look at it as just a luxury car. I wouldnt get the CTS-V simply because i dont like American cars. Some of them look nice but i wouldnt spend money on ANY domestic car. So if i were faced with that question- i would only be choosing between an M3 or C55. But then again, I prefer more sport than luxury.
  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    The C55 is off the list immediately - automatic transmission and MB engineering = no way in hell.

    M3 = too boy racer for me. Plus it's a coupe. Blech.

    550i = last choice. Great exterior, wonderful power, manual tranny. And it's only 52-53k through ED with sport-package.
  • duudeeduudee Member Posts: 2
    Alright i have read all of these and agree with you about the America cadillac cts-v so that is out. The 550i is too expensive. So now it is only between C55 and M3.
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    The C55 is off the list immediately - automatic transmission and MB engineering = no way in hell.

    What is so wrong with Mercedes-Benz in your eyes? I'm curious. Dynamics, reliability, styling what?

    M
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    "So now it is only between C55 and M3."

    Test drive both, and go with the 1 you like better. Personally, I'd go with M3.
  • nyccarguynyccarguy Member Posts: 16,373
    All the way!

    2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD

  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    What is so wrong with Mercedes-Benz in your eyes? I'm curious. Dynamics, reliability, styling what?

    Yes, yes, don't care about styling and add in engineering. They're not my kinda company. I see them as the european caddy - ie all flash and dazzle, no substance.
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    Yes, yes, don't care about styling and add in engineering. They're not my kinda company. I see them as the european caddy - ie all flash and dazzle, no substance.

    Perception, to each his own I guess. Thankfully that isn't the case.

    M
  • podrespodres Member Posts: 58
    I recently test drove the MT C230. It is not your grandfather's cadillac. It is a very responsive car. From a performance point of view it is right up there with the leaders in its price category (BMW 3 series, Acura TL, Infiniti G35). Less HP, but great road feel and cabin amenities. The ony thing that makes me tend to shy away from it is the tarnished reputation of MB generally for reliability.
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    Was it the 2006 C230 with the V6?

    M
  • podrespodres Member Posts: 58
    No, it was the 05 with the 4 cylinder supercharger. It was impressive for a 4 cylinder, but not quite strong enough to match the big boys. I understand that the V6 is better, so I will go back and try the 06 within the next week. I'll post my experience.
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    "I recently test drove the MT C230. It is not your grandfather's cadillac. It is a very responsive car. From a performance point of view it is right up there with the leaders in its price category (BMW 3 series, Acura TL, Infiniti G35)."

    Wife and I test drove a '04 C230 with Auto transmission, and I didn't think much of it. It was better than TL (just about anything is), but not in the same league as BMW. For the money, I'd prefer if the wife chooses A3.
  • potemkinpotemkin Member Posts: 195
    About a year ago I test drove a couple of C230s. One of each type of transmission. The two cars were worlds apart. The AT seemed sluggish and had a noticeable lag coming off the line. The MT, on the other hand, felt quick and responsive and had no perceptible lag from the start. The MT's supercharged I4 was indistinguishable from a larger displacement, normally aspirated I6.

    Loved the feel of the shifter too.
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    It's wife's car, so it has to be automatic. For the money & fun factor, I prefer A3 vs. C230, but it's ultimately her car, so she gets to pick.
  • deweydewey Member Posts: 5,251
    The upcoming month of April will be the day the new re-skinned G35 will debut at the New York Auto Show!

    Not much in terms of details in the article below!

    2007 G40
  • jrock65jrock65 Member Posts: 1,371
    G30: 3.0L VQ w/ 250 hp ($30,000)

    G40: 3.8L VQ w/ 320 hp ($34,000)

    G50: 4.8L VK w/ 380 hp ($40,000)

    Better interior and 6 speed auto transmission is a given. And please keep the weight down!
  • kdshapirokdshapiro Member Posts: 5,751
    Me want also. Now, only if they can keep the gas mileage out of the single digits.
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