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BMW 325xi/328xi vs Infiniti G35x

kschoenrockkschoenrock Member Posts: 4
edited May 2014 in BMW
I am considering the BMW 325 in an i or xi package and am also considering an Infiniti G35. First on the BMW, I live in MN and on a hill, do I really need the xi or can I get by with a good set of winter tires? I've heard differing opinions on this, but would like to save the $ and performance of the i if I can. Second, I drove the G35 and was impressed in its relatively much stronger engine and overall value proposition. I would be interested in hearing opinions from those of you out there who are more in the know.
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Comments

  • gitakgitak Member Posts: 2
    Do not buy this car. I have had this car for 5 months and it already has 2 recalls. How can you have 2 recalls on a brand new model in 5 months of purchase of car! Also, the passenger air bag deactivates here and there. In addition, the 100% maintenance is only covered at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased, so if you move or purchase the car at another dealership, you will not get the same lever of service and will have to pay out of pocket for some things (or get a smoked up Saturn Ion as your loaner!). I have never dealt with ruder service departments in my life and will never buy a BMW again. The car is also lacking and things start to fall off after 4 months....do not buy!! :cry:

    My husband has the infiniti and loves it. He bought it in September 2005. He got a great deal on it and both sales and service have been on point. THe infiniti also drives better than the 325. less money for more car! :blush::)
  • mnrep2mnrep2 Member Posts: 200
    There is a long discussion on the merits of winter tires with rwd Versus AWD with all seasons in the Entry level Luxury Sedan forum.

    I ended up with the G35x because I liked the larger size and the cost versus the 325xi. I did not compare leasing because I purchased the car and plan to keep it for more than 4 years. Since I am keeping the car, I decided to go with a Japanese manufacturer instead of German this time! I am going with the assumption, that the Infiniti will be more reliable than the BMW. The Infiniti awd system has been in use for quite a few years and is well proven. I don't know much about the xi awd design.

    I too live on a hill in MN :D The awd has already been put to use climbing my driveway ;) Good luck on your search.
  • mwhittmwhitt Member Posts: 69
    what do you u use on the hill now - suv, fwd, rwd, awd?

    my feeling awd is at its best climbing icy hills and i have a couple of bears around me. to be honest, i have never tried rwd w/snows on those hills. i used fwd with all seasons and couldn't make it on occasion.

    i have driven the g35x quite a bit. not as much seat time in the xi. look, the 325xi is not a lot of car for the money. you will get out the door with more in the g35. there is a premium for the xi with not as much kick. the question u have to ask yourself, when you lay out the extra $$ for bimmer, are you gonna love it that much more in a couple of years?

    g35x downside, it sucks petro, but can run on regular I belive. getting 20mpg will be tough. you can get high 20s in th bimmer. my down on the G35x is that there is almost too much power. that thing wants to go. do you really need 300HP.

    on reliability for bmw, some of the problems are new model based and will iron out. my friends own bmws and routinely put 200K on them without engine/drivetrain problems. they complain a little about fit and finish problems for the gadgets in the car, but none of them have been stranded. they also seem to hold their value pretty well for resale. people want the badge for the used stuff too.
  • lovemyclklovemyclk Member Posts: 351
    Nonsense to the comment regarding not receiving the "free" service at a dealership other than the one where the car was purchased :confuse: Bought my Mom a 2004 325i at my dealer in Atlanta and drove it down to her for Mother's day 2004. The local BMW dealer in Winter Park FL not only handles all of her maintenance needs, they wash her car every Saturday at no charge and answer all of her questions - of course, she asks them to treat her as they would treat their own Mothers!

    When I drove my 2003 e39 down one recent trip, they replaced a cupholder bracket and washed my car at no charge! Rude Service departments unfortunately are spread across all mfgrs. BTW, my ownership experience has been flawless, so what to make of that? Shall I generalize?
  • calidavecalidave Member Posts: 156
    I wish GM made the CTS AWD. It would be preferable to the BMW or the G35. I can't stomach driving an STS - just more car than I want.

    I bet the MPG in the Caddilac is better than the G35.

    What's the price diff. b/t a V6 STS AWD and the G#% AWD and BMW AWD? I like the idea of a RWD car that uses AWD when needed.
  • mwhittmwhitt Member Posts: 69
    I would look at the CTS also if they made it, but the STS is more money than I want to spend and too big.

    I priced an STS and it's up there high 40's I think without all the options. loaded it goes into the 50's, unless i was looking at the wrong car.

    I got a price on the G with premium, a/t, sat radio and splash guards for 35.8 plus TTL. The xi with the premimum package and cold weather/ a/t maybe between 37 and 38.
  • calgarydrivecalgarydrive Member Posts: 7
    I have my 03 G35 premium/aero for sale with 30,000 km (18,000 miles), becuase I just purchased an 05 X premium. I live in Calgary, Alberta, which is very hilly & in the winter, snow. I have winters on my 03 and it is fine & have only had a couple of problems getting up hills after I had to come to a stop in snowy, icy conditions.

    That being said the x is amazing. No issues what so ever & if you have to you can put it into "SNOW" which is full time 4 x 4 (AWD). Have not had it in rain yet but read on forums they are good. Also I like all the upgrades in the 05-06 over the 03-04's.

    Having a G35 & wanting an AWD I looked into them all. Like all the other comments for the money there was no choice even thou I thought I would maybe try something different. As far as the 325 goes, bottom line no HP! I could not stand getting smoked by a Sunfire, even thou the car is solid & the handling is tight, no power = no good! HP is what people pay for in every vehicle.

    Good luck with your decision
  • mnrep2mnrep2 Member Posts: 200
    No issues what so ever & if you have to you can put it into "SNOW" which is full time 4 x 4 (AWD).

    It is a 50/50 torque split up to 19mph. Then it reverts back to 75/25% split and automatic transfer of torque when slip is detected. You also get reduced throttle response with snow mode turned on.

    I have one too, and just took a spin to the post office in a fresh 4" of powder ;) The X is an awesome winter driver :D
  • mnrep2mnrep2 Member Posts: 200
    The Infiniti is the only one that is 100% rwd bias most of the time. Not sure about the sts, but that car is way out of the price range of the G anyway.

    That alone makes the awd G the only choice for me between these cars.
  • u2jrmwu2jrmw Member Posts: 14
    The BMW dealership told me this is how the BMW X works as well
  • mnrep2mnrep2 Member Posts: 200
    The BMW dealership told me this is how the BMW X works as well

    Imagine that :P If so, that is a good idea that BMW borrowed from Infiniti ;)

    In the past the x drive had a normal 60/40 bias split. This new strategy, (for BMW) must be for the 2006 model year.
  • acagrillacagrill Member Posts: 2
    Both the G35 and 325i fitted out the way I want retail for about $40k. I will keep the car long term (10 years). My biggiest concern is the cost to maintain especially after the warranties expire!! Which is the more reliable car? I've driven Nissan Maximas for the past 15 years with little problem.
  • robl1robl1 Member Posts: 25
    Hogwash. I purchased my BMW Xi in New York and it is serviced for free here in CT. They give free car service to my work and wash wax and clen the wheels to a sparkle besides the routine maintenance all free. I guess YMMV
  • mnrep2mnrep2 Member Posts: 200
    I purchased a loaded (including NAV) G35x for $36.5K in July 05. I don't think you should have to pay $40K for it.
  • howielhowiel Member Posts: 2
    I have just given up my 2003 325xi for a G35x.
    Granted, it was the old model BMW, but I had a very bad experience with it. The car stalled many times while driving. After being at the dealer for the 3rd time, they informed me that there was an un-documented recall. It took close to a year to get this far.

    The BMW was great in the snow/ice (We're in NY). Lacked any punch (new one has more hp), and was cramped.

    We tested the new BMW and quite frankly, the cost was a big decision in getting the G35x, which handled great. Both were tested in the snow.
  • joeshanjoeshan Member Posts: 70
    Ditto, regarding snow and ice. My '04 G35x was fine after our (Yonkers NY) blizzard on the original RS-A's. Of course, I waited for the plows to come through and then I was off goofing around the city of hills, following my friend in his Cherokee. I usually turn off the VDC in the snow; I just take it easy on the turns, and this time I needed to use Snow mode-usually it isn't necessary with judicious throttle control. ;)
  • alanrosemanalanroseman Member Posts: 23
    3 weeks ago I traded my Jaguar X-Type (AWD) for a G35X, Black on Black Premium. I had the bad luck to pick it up in the middle of a Northeaster in New England.

    I put it in snow mode and tooled right on home through 3 - 4 " of slush and freezing rain. Loved it.

    The G35 would eat my Jag for breakfast power wise, though I really enjoyed my Jag for the 3 years and 60k that I owned it.

    I love the G35x.
  • wes_888wes_888 Member Posts: 38
    Hello Alan -- I understand you just bought a brand new G35x. Congratulations.

    Your color combination is exactly what I would want ;)

    Any problems so far?

    Im in the process of buying a new sport sedan, and im debating if I do end up with the G35, if I should wait for the 08 instead of buying the 07 since people generally say its a good idea to wait for the 2nd yr model to avoid 1st yr glitches.

    Thanks.
  • jpp75jpp75 Member Posts: 1,535
    I have to agree with this post. I had a 330 for 4 months in 2006, worst mistake I ever made. If you want quality go for the Infiniti. The BMW drove nice, but in 4 months I had it back to the dealer 5 times and they couldn't fix any of the problems. I was told that they knew there were issues and they hoped to have a software update sometime in 2007 that would fix it. It wasn't that great of a car and definitely wasn't worth the price. Not even close.

    Conversely, a friend of mine has the G35, I love driving it and it is by far a superior car. My personal opinion is that it handles and drives better than the BMW and is better quality. I'm sure some BMW people will disagree, but personally I'd go with the Infiniti in a heartbeat.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    After test driving the G35 coupe and driving the 330xi which I lease, I respectfully have 180 degree opinion.

    One problem I had was fixed and the level of service and care at the dealer is unbelievable.

    Regards,
    OW
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    We're doing Dealer Reviews now at Edmunds if you'd like to write one up real quick. I'm sure others would appreciate the info on your good service.

    http://www.edmunds.com/dealerships/drr/jump.html

    thanks

    Visiting Host
  • bmw33bmw33 Member Posts: 6
    can anyone elaborate on the 230 hp of 328xi vs 300 hp of G35x? are these hp directly comparable or should i compare in reference to / rpm? I felt better driving 335 to 328 (obvious reasons) but not sure where G35 is in comparison to the above two. For regular street and highway driving does the additional 70 hp of 335 or G35 make a difference?
  • kdshapirokdshapiro Member Posts: 5,751
    For regular street and highway driving does the additional 70 hp of 335 or G35 make a difference?

    You are not going to get two people to agree on this. You should drive them and see if the performance is adequate for you. I drove a lowly 330. It's 230 hp was more than I needed, that doesn't mean I didn't want more. However the extremely flat response of the engine gave the feeling of power everywhere in the band.
  • jjfairchildjjfairchild Member Posts: 1
    Just bought the G35x and it blows away my BMW 325xi. All around better car, plus the cost of the German repairs was killing me.
    Save yourself $6K and get the Infinity quality -- you won't regret it!!
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