For me its the lines, headlights and the Hondaish shape the car has that turns me off.

 

oh ok, that's fine. i was referring to the grille, which i am sure would be different

 

by the looks of those pics, there might be a chance the m side grills could make an appearance.

 

word is he somehow got rid of the red one (wreck maybe?) and the rents bought him another yellow one. must be nice.

 

Holy crap.... ..forget the BMW's, what do you do for a living Jimmy. It's still early in life for me and I want to make sure I'll be able to afford some of those nice cars that you drive, in the future.

 

I never said that, and looking at some posts, I'm not sure if anyone actually said that.

No, the IS does not "feel" like a 3 Series, and nor would I want it to.

I may be in the minority, but that's fine. I am stating my opinion, and if I liked BMWs I would be posting on a BMW forum rather than ClubLexus.

I'm not saying I hate BMWs, far from it. I just don't really have any preference towards them.

Oh, and if you believe that most 3 Series buyers/owners get the car for the great "feel" of it, or because they will really enjoy the handling and push the car, then more power to you. Of course, most people don't buy a 3 Series because of that.

 

I'm just wondering, what is it about the feel of a 3 series that you don't like? Now I can understand someone not liking the interior , but the car's drive/feel? I remember driving the last 3 series against the 1st gen IS at the Lexus event and being really surprised how the IS felt like a light 'go kart' and the BMW felt bigger, smoother, quieter.

As you've said, the BMW is trying to balance between being sporty while at the same time fairly practical, which Lexus doesn't have to do because it has the two pronged competition (IS/ES).

But apart from an M3 (stiff, noisier) I've found a 3 series to be very smooth and comfortable to drive. I haven't driven the latest one but I've read it's even quieter and more refined. Sort of... Lexus-like?

I think LOTS (most) of 3 series buyers buy it because it's a sporty car and probably drive it more aggressively than say a Camry owner! Now I agree as someone else suggested, that almost NONE of the 3 series owners will ever push one close to its limits but that doesn't mean it isn't pushed every day more than other owners/cars. I can have fun in a sporty car doing 20mph around a 90 degree turn and little fun in some floaty leaning car.

I've met many male and female 3 series drivers and they ALL drive 'spiritedly' shall we say. Now they ALSO like the IMAGE that comes with a 3 series, no question, but none of them drove it like granny.

 

Most of the 3 series owners I see are middle aged women

 

That's ironic coming from a Lexus owner.

I'm kidding of course; point is none of us are middle aged women, so who cares what they do with their cars? We drive ours hard, right? Right!

 

I like options, and i'm sure Lexus wouldnt mind that 10% more potential buyers that were dissuaded because they didnt offer a manual.

And yes i do find that a lot of BMW/AUDI/MBZ owners have a chip...i find myself defending the virtues of Lexus on the BMW/Audi forums as well.

 

I really like the way this one looks.

 

Hey, I'm just saying all these fun cars on the road out here in the burbs and nobody has any fun with them. Whenever I see a BMW craaaaaaaaaawl through a turn with their brake lights on, I cry a little bit on the inside. Shame.

 

Actually I do believe that a large group of people do buy a BMW for the feel/handling. My wife's best friend came inches away from picking up a 325 because she could not believe how much fun it was to drive. I do believe that if she had gone back and driven it a second time she would have purchased it.

LOL - I agree - I work with one and she drives like a maniac! She didn't do that crap in her old Pathfinder!

 

Don't like that front bumper/spoiler.



Like this side view and the rims.

 

damn the front bumper is hideous..... bmw and audi joined forces?