Car and Driver: Audi A5 2.0T Quattro vs BMW 328i vs Infiniti G37 vs Lexus IC350C
03-12-10, 04:50 AM
#31
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Common sense says Lexus or Infiniti here. More power and better gas mileage. What's there to argue?
Four seats convertibles cannot have sports cars characteristics no matter how much manufacturers try so neither of these cars have "sports" in them.
Four seats convertibles cannot have sports cars characteristics no matter how much manufacturers try so neither of these cars have "sports" in them.
03-12-10, 07:47 AM
#32
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03-12-10, 08:06 AM
#34
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03-12-10, 08:16 AM
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I agree. One thing I have noticed is that the Inifiniti and Lexus compete with one another in this category based on design. The Audi and BMW should be compared with one another as well. The Audi is the clear winner but I am not so sure anymore if I would rank BMW #2.
03-12-10, 08:38 AM
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03-12-10, 08:41 AM
#39
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As a new BMW driver (my first), I have to say that I find the interior of my 1 series well-made and definitely of a high standard. I suppose one can call them a bit bland and unspectacular, but in a way it goes hand-in-hand with the character of most of their cars. BMW sells their cars as "driving machines" where the focus is not the interior, but the way the car drives and the way you feel when you're driving it.
The interior is good - but the driving experience is better (more important). I guess that is a way of looking at it.
The interior is good - but the driving experience is better (more important). I guess that is a way of looking at it.
03-12-10, 09:32 AM
#41
Well lets see, here's some pictures. Maybe someone with an IS can take pictures of the same details in their car for comparison?
Lets start with the seats, look at the upholstery quality. See these wrinkles in the leather? They are all over the seats, the leather just doesn't wrap the seat tight - poor fit and finish. You'll never see crap like this in a Lexus, not even a Toyota.
Also note the grain - its industrial quality. Mind you, this isn't leatherette, this is leather.
Here's more. This is where the leather on the headrests is cut out around the headrest supports. Note that the cutout isn't even folded and stitched around, its just a hole cut through the leather. That's just pathetic.
How about some 90ies fugly orange gauges? This shot doesn't give them justice, I'll take a night shot later.
How about some exposed seat rails. This is what you get greeted by when you open the door. All the bolts and mechanism and even grease in the door rails is exposed, and they stick out front way beyond the seat exposing all that beauty. What great attention to detail!
How about the stitching on the leather wrapped steering wheel? I don't know if you can see it from here, but this stitching is very uncomfortable, and my wife keeps complaining that it scratches her hands. She's considering getting a steering wheel cover.
How about the floor mats? The drivers side floor mat is held with Velcro, and the rest of the floor mats aren't held by anything. This is just pathetic compared to clips provided in all Lexus vehicles, for all four mats.
How about a motorized steering wheel? Nope, you get econocrapbucket style manual lever.
What about seat controls? These switches, on both driver and passenger seats are pathetically flimsy and feel like they are about to fall apart every time you use them. To make it worse, in order to make certain adjustments work, you need to apply considerable force to the switch. We just try to avoid using them all-together, and stick with memory settings.
Here's the center console armrest latch. I can't even begin to describe how flimsy it is. Opening and closing that armrest feels like it came straight out of a 90ies GM.
How about these awesome cup holders? If you have a cup of hot coffee in them, and try to make a quick maneuver, the coffee is guaranteed to get landed in yours or your passengers lap. Not only these cup holders very poor, but they are also located in a very inconvenient location, - for instance, if I need to make a quick maneuver in my Lexus, I just just put my hands on the coffee cup and make my maneuver, in the BMW the cup holders are way too far to do that.
And these are just some of the things. There are several other things - for instance the audio system is the worst out of any modern car, even the cheapest of the econocrapboxes. The doors are very heavy and poorly balanced/hinged, so you need to slam them real hard to close. And you don't even get a warning light on the dash if the door isn't fully closed. My passengers always have to double-tripple slam the door, because they never get it closed on the first try.
As far as interior space, I'm 6'-4" and ain't nobody is fitting behind me. And sitting in the front, after two hours of driving, I get tired and uncomfortable. Getting into Lexus right after the BMW is like getting into heaven.
Lets start with the seats, look at the upholstery quality. See these wrinkles in the leather? They are all over the seats, the leather just doesn't wrap the seat tight - poor fit and finish. You'll never see crap like this in a Lexus, not even a Toyota.
Also note the grain - its industrial quality. Mind you, this isn't leatherette, this is leather.
Here's more. This is where the leather on the headrests is cut out around the headrest supports. Note that the cutout isn't even folded and stitched around, its just a hole cut through the leather. That's just pathetic.
How about some 90ies fugly orange gauges? This shot doesn't give them justice, I'll take a night shot later.
How about some exposed seat rails. This is what you get greeted by when you open the door. All the bolts and mechanism and even grease in the door rails is exposed, and they stick out front way beyond the seat exposing all that beauty. What great attention to detail!
How about the stitching on the leather wrapped steering wheel? I don't know if you can see it from here, but this stitching is very uncomfortable, and my wife keeps complaining that it scratches her hands. She's considering getting a steering wheel cover.
How about the floor mats? The drivers side floor mat is held with Velcro, and the rest of the floor mats aren't held by anything. This is just pathetic compared to clips provided in all Lexus vehicles, for all four mats.
How about a motorized steering wheel? Nope, you get econocrapbucket style manual lever.
What about seat controls? These switches, on both driver and passenger seats are pathetically flimsy and feel like they are about to fall apart every time you use them. To make it worse, in order to make certain adjustments work, you need to apply considerable force to the switch. We just try to avoid using them all-together, and stick with memory settings.
Here's the center console armrest latch. I can't even begin to describe how flimsy it is. Opening and closing that armrest feels like it came straight out of a 90ies GM.
How about these awesome cup holders? If you have a cup of hot coffee in them, and try to make a quick maneuver, the coffee is guaranteed to get landed in yours or your passengers lap. Not only these cup holders very poor, but they are also located in a very inconvenient location, - for instance, if I need to make a quick maneuver in my Lexus, I just just put my hands on the coffee cup and make my maneuver, in the BMW the cup holders are way too far to do that.
And these are just some of the things. There are several other things - for instance the audio system is the worst out of any modern car, even the cheapest of the econocrapboxes. The doors are very heavy and poorly balanced/hinged, so you need to slam them real hard to close. And you don't even get a warning light on the dash if the door isn't fully closed. My passengers always have to double-tripple slam the door, because they never get it closed on the first try.
As far as interior space, I'm 6'-4" and ain't nobody is fitting behind me. And sitting in the front, after two hours of driving, I get tired and uncomfortable. Getting into Lexus right after the BMW is like getting into heaven.
03-12-10, 09:46 AM
#43
However, you need to spread the cost of research and development within a small number of cars.
The cars themselves are not cheap due to the convertible engineering and manufacturing costs, much less R&D to develop them.
Therefore, take the cost of a mass-produced sedan, add the cost of making them into a limited-production convertible, and you've got a lot of extra $$$ to deal with...
