Car & Driver Comparo - G35 vs 328i

[Garnet Canuck]

Here is Car & Driver's March 2007 comparo between the G and the 328i. I was somewhat surprised at the results, however having more power isn't everything. At the end of the day, these mag comparos shouldn't be a factor when deciding what car to buy. Afterall, most of these comparos contain mostly subjective content anyways.

These are two great cars and competition is healthy for each company!

Anyways, enjoy!

[N50]

The outcome of the comparo isn't surprising. It seems lack of refinement will be Infiniti's bugaboo (in least in the eyes of the mags) for awhile. Thanks for posting!

[Picus]

I'm a little surprised, normally C&D tends to put less emphasis on refinement and more on "speed & sport". Personally I like the 328i, but I'd sacrifice a little refinement for the added speed of the G. I'm no drag racer, but even just normal city driving, as fun as the 328i is to drive, the engine is lethargic down low (I felt the same way about the 330i). No reason for G fans to be upset by this imo, for the price I am willing to bet even a lot of BMW owners would choose the G over the 328i (I am referring to enthusiasts of course, the average 3-series owner probably doesn't mind a lethargic engine).

[RBull]

The font is too small so I'll have to take your word for it.

[Greatwars]

Originally Posted by RBull

The font is too small so I'll have to take your word for it.

+1, so now GO and RE-SCAN IT!

[da mayor]

what a joke about refinement in the infiniti and the bmw fit and finish

[dreamweaver]

refinement.... thats just a underlooked observation... fact is the german was getting slapped around by the japanese... real fact is... they couldnt find anything wrong with the new G... so it was easy to just say it lack's somthing that can be said to any car under a microscope.. my2cents...

[Picus]

Here are the original screenshots for those that can't read the text.

http://gtaindetail.com/fp/cd/

I think when they talk about refinement they are mostly referring to two things. First, the manual '07 G has been criticized before for having a lot of vibration; I felt it too. I could live with it, but it's there. The second is as good as the VQ is it can be unwieldy when you get it into the 5000rpm range, BMW inline 6's are very smooth. They are nitpicking for sure, but I don't think they are making it up.

I wonder why they gave the 328i higher scores for ergonomics though, even owners of e90/e92's (including me) agree that the ergonomics are terrible. The cupholders are literally three feet from the driver, you need to access iDrive to change audio inputs, the glovebox is the size of a small orange...

[Garnet Canuck]

Originally Posted by picus112

I wonder why they gave the 328i higher scores for ergonomics though, even owners of e90/e92's (including me) agree that the ergonomics are terrible. The cupholders are literally three feet from the driver, you need to access iDrive to change audio inputs, the glovebox is the size of a small orange...

LOL, well the G should of won then, because the glovebox is at least the size of a grapefruit! The glovebox on my 07 is a fair amount smaller than what I had on my 03.

[RBull]

Yeah, good review. It was close but the Bimmer and everyone else does have the edge on refinement. It's interesting to note the tables would have been turned if you looked at a few debateable categories:

exterior styling; gotta have it; fun to drive; performance. IMHO the G could might be the equal or leader in those areas.

[N50]

Originally Posted by RBull

The font is too small so I'll have to take your word for it.

C'mon Deane, here's where a magnifying glass comes in handy!

[Samson]

Good post Shane. The outcome hasn't changed my opinion regarding the revamped G. The 07 G is gorgeous, has great peformance and the price is right. I know that the BMW has that little extra degree of refinement, but I still prefer it over the 3 series. Both cars continue to raise the bar for performance sedans.

[Samson]

Originally Posted by N50

C'mon Deane, here's where a magnifying glass comes in handy!

Too funny. I'll mail some reading glasses to Deane ASAP.

[LudwigB]

I don't have the article but this sucks. This is being discussed at another forum:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3091606&page=1

I can understand if they choose the 335i but a 328 with only 220hp? Maybe on paper but if they have to put their money where their mouths are, they may have second thought about having to pay more to get much less power and much less fun.

[JWangSDC]

Originally Posted by LudwigB

I don't have the article but this sucks. This is being discussed at another forum:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3091606&page=1

I can understand if they choose the 335i but a 328 with only 220hp? Maybe on paper but if they have to put their money where their mouths are, they may have second thought about having to pay more to get much less power and much less fun.

Good, let them and everyone else get 328i's and that way less people will have the G35. I don't give a crap what their opinion is, 99% of the time I will go for the G35 as opposed to the 328i.