3 Series interior is. really bad.

[IVRY PRL]

My dad is looking at getting an IS250 for my mom for their 25th anniversary, and since he actually knows less than nothing about cars, I'm doing all the research and the like for him. I decided to cross-shop it with it's competitors, so my first stop was obviously Infiniti While the G37 is a lot more car... it's also unfortunately a lot more money, so it got crossed off pretty quick.
Next stop was BMW, to check out the 3 series. They have some pretty impressive incentives right now, which made the 323i the cheapest of all the cars I'm looking at, but... then I sat in it. The interior is honestly un-acceptably bad. The seats don't feel nice at all or fit me even remotely well (the G37 had fantastic seats on the other hand), and the interior is really bland and made me feel like I'm in a Lada. I was curious if this is a fault of the low model 323i, so I sat in the 335i, and it was the same story! The seats felt a bit nicer, since they were the leather and not the leatherette, but the shape still sucked, and the interior was just as lame.
I've lusted of the 335i coupe for the longest time, due to the great styling, power and handling, but I honestly never knew the interior was THIS bad.
Oh well, gonna check out the Merc, Audi and finally the Lex (bastards have barely any dealers here) and see what happens, but the way things are looking, the IS250 may actually be the best choice.

[IVRY PRL]

Okay, I looked at the IS250 and the TSX.
All cars are with leather and sunroof, except for the BMW which does leatherette instead of genuine leather, and the G37 which lacks a sunroof because I didn't want to get the touring pack. All prices are 48 month leases, including tax with 0 down, freight & pdi rolled into the lease. Canucklehead funds obviously.
So far, pricing and impressions:
G37 7AT - $647 - Huge compared to the other cars, horsepower is huge too, but alas, so is fuel consumption. Really nice to look at, nice interior too, but no sunroof on base model.
BMW 323i - $565 - Looks really sharp since the redesign, price is best of all the cars compared. Interior is really bad though, and not genuine leather, and it does not come equipped with HID's.
Lexus IS250 - $622 - The best looking car in this comparo, tie for best interior with the G37. The Lexus interior feels more high quality, but the G37's feels more high tech, and has a lot of cool things the Lex lacks. Downsides are... the back seat is freakishly small, we're talking smaller than my EG Civic small. I'd say there's about the same amount of room back there as my coupe, and it's a sedan. Also, it's a mere $25 a month more to get the G37.
Acura TSX - $568 - The most well rounded car of the bunch. Excels at nothing, but fails at nothing either. The exterior and interior are nice, not great, but not objectionable in any way. It's a FWD, which is actually a plus, due to winter and the fact that this car will not be used by me for various acts of vehicular mischief. The short fall however, is in the fact that this car does not carry as much "weight" as the others. An Acura TSX just doesn't really "fit" in the same group as the rest of the cars in the comparo, it's somehow lower class. It has all the requirements to play with the big boys, but isn't taken seriously by anyone.

This Saturday, I'll drive all of them and decide, and then we'll probably get my mom to test drive it before we get it, rather than it being a complete surprise, so it doesn't end up being a complete flop. Doing this comparo is really difficult for me, due to drastically different priorities. If I were to rank the cars by how much I like them, they would be G37 > IS250 > 323i > TSX. If I were to re-rank them, by taking price into consideration, it would be G37 > 323i > TSX > IS250.
My mom on the other hand, doesn't value performance anywhere nearly as much as I do, and she likes the IS250 the most out of all of them. However, she has never even SAT in any of these cars, much less driven them. So her opinion is entirely based on seeing them while driving around. For all I know, she may completely hate it when she drives it.
But yea.. how do you choose a car for someone as a surprise gift? It's too damn hard

[telegramsam]

I've got to step up and comment on this one. I own two Infiniti's and have owned 4 in total. I have owned Lexus. One of my project managers has an IS250. It is not up to the standard of either Infiniti or BMW. It creeks worse than my G35 coupe did by a long shot. I am a bit critical of Lexus though because they build boring cars. No serious enthusiast drives a Lexus.

With regard to your comment on the 335i, I could not disagree more. My son bought the 335i over the G37 for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the quality of the fit and finish of the interior. The styling may not be to your taste but you cannot seriously question the quality. My G35 seats were a POS and had to be fixed twice. They rocked and creaked, the leather cracked. Sorry but I call you on this one. As for a drivers car, the 335i beats the G37. Not by a mile, but it is a better balanced car. The IS350 does not come close to either in my opinion.

Now if I was going to give dad some advice, it would be an A4. The new styling is stricking and their quattro system cannot be matched. The 2 litre is adequately powered and get freaky gas mileage. They are reasonably priced. The IS250 is the best price point, but for a reason. Don't cause mom to have to drive one. That would make you a bad son

[intense660]

the thing that wins me over on the 3 series......the trick hidden cupholders.

[IVRY PRL]

Mmm.. Will have to look at the A4.
I honestly can't compare quality of the cars, as it's more of a long term thing, it's really hard to tell in a showroom. From spending about 20-30 min with each car, the Lexus interior impressed me the most, the materials looked and felt nice, but it may end up developing creaks just like you said.
I'll know about driving dynamics this Saturday, but I can't say that I'm expecting much from the Lex. At the same time, my mom likes really soft, quiet, plush cars that can't handle for sh1t and have over assisted steering. That sounds like a Lexus to me

[306HP]

I have to agree with the OP on the 3 series interior. The styling is bland, even CD agrees with that. The materials arent that great either, feel the hard plastic used on the dash, compare with the soft plastic used on the IS350. The G is right in between these 2. Oh dont get me started on the 3 series seats which are not even perforated and yes, they do feel hard, they feel like the non perforated section of the G's seats. Yes BMW is what they say, the "ultimate driving machine" but the interior is nothing worth writing home about IMHO. The A4, IS350 would be at the top of my list on interiors, none of the cars in this segment can compare to these 2, then the G, the 3 series is somewhere in the realm of the C class, both have uninspiring interiors.

I had an IS250 before I got my G, it had 27,000 miles when I sold it. It has absolutely no creaks, rattles or any faults other than brakes that were replaced under warranty. In as much as I did not luck the car at the time of disposal (needed more horses), this car had a flawless interior. I will testify that you cannot beat Lexus quality.

Oh I forgot to add that if you look at the speedometer needles of the 3 series, compare them with those of th Hyundai Sonata, the 2006 models, tell me if there is a difference. My wife wanted an X3, until I asked her to sit in one, that was all she wrote.