They are nice cars--but sometimes your comment fits.

 

g35 #1

 

The 330 is no joke, but that $40K sticker for a sport with options is more than I put down on my house - and that's in California. Sounds like the Lexus is not suprisingly the world's quietest, safest, most luxurious and well-built sport sedan that will never EVER let you smoke the rear tires - so what's the point?

 

You make a good point. The bottom line is that there's really only two sedan contenders here: BMW 330 and Infiniti G35. My take on them is as follows:

BMW: Handles better, higher grade fit/finish, 4 years maintenance included.

Infiniti: More spacious, more reliable, $10K lower price point, less insurance.

Equal: Acceleration, braking, passive safety, residual value.

 

Good call Miami, great review by the way. Noticed your comment about the headroom & interior space too ... big factor for those of us well over 6'

 

Beemer guys have motorcycles

 

I went to the Lexus event in Chicago yesterday. MiamiG35sedan, I think you hit it on the head..."we don't have much to worry about". The IS is small inside. Forget about having any normal-sized adult sit in the back with crouching (I'm talking about an adult at least 5' 8" or 5' 9"). I'm 5'10" and had to crouch down. And if you sit in the back, I hope you don't have restless legs...because there's no space to move them around. True enough, the fit and finish are nice...gotta give that to Lexus. But, the drive...that's where I was disappointed. It's fast but when it came to the twisties, it left me upset. The car's system seemed to take control and it almost felt as if the car was coming to a full stop one time. A couple of times, I felt completely out of touch with the car. Any one ever been driving and hit a patch of ice, and you're turning the steering wheel one way, but the car is going another way? That's how it felt to me. Scary! Maybe it's the light steering. This happened on both the IS350 and the IS250AWD.

The 330. Yeah, it's a real car. I've never autoX'd a G35 (mine or others), but I wish I could have. Would've loved to compare the two. The 330 really stuck in the corners (tires screeching and all!) Very nice!

Overall, I drove these others (in order of preference):

MB E500: Nice. Best handler among others after the 330.
SC430: felt nice but wasn't on a track to really drive spirited.
Lexus GS430: Interior is superb. Same system as the IS that seemed to stop the car for me (I was disappointed again)
BMW 530i: not fair..they should've had a 545 or 550 there. This, suprisingly enough, didn't feel as agile as any of the other cars.
Lexus LX470: My feeling during the "perfomance curves"...ever been on a boat?

But, at the end of the day, got in my G35, and I was still happy again to be in my G. Size of car, exhaust sound, handling...it all keeps me satisfied.

For those asking if the IS is ok as an everyday driver. I think so as long as you don't mind the small size. Those were my thoughts exactly at the end of the day. The everyday driver would probably never push the car hard enough for the Lexus systems to take over. If you push your car hard, then I'd stay with a G35 or the 330.