For 45k you can buy a hemi SRT car of your choice, blow the doors off the 3 the G and the IS, carry your family, and still have $ for a vacation. You may not look like a snob or even feel like much of one but you will have a helluva fun ride. Just keeping in mind what and why I buy my cars, makes all these magazines seem trivial. They don't have $ as an object in thier equation and it shows. I appreciate the BMW's as they do rock - but they don't rock that much. And the G suspension is a tad unrefined..but it's still a great car just as it was 4 years ago.

 

Since the G35 is slightly smaller than I really want, the IS and 330i would be even smaller.


I also wouldn't want anything harsher than the G35 either.

 

Yeah. The G35 Sedan sucks so much now that I gotta trade it in and get an IS350 or a BMW 330i.

 

You probably wont be sorry, but please, for 48k - buy the 5 series.

 

Who ever said the G35 tested was $33K..? Like the others it was most likely fully loaded at over $40K - not far from the others. It seems it is always assumed here that the G35 is the "bargin" of the group if a magazine rates it other than 1st. You can certainly get an IS for mid $30K as well - and given that, it may not the best car to others that are not just looking for a bargin, but are looking for a high level of refinement throughtout the car - not only in the drivetrain. These people; like me, will pay the extra $3-$5K...

I'll agree w/the overrated BMW comment, but the IS 350 is very close to the G35, and utterly blows it away in interior assembly - hence why you have a redesign for the G35 closing in. And if the G35 is more $$$ and it's worth it, then why not.

 

That's not true. Only the G35x costs more than $40k fully loaded. The IS350 starts at over $35k and the BMW at over $36. The BMW doesn't even come with options like leather and both cost extra to get sport wheels, suspension, etc. The G35 6mt starts at a little over $31. Hell, I got one for $29k and from what I hear, it's next to impossible to deal on a 330 or is350. If you compare that to other vehicles that cost around $30k, I think it is safe to say it's a real bargain. If $5k is nothing to you, then why not pay $10k more and get something really nice. There are a lot of nice cars at the $45k mark.

 

+1

My premium C 05 G was $33K. Equip an IS350 the same way and you'll be in the $40s. Easy. Same for BMW. Nearly $10K difference is a conservative estimate - a little each way.

 

If a coupe or sedan is $40k for 2006 then it's base has jumped 6k since inception of the design. I haven't shopped but this car is not worth over 40K by any stretch - 03 or 05 - no way jose'. My car was loaded and $32K before tax in early 2003.

Not sure about you but that stretch to $48k that the 330i and the IS350 are priced to, loaded, represents a nice home upgrade or a new kitchen to me, or a honda civic, which I happen to find compelling lately. $16K is big money for the entry lux class to have as a range, bad interior or not. If I ever spend 48K on an entry lux class car, it will do more than have a nice interior finish and build, it will offer me something compelling beyond the aura of a badge and better plastics inside. For $48k the damn editors ought to be spinning in love with these cars; but they tend to all say the IS is sterile.

$For 30K I can buy a Buick Lucerne if I want sterile! The growth of the entry lux segment is making suckers out of many who will buy without being educated about what's behind the badge. So many people want the status or whatever, and Lexus and BMW have lived off getting these peoples price points to skyrocket beyond the car's intrinsic value. Marketing is an art and BMW schools the world's carmakers...

If you spend $48K, please for the love of all things agnostic, buy a 5 series or a GS or an M45.

 

As tested prices in the AWD comparo:

A4: 40,785
325xi: 40,665
G35: 37,250
IS250 AWD: 42,343
Madzda-Speed6: 33,425
Legacy 2.5 GT specB: 34,620
S40 T5: 33.720

A couple points of interest - The G was the 2nd fastest behind the Subaru. The Subbie and G were close with everything else a distant 3rd+ in the speed tests. The Subaru got numbers that I've never seen for it (even at NASIOC they questioned the numbers, but whatever).

Clearly this wasn't about speed (although the Subaru got 1st place when $ was factored in). It was about refinement and ride quality, which the G doesn't have compared to the other cars. It's a 4 year old model being compared to 1 year old models. It's a bargain for the hp you get, but otherwise it doesn't compare well because it's an old model. The article even mentions the fact that they aren't comparing apples to apples. There is a $10k price difference in the most expensive to least expensive car, which is 23-34% of the prices as tested. You might as well toss in an M35x - what they did was grabbed 7 cars, tested them, and in typical rag fashion rated them then said "well you be the judge".

 

You make a great point. I bought this car because it's fast and sporty, definitely NOT for it's interior or 'luxury' aspects. If I wanted those I would have bought a VW Passat instead of the G, saved myself 8 grand, and gotten much nicer 'accoutrements'.

 

lmao. Thank [insert deity here] for comedy.

 

My point exactly - it's not that the G is not a great car; it is, but it is not refined for it's class and like I've said before, every single publication that has reviewed this car has said so. Again, the BMW's are way overpriced, but my G35x was $41K so that definitely competes in price w/others that are better built for the $$$$ comparably equipped. This car is more of the Subaru's and MazdaSpeeds of the world; hence it's "bargin" value that is emphasized here, and not really in the Lexus IS and/or 3 Series realm as it should be – like the M35/45 does.

Again, I would not be surprised if this is addressed for '07 - and I'm sure the price will reflect it if fully loaded.

 

I hope that was 41K Canadian because otherwise you got raped. I bought my loaded 03.5 6mt with all options including body kit for $34.5K Granted it's not the X but even those are not much more.

 

That's what it was stickered at - not what I actually paid as it is leased. Comparason publications only compare models by sticker price, not actual transation price and/or discounts. Plus you have an 03.5 which is considerably older.

 

So it wasn't canadian? What did you pay, may I ask?