by Al Hearn

Created on: October 16, 2007   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

I just recently had the experience of visiting a BMW dealer and a Lexus dealer on the same day, within a period of a couple of hours. I was interested in the BMW 535i and the Lexus GS350. I've never owned either brand of vehicle, although I have owned a number of vehicles from Toyota, Lexus' parent company. Before the visits, I did considerable research on the Internet on both vehicles and was almost sure I wanted the BMW.

Both vehicles are considered sports sedans and are about the same size with similar features and performance specs. Both have 300 horsepower (BMW=300hp with twin tubochargers; Lexus=303hp without turbos).

I visited the BMW dealer first, discussed the 535i with the salesman, sat in it, explored it's features and test-drove it. The short version of this story is that I was under-impressed. It felt heavy, not extremely quick and responsive even with 300 horsepower and turbos, and the steering was not very sporty feeling or quick.

The funky automatic shift lever with no indicators for gear position (must look at dash behind steering wheel to know what gear you're in) and the complicated iDrive control were annoying at best, repulsive at worst. Even the huge turn signal control (combined with cruise control) doesn't click into position like a conventional signal lever. Other objections were: flimsy cup holders, awkward indented center console, small navigation screen buried deep in the center dash, and a really wierd keyless start control that required plugging a large fob into a large slot in the side of the steering wheel column.

From a styling perspective, there's nothing special or distinctive about the car except the traditional BMW grill. From a side or rear view, it could easily be a Honda Accord. I was very disappointed and drove away wondering how it was possible that other people would like this car.

My next stop was a Lexus dealer where I went through the same shopping, inspection, discussion, and driving process that I had used at the BMW dealer - for the GS350. What an amazing difference between this car and the BMW 535i I had driven just an hour earlier. This car felt like a sport sedan should feel. It was FAST, responsive, felt nimble and shifted as smooth as silk (the BMW was much more harsh).

Controls were more conventional (except for a stange little pull-down door with some controls hidden away), intuitive shifter and sound system controls, vented seats, radar parking assist, large navigation screen in center of dash, and it had true keyless operation (key only has to be in your pocket, not plugged into a large hole in the steering column). The interior seemed less cramped and it had real cup holders (the BMWs cup holders appeared to be afterthoughts in the design). And the style from a side view didn't look like a Honda Accord.

And another thing. The Lexus has a top reliability rating, while the BMW only has an average rating.

So, to answer the question, "Why buy a BMW?", check out BMW's competitors, then ask yourself the question again.

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