i respect your opinion, with test driving you cannot get the full experience of a car...you need to have a car broken in.....and properly to get the full experience out of an automobile...Also you can drive the car hard, unlike a tame 5 min test drive with a new car, and that hasn't been broken in on top of that....
MERC and BMW also have that rich racing tradition, this is where the engineering specialty comes in, its almost like trying to compare a NBA team that has a rich history (Lakers) to a new organization (OKC) yeah they have a quality product but it is not yet here and has alot of building to do to get that same reputation and legacy.
I can respect that, but realize that I'm not racing my car I'm driving it.
I had a mercedes, it was uncomfortable and tight and the drive was not as good nor the handling as the Lex.
Whether the BMW is better is subjective as well as far as interior and drive, but most reviews have given the edge to Lexus for both the IS vs 3 and the GS vs 5 (if not an edge to Lex than slight edge to BMW).
I looked at and compared the Lexus and BMW cockpit pictures. The Lexus is okay. The BMW is awesome. Now, this is a subjective opinion of someone who drives a minivan.
Why? Image. The Lexus could be better than the BWM on multiple points. Lexus says "older white dude, possible Viagra user". BMW says "Stick shift works."
you can't be serious? lol, the difference between the cockpit setups are not that drastic
I will say this both Lex and BMW LAG behind Audi and Mercedes in the richness of the interior. Even with all the leather lexus put in it, the sleekness of Mercedes and Audi is ooh la la.
A motortrend give the car of the year to whatever but they also do great comparisons on car segments and in those segment BMW 3 series has one for like 20 years straight, except this year where the IS took them over. I really don't think you can call them bias after a 20 year streak.
