If you are willing to wait just a little while for the new (E90) 2006 3 series they will come out this late fall, maybe winter for the Xi. If you dont mind a 2005 (E46) im sure all the BMW dealerships will have plenty sittin on the lots. IMO BMW all the way.... but I am a little biased working at a BMW dealership

 

No BMWS are amazing machines I have a 2001 740iL M Sport, 1995 M3, and a 1985 325e. You arer not biased just stating facts. BTW The 325e is my favorite.

Thank you.

 

Dude that is not a lot of money. RAs are making over 30 now. I plan on 75K a year soon after law school.

I would NEVER buy a Nissan again for a few reasons

1) I will NEVER own another car that is not AWD

2) I will NEVER own a car that is so unrefined in terms of handling and technology

3) Refer to #1

I would go Acura RL (NOT TL, CL). ONly posers drive those. If you want a REAL car go RL, Audi, BMW, or higher end Infiniti. The G35X I believe has AWD and has been in Car & Driver's 10 best for a couple years now. With the new cost of Maximas it is absolutely unbelivable. A car that offers no AWD, performance handling, and on top of that can't even make a LSD standard selling for over 30K? Bite me. Go drive an Audi. My brother's A4 holds the road like a dream. My maxima could never even begin to keep up with it on the twisties. He moves the wheel literally an inch and before you can even blink you are in the next lane with absolutely no body roll. His comfortable regular cornering pushes my car almost to it's limits. Now that to me is a car. Not a overpowered FWD "Performance Sedan". The ONLY performance aspect is the engine which means nothing considering the rest of the car isn't desgined to handle 265HP. There are 400HP sedans that have 1/10th of the torque steer of the maxima. Never again for me. Rant over.

 

Instead of G35, consider the new Infiniti M35x. The bigger-engined M45 placed #1 in its class according to C&D. Order the paper brochure from Infiniti and they include a reprint of the article.

-Tom

 

wrx, if you have the cash get the STI or the EVO

 

Alright people seem to slam the lease deals some of these guys here have thrown into proportion. If the car was a company lease- with no money out of the person who has been driving it since day 1, then he/she knows the car. After the company turns in the lease back to the dealer, you have the option to buy out the car for really cheap. So basically- company pays for your lease, you then buy out the car for very little $$$- HOW is that a bad deal ? I mean how is a 02 Maxima for 10K bux, with known service records and its history- a BAD deal ?

If you want a reliable ride, AWD and decent power- look no further than the Murano. Every Nissan tech will tell you this MADE IN JAPAN cross-over SUV is THE most reliable Nissan you can buy at this time. There are verrrry litle problems with this car. I plan on getting one for my mom in the future, her 00 Altima is getting a litlte old- even thou it was at the dealer for 1 thing ever- broke power window switch that she broke. I understand the whole philosphy of buying a expenssive IMAGE car like a BMW, but in reality what can a 40K dollar cramped 3 series do that a Toyota Corolla can't ? They are both bout the same size on the inside, Corolla costs 1/2 the price fully decked out, gets better gas mileage and interior isn't too cheap.

If you REALLY need something with speed, AWD, quality interior- wait up for the MazdaSpeed6, it should be very entertaining to drive with AWD and 270+HP.

 

subaru STI is nice.

 

M35 Rear-wheel Drive or available Intelligent All-wheel Drive (AWD)

HP
M35 280 hp @ 6,200 rpm

T:
M35 270 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm

Which I can do it...

 

The new 06 A4 is fantastic, Audi has the new 2.0 FSI turbocharged I-4 which puts out 200bhp, so its a little better than the 1.8 at 170hp. The body has been redesigned and it comes with a nice sports package. Im not sure how much you can do to the Audi engine, but look around at places like Neuspeed.com and see if they have kits for it yet.

As far as the BMW Xi goes, the only AWD 3 series out at the moment is the 325 Xi Touring which is a station wagon. It has the older 3l inline six rated at 215hp. Nice car, but do you really want a station wagon?

G35x.... What can you say about this car that hasnt been said. If you want your AWD car now, go for the G35x. You really cant go wrong with it.

However, the 330xi with BMW's new 3.0l 255hp engine should be coming out VERY soon... I can say from driving a couple Bimmers, that its an experience on a whole nother level.

But as with any new car choice, go with the car that best suits your needs and hopefully the one that you will have the most fun in