I know this comparison has been made before, but I actually own both cars. I have a 2006 TSX (automatic) I purchased about 7 or 8 months ago. Three weeks ago, my wife's car was totaled when an SUV inexplicablly turned left into oncoming moving traffic, missing the first two lanes but getting hit by my wife in the third lane (everyone was shaken, but relatively ok).

We struggled for two weeks to find a car, particulalry since the TSX is so new and we didn't plan on buying another car. We test drove the RDX, Accord V6, A3, A4, S40, IS250(AWD and RWD), 325i/xi and the Civic. Except for the Civic and S40, we really considered all of these cars, including another TSX. We were actually talking numbers on the IS250 but the dealership was being ridiculously stubborn. we also put down a deposit on the Accord, but ended up canceling because we thought it was just a little too big. The RDX would have been nice too but the actual MPG we experienced in our test drive was really poor and I've read bad things online. All things considered, the 2006 325i (at about invoice) was slightly cheaper than the 2007 IS250 and the free maintenance made it even more appealing. We really don't need AWD in the area where we live, so we didn't pay extra for it.

After two weeks of driving the 325i everyday, I can make some fair comparisons.

325i (automatic)- The 325i pedal is less responsive from a stop. Once it gets going, the acceleration is smoother and certainly no worse than the TSX. This is something I had to get used to though. Now when I drive the TSX, which has become my wifes car, I frequently find myself surging past other traffic for the first few seconds. For highway driving, the 325i has more useable torque. I find that it is easier to pass cars and change lanes while accelerating. Ths TSX is not bad, mind you, it just needs to wind up more so the acceleration is rougher. Overall, I prefer the smoother power delivery in the 325i. Handling in the BMW is truly remarkable. I feel like I'm wearing the car. This feeling gives me a sense of security and control that I've not had before with any car. Ths TSX handles great too, just some quite as good as the BMW, but still one of the best I've driven. The 325i interior feels smaller. Not by much, but it is noticeable. The quality of the leather is a bit better. The wood is nicer that the fake aluminum I have on the TSX. Other than that, the plastics feel about the same.

TSX (non-nav, auto)- The TSX ride is more comfortable. I think this is mostly due to the BMW runflats, but neither is bad. Road noise is about the same. The layout of the interior is much better in the TSX. The buttons are more intuitive and not as complicated. I'm also not a big fan of the push button start on the 325i. The stereo on the TSX is better. IMO, with the exception of really low bass the TSX, the TSX stereo is the best I've ever had on a car. Granted, I do not yet have sirius hooked up the BMW, but the regular radio does not sound as good. The voice recognition on the TSX is much better, consequently, my bluetooth phone works better. That said, the BMW bluetooth is more sophisticated and integrates with my phone better when it does work. Ths TSX cupholders and interior storage space are designed much better. In fact, the BMW has much less storage space. Reliability should be better on the TSX, but I've had mine in the shop for minor things a few times, including sensor issues. So right now, I do not consider the TSX to be a clear winner on reliability. Time will tell. Lots of people say the TSX is underpowered. The difference between these two cars is not that great, especially for everyday driving. Anybody who thinks a car is better simply because it goes 0-60 faster would be missing out on two great cars.


Conclusions- Both cars are great. I love driving both. Is the BMW worth 6 or 7 grand more than a comparably equipped TSX? No, its not, but there really isn't any car in this class that can beat the TSX for value- and we weren't going to buy two of the same car. Knowing we were going to spend over 30K unless we got the accord or civic, I'm glad I purchased the BMW. Do I like it more than the TSX? Yes, because the BMW is so much fun to drive. But it is new and I think that influences my answer somewhat. Ask me after driving the cars for two years and I may have the same answet, or I may not.

 

Very nice write up. In terms of looks, I prefer the apperance of the TSX over the new 3 but that is all subjective. Good luck with both cars.

 

I like the look of the TSX too. I think its a very classic look and will still be fresh a few years from now. I think my preference goes to the IS250 over all others, but I also like that BMW usually stays with the same body style longer than other manufacturers. And none of the cars are ugly. If I could have waited for the 2008 TSX redesign, I probably wouldn't have looked at any other car.

 

Good comparison. My last car was an E46 Coupe and I owned that for 6 years. It was not the most reliable car but the dealer fixed just about every issue under the free maintenance program until that ran out 2 years ago. Then it was mostly on me, except for a few items like the door weather stripping which continually failed. Since BMW offered a 2 year warrenty on all repairs, and these things didn't last 2 years, they kept replacing them. In the end the car was showing its age and I was one major repair away from losing a lot of cash I could put towards a new car. It needed new lower control arms and bushings and I was about to tackle that job myself before I decided to sell it while it still had some value. I looked at the E90 but could not stand the run flats and I didn't want to replace the tires and deal with a spare in the trunk and all the horror stories of run flat failures... I just figured this was not ready for prime time yet. But the biggest deal maker was value. I could get the TSX/Nav for about $10K less than the E90/Nav and in the end I could not resist that. I have to agree that the handling on the E90 and even my 6 year old E46 is better than the TSX. But I have a Comptech RSB coming and I hope that will improve that department a bit. Ride is more comfortable in the TSX, handling was better in my E46. I was sad to see that car go but overall I'm happy with the TSX.

 

Unfortunately, I read all of the bad things about the run flats on the 325i after I bought it. Fortunately, my 325i came with Continental SSR runflats, not the bridgestones that people have had all of the problems with. BMW recently switched because of all the complaing. My salesmen was trying to explain this to me when I bought the car, but really didn't listen because I've never been particularly interested in tires. From what I've read, the difference between them is night and day- The Contis are more comfortable and last two or three times as long. However, the only advantage run flats have is that you never have to stop to put on a spare. Standard tires will always give you a more comfortable ride and will certainly last longer.

 

Very honest and fair assesment. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds. Whichever car you chose to drive on any given day, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.

 

I'm glad they made some changes. I wasn't keeping up on the issue after I wrote off the E90 (mostly due to price). But I think eventually run flats will be better and more mainstream. And more affordable ($400/tire is a little steep for me). Someday most cars will have them, but early E90 owners were paying the price of being early adopters. Enjoy the car! Find some twisties and have some fun with it. Not many twisties here in Houston.

 

If I'm not mistaken, standards tires can be repaired whereas run flats can't.

 

Very nice write up. It's cool that you prefer small-ish cars and think Accord is a tab too big.


Agreed. From time to time I do wish I don't need to downshift and rev up the RPM to pass cars on freeway..., but then, hearing the VTEC kicking in make it all worth it.

 

Nice. I bought an '03 330i 5MT in august and also my wife an '06 TSX 5AT at the same time. They are both awesome cars. I really enjoy driving both of them and for sure the TSX is roomier than the previous gen 3 BMW. Heck, I was surprised but my car is slightly smaller than an '06 Civic in all 3 dimensions. It doesn't seem like it on the inside, those are exterior measurements. The new 3 is a bit bigger all around, very close to the TSX.

There are several things I don't care for yet on the new 3, run flat tires are expensive and I am used to having a spare. They can still go flat you know. No dipstick, very unsettling. Funky cupholders. Mine are like TSX, I can't care for the new ones in the dashboard. Another HUGE problem with the new 3 is that on non nav if you wear polarized glasses you can't read the radio display unless you tilt your head, they are 90 degrees out of sync with the other gauges.

 

Combine the RSB with the A-Spec suspension (around $600 online) and you'd have a suspension upgrade that I think would make you happy, at a reasonable price. Much less understeer and flatter cornering.

 

Run flats CAN be repaired but some manufacturers WILL NOT repair them. They force you to buy a new tire. There is no real difference between a run flat and a "normal" tire except for a thicher side wall and perhaps a different bead that helps the tire stay on the rim w/o air pressure. If you got a nail in the tread it can be plugged/patched just like any tire, BUT... on a run flat, you may have driven on that tire for 50 miles. In that case the side wall is damaged enough that it would no longer be considered a run flat or even usable. So manufacturers won't repair them. There are huge threads on this subject on any BMW forum.

 

The sway bar should be here this week and I also ordered some poly bushings. I'll see what improvement this does and I'm hoping it will be enough for me. Doing the front suspension is more cost then I want to spend, but when I bought the car I already knew was going to do the RSB.

 

a friend of mine just bought a fully loaded 2006 325i 6at.

the one thing i noticed was that the ride is quite a bit harsher. his had the sport package though. but i think its the runflats really , since i've been in a lot of e46 3 series that were not nearly as bad.


the handling i'd say was about the same, though my friend is not a particularly great driver and its probably mostly the weight balance of rwd than anything.

idrive does suck though, the navi on the e90 just is awful. it is really slow too the idrive, moving from menu to menu.

one really nice thing on it though is the real aluminum on the interior. i hope acura puts that in the next tsx.

oh yeah lastly... the engine in the 3 was a lot more responsive from a stop (well it does have more torque and its probably geared more agressively) and the cupholders are quite possible the worst cupholders ever.

the 325i cd changer was also really really picky about the quality of cd-r you used for the cd player.

all in all a decent car, definitely not worth what my friend paid (evne with all the end of year discounts the car was over 41k after tax was paid)

 

Here's a very interesting statistic between Acura and BMW:
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Acura/115...018/index.html

# of TSBs: Acura = 32 ..... BMW = 467

I'd rather spend my time behind the wheel than in front of a Service Advisor.

 

325i blah now 335i is where its at... what a beauty~

 

YOu need to compare model to model. Does the 325i really have 467 TSBs? BMW has more TSBs because they have a larger number of models in their lineup.

 

i just purchased my 06' TSX and im completly satisfied. . .my cousin on the other hand talked to me today about purchasing a 325i and at first i was jealous but now that i read this thread there is no way in hell i'd put up an extra 6-7g's for a car so closely comparable to my TSX. Besides after a couple mods im gonna laugh when i smoke her beamer!

 

http://www.strategicvision.com/auto_...ard=TVA&seg=10
was just reading this today!
dont know how reliable this site is though

oops.. old thread revival didnt notice ^^