Same year (2012), similarly equipped, both with ‘sport’ suspensions. Both certified cars from dealers. M37 has sport and premium pkg. 535 had Msport, premium, and Navigation.

Cost: $7000 more for the BMW!

Warranty: BMW CPO warranty much better (covers audio, nav, etc). Both to 100k miles. Neither transferable.

Maintenance: BMW free for another 2 years, Infiniti not

Trunk (relatively important to me): Bigger in the M, but folding seats in the BMW (so kind of a wash)

Steering: I like the M37S better

Suspension: I like the BMW better (feels a little less jolting over pot holes)

Tires: advantage to Infiniti. BMW has run flats (expensive to replace @ ~$400 each) and no spare. M has no run flats, and a spare.

MPG: BMW roughly 3 mpg higher (mpg not at all important to me though)

Overall feel/handling: I would have to give BMW the advantage.

Safety: both about the same (good)

Reliability: Consumer reports rates the M above average and the BMW as average. No question in my mind that the M will be more reliable.

My overall conclusion: I don’t have one. It’s called being ‘wishy washy’. Both nice cars. But I’m not sure the BMW is really worth a $7k premium.

I’m wondering if newer, more compliant, tires would give the advantage to the M. Anyone know how long the stock tires last (miles) and have any experience changing their tires to smoothen out the pot holes?

Pricing: No Infiniti will hold it's value as well as a BMW. Infiniti cannot match the BMW heritage as it's a relatively new car company with no long historical pedigree. That said, the 535i also sells at a higher price when new compared to the M37. By the time you add features onto the BMW to match what comes with the M37, you're well over 60,000 for the BMW but only low to mid 50's for the M.

Tires: You didn't mention the model tires that were on the M, but if they were Goodyear or Yokohama, then yes, better quality tires will improve the ride and handling on the M.

Comfort: The M is a little longer and wider and the M has better seat support than the 535. The M interior is much more luxurious than the BMW with less hard plastics and more soft-touch or leather surfaces.

Reliability: need I say it? Your Infiniti service rep will rarely ever see your M.

Overall: BMW and Infiniti are after the same buyers in my opinion. BMW builds a car that leans more to sport than comfort or luxury. Infiniti builds a car that aims to be luxurious AND maintains a sporty edge at the same time so one can cruise on the motorway like a giant marshmallow with great connection to the road one day and bolt in and out of traffic like a sport sedan the next day. BMW 5's don't seem to have this dual personality. The only other I have driven with this dual personality is the Jag L series and they, too are much higher priced than the M.

In the end, it's about you, how you drive, and what you want to feel from your car as you drive it. The split personality of the M suits me just fine. Others may want a little less pampering and a little more road feel 100% of the time - the BMW is better suited to them.

In stock form, BMWs definitely have the handling edge over most other manufacturers in the same class. Yes, they do come with runflats from the dealer, but once you change them out to non-runflat tires, they will hug the road like no other car. They are definitely more sporty than the M is. the M is much more luxury oriented than the 5 series is. The VQ is nice off the line, but the more aggressive gearing in BMWs (and better TQ for the size of the motor) allows the BMWs to get off the line quickly. The VQ would be much more enjoyable with more TQ to match it's 330hp motor.

the M will have the 5er beat in reliability, a big reason why i didn't go with the 5er. Also, though the 5er will have free maintenance for 2 years, the M will have much easier (DIY-able) maintenance for the rest of its life, which won't need the assistance of dealership software to work with, which to me, pays itself in spades.

You hit the nail square on the head, Larz. What you said is exactly why I didn't go with the 5 series or the Lexus LS460. The 5 series leans too far to the all sport side; the LS460 leans too far to the all luxury side of the equation. The M hits right in the middle. Perfect.

Been shopping for a used luxury sedan for a couple months myself and was initially wishy washy between 5er and the M. I haven't really been looking for a 'sport package' car so I haven't test driven the cars you have but I have driven several 528, 535, and Ms. The 5ers are pure joy to drive. Each time I drive one, I come out of it with a big grin on my face saying, I KNOW why these cars are popular. And I do find something cool about carrying that BMW badge around on the front of my car. However, I've decided to go with an M.

I absolutely love the M's interior, particularly with the deluxe touring package. There seems to be a bit more room in the back seats which is an important factor for me since my kids are approaching their teens. And I think the passenger comfort level regarding the ride will be better in the M. And as far as the BMW being more fun to drive, yes it is, but it's not THAT much better. The M is fun too.

But the big deal that sealed it for the M is the reliability. Been reading and reading and reading on the various cars and one thing I noticed was that even in the BMW forums, there were a significant number of members that would not own a BMW outside of the manufacturer warranty due to BMW reliability issues over the mileage part of the warranty. The last car I drove I kept for 10 years. I expect the same from the next car so I crossed BMW off my list.

Still haven't made a purchase though. I've been waiting for a car that has what I want to drop to the price I'm willing to pay. An M35H did recently and the dealer has it on hold waiting for me to come look at it. I wasn't really looking for a hybrid when I started but I do like Infiniti's version. We'll see.

Looks are one thing to consider. I like the M better than BMW styling, I'm probably bias. But also like that I RARELY see another M on the road.

Tbmgu, the Infiniti M Hybrid is truly a one of a kind. Where else can you get a 2-ton car with 360bph and still make 30mpg combined driving while maintaining the luxury and sport combination that M's are known for. Even the newer wavy design of the latest generation has grown on me. Here is the Motor Trend review of the hybrid in case you need a little nudge LOL.

http://youtu.be/5F-4MMacvM0

I know I have a different M, but at 26000 sold that year, that means 1 every 12000 folks and I live in a small community of under 100K, so there should be 7 others here and I have yet to see another.

I concur about the handling comparison, though steering on the newer BMWs is funky.

I like the idea of ditching the run flats. I'll want a spare in that case, but I'm sure they can be purchased somewhere.

Larz wrote:Tbmgu, the Infiniti M Hybrid is truly a one of a kind. Where else can you get a 2-ton car with 360bph and still make 30mpg combined driving while maintaining the luxury and sport combination that M's are known for. Even the newer wavy design of the latest generation has grown on me. Here is the Motor Trend review of the hybrid in case you need a little nudge LOL.

http://youtu.be/5F-4MMacvM0

Oh for sure! This car I am to look at came on the market a couple weeks ago but I dismissed it for the most part but it kept nagging at me. I have always liked the CONCEPT of hybrid but have never thought the price premium was worth it (at new anyway) and every implementation I was familiar with was simply an economy car. Was in another city for business and had a little time and found another M35H that didn't have the packages I wanted but drove it just to get an idea of the hybrid nature of the car. I loved it. Been reading a lot of reviews of it since and looking at videos which have been mixed. The ones that come back negative come across like they already hate the styling (which I actually like, reminds me of an old school roadster) or they have a hybrid anti bias. The open minded reviews are quite positive.

The bottom line is I'm stoked and don't need a nudge. I just gotta show up and make sure THIS car is the real deal. I'll be very disapointed if it's a dud... not enough of these out there to make it a requirement for me I don't think.

I bought my M37S with 21k miles and the OEM summer tires were done (3/16 to 2/16) tread left. It was riding really harsh. I have opted for the same tire brand and model only all season (which comes from the factory with the 2013 Sport model) Bridgestone Potenza and they're softer but the ride still feels sporty (to me anyway).

The all season bridgestones are wearing ok so far. I really cannot compare the handling since I didn't drive much or the OEM's before getting rid of them.

Larz wrote: Even the newer wavy design of the latest generation has grown on me.

Larz! I cannot believe what I'm reading. What's next - U gonna trade in your 09' for a Y51

Mjkkb2 wrote:

Larz wrote: Even the newer wavy design of the latest generation has grown on me.

Larz! I cannot believe what I'm reading. What's next - U gonna trade in your 09' for a Y51

LOL, no. As i have said I am clearly in the minority about not fancying the wavy body. My mates all say it looks plenty sporty and aggressive. Infiniti did a very good thing by making the Q70L - that reduces the waves and actually looks great. My current plan is to wait for the 2016 Q70. I am told by the guys at my dealership that the body and interior will get a make over and the front and rear will stay very similar to the 2015. If that turns out to be true, I will wait and buy a used 2016.

Contrary to popular belief, the BMW 535i F10s do not handle very well. The sporty 5-series of the past died with the F10 generation car. Even with the sport package, the numb electric steering of the BMW, the weight, open-diff, and softer suspension actually creates a lot of understeer and poor cornering attributes. I have a lot of experience with this car throughout the years (loaners, family members, friends, test drives etc.). Before I bought my M56S, I cross-shopped it with a 550i hoping it was a better car than the 535i, as far as handling. And it wasn't. It was very soft and floaty on the highways, had horrible one-wheel peel issues (open diff), and again, numb electric steering. And this is all coming from a non-biased perspective, because I had an E92 335i Coupe...so I've purchased and love BMWs. The 5-series is just not a very good mid-sizer. It's merely adequate and made to sell in volumes...like a Camry or Accord.

The M37 excels over the BMW in every way. It's designed on a better platform (sharing the chassis of a 370Z), the VQ37 is infinitely more reliable (no turbos, no shoddy fuel pumps or injectors), the car is about 300lbs lighter than a comparable 535i, and has 30HP more. It has a much more communicative platform, better steering feel, has a wonderful interior, and can be self-serviced. Despite their single-turbo N55s, the current 535i is not a very fast car. Plus, feeling the power drop off in the BMW 535i at 5600RPM is such an awful feeling. The current 5-series gained weight and lost a turbo, they run low 14s and trap 99MPH...pretty sad and slow, especially considering the older E60 535i with the N54 could run 13s in the low 100s all day.

Likewise, the M37 is capable of achieving 13s and 100-103MPH trap speeds.

I will have to agree that with AlphaSnacks. We own an e91 328i with sport package and an e34 530i (modded suspension). Speaking from experience with the 2 BMWs that we own, the handling is very sharp. I haven't driven the new F series BMWs but I have heard the drive-by-wire steering really kill the experience. Driving a Q50 some weeks back (with drive-by-wire steering) I'll have to agree that the electronic steering really removes the natural feel of they hydraulic assisted steering. The electronic steering is way too artificial and I sincerely hope that it is not something that manufacturers adopt as the norm (much like hydraulic assisted power steering).

lardog wrote:I like the idea of ditching the run flats. I'll want a spare in that case, but I'm sure they can be purchased somewhere.

There are spare tire kits available from BMW if you remove the runflats. We took off our runflats for non-runflats and carry a Slime flat tire kit around. Haven't had to use it yet, though the wife punctured a tire with a nail that held up well enough to get her home.