BMW 330i v Lexus IS 350 2021 Comparison

Official industry figures for 2020 reveal that there were five BMW 3 Series sedans sold in Australia for every Lexus IS.

Now, 2020 wasn’t a good year to benchmark sales, with pandemic-related supply issues and a volatile market that didn’t seem to know whether it was recovering – or for how long.

So a fairer comparison might be 2019, when BMW sold four times as many units of 3 Series as the Lexus IS.

However you play it, then, even with a heavily-updated Lexus IS, the BMW 3 Series is simply more popular in the marketplace.

Why is that the case? We certainly don’t subscribe to the view that the 3 Series is some show pony selling on the strength of its badge cachet alone. Not when we judged it Car of the Year for 2019. But nor do we think the Lexus IS is underwhelming, especially in six-cylinder IS 350 form.

This calls for a comparison.

For the purpose of this exercise, we’ve brought together two vehicles as close in specification as possible, selecting the 2021 BMW 330i Luxury Line to go up against the 2021 Lexus IS 350 F Sport.

It’s a luxury-oriented driver’s car against a driving-oriented luxury car.

Which one works better for the majority of buyers?

Both the BMW 330i Luxury Line and Lexus IS 350 F Sport are well equipped.

Standard features shared by the two test vehicles comprise LED headlights, auto high beam assist, 19-inch alloy wheels, satellite navigation, rain-sensing wipers, electric fold-in mirrors, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, Bluetooth, digital radio, electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, split-folding rear seat, climate control (three zones for the BMW, just two for the Lexus) and keyless starting.

The Luxury Line pack for the BMW 330i is a no-charge option, and features ‘Vernasca’ leather upholstery for the front sport seats, high-gloss grey-brown ash veneer, a leather-bound sport steering wheel, ‘Sensatec’ (synthetic) trim for the dash, and 19-inch alloy wheels in a double-spoke design.

In addition, the test vehicle came with Black Sapphire metallic paint ($2000) and a glass sunroof ($2900), taking the BMW’s as-tested price to $82,800 plus on-road costs. This is up from the standard price of $77,900 plus ORCs.

The Lexus IS 350 F Sport supplied for the comparison is priced from $75,000 plus ORCs, but the test vehicle also came equipped with an enhancement pack ($3100) and Sonic Chrome metallic paint ($1500) for a final price of $79,600 plus ORCs.

Features included in the enhancement pack are a 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio system, a moonroof and a rear electric sunblind.

So the Lexus is more affordable, either without the options or as tested – although there’s not much in it once you’re committed to spending $80,000 on a car anyway.

The Lexus is also covered by a four-year warranty, which is a year longer than the BMW’s warranty, but will expire sooner than four years from new if you travel more than 100,000km during that period. Although the BMW’s warranty is just three years of protection, it is unlimited by distance.

Data from valuation specialists RedBook also suggests the 330i and IS 350 are very close for retained value.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) settled on a maximum five-star safety rating for the BMW 3 Series in 2019, based on data provided by partner Euro NCAP.

While it has been comprehensively updated and is also rated five stars, the Lexus IS was tested back in 2016, and that makes it hard to compare the two given the different testing protocols, even when drilling down through the data.

What can be said is that the BMW scored 77 per cent for safety assist technology from ANCAP, and features autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that will react to ‘vulnerable road users’. The 330i also gets a tick from the safety authority for its ‘lane support systems’.

The IS 350 didn’t have features such as those when it was assessed by ANCAP five years ago, but this latest update certainly ensures the model has moved with the times – to the point where Lexus claims it matches or exceeds the active safety tech on the current flagship LS limousine.

Among new standard features across the Lexus IS range is a pre-collision system with daytime/night-time pedestrian detection plus daytime cyclist detection. It also has adaptive cruise control, emergency steering assist, intersection turning assist (forward cross traffic alert and side-looking AEB that’s aware of pedestrians too), lane tracing assist, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, parking support brake and rear cross traffic alert/brake.

It’s also the first model in Australia with Lexus Connected Services that includes automated collision notification, SOS call and stolen vehicle tracking, while the F Sport line brings with it 360-degree camera monitoring.

Safety features fitted to the BMW closely mirror the Lexus kit, and include AEB, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, 360-degree camera monitoring, forward collision warning and rear cross traffic alert.

While it’s a very quiet engine when cruising, the turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant on the 2021 BMW 330i sounds quite snarly when it’s under load and revving up to its 7000rpm redline, which only happens in Sport mode, shifting gear with the paddles.

Leave the powertrain to its own devices, however, and with the idle-stop system keeping the engine stalled at traffic lights, the 330i can feel lethargic when the lights change to green.

It’s a car you have to drive to extract optimal performance. It won’t just hand you effortless acceleration without your input. Yet the engine is not short of torque, and this shows up when ascending steeper sections of road in a higher gear.

BMW offers the 330i with launch control, which keeps the engine at 2500rpm before you release the brake. It’s a very effective system, and keeps the 330i in the hunt for the Lexus.

The V6 in the 2021 Lexus IS 350 is a typically refined power unit that goes pretty hard. Like the BMW, it can feel lazy unless you pull out all stops – which means slipping the car into Sport+ mode and using prodigious throttle.

It’s quicker still if you draw the lever across to the manual detente and shift manually using the paddles. Once you demand more from the V6, it delivers a hairy-chested six-cylinder bellow to contrast with the turbo four-cylinder sound from the BMW.

And performance from the V6 is impressive. It has abundant torque in the mid-range, but will also haul all the way up to the redline.

As with many Lexus models, the transmission won’t allow a downshift if the engine is already revving above 3500rpm, whereas the BMW will cop your abuse and come back for more.

And the Lexus automatic won’t stand for you wringing the neck of the V6, choosing to shift up automatically at the redline, even in manual/Sport mode. BMW’s transmission will hold the chosen gear at the redline.

On a test run at night, the Lexus returned a fuel economy figure of 10.1L/100km, which was close to its ADR consumption figure, but still some way adrift of the BMW’s figure of 7.9L/100km over the same route. That’s a combination of the extra weight, extra displacement and a lack of idle-stop at work in the Lexus.

Engine noise was imperceptible in both cars at an open-road speed of 100km/h, with the BMW engine spinning at just 1400rpm, and the Lexus V6 a little higher – at a touch under 1700rpm.

Dynamically, the Lexus IS 350 is in the same ballpark as the BMW 330i for roadholding, but handling is not as poised, with some push in evidence and stability control intervening earlier and a little more obviously than in the BMW.

The Lexus also rolls a bit more in corners.

Both cars offer relatively light, precise steering, although the BMW’s is demonstrably more talkative in Sport mode.

Similarly, braking stability is very good and both cars pull up fast from a hard stop. Brake pedal feel is comparable too, although the brake pedal of the Lexus can be finely modulated for soft stopping, which is not a trick the BMW can match.

Ride comfort in the Lexus is better across the board – irrespective of the driving mode chosen – than the BMW set-up.

Left in Adaptive mode, the 330i does jiggle and bounce around over secondary-level bumps. It’s fine over larger bumps, but for ride quality that approaches that of the IS 350, the driver is well advised to leave the BMW in Comfort mode.

On the open road, engine noise in the cabin fades away completely in both cars, leaving just the road noise from the BMW’s Pirelli P Zero tyres (225/40 R19 front and 255/35 R19 rear) and the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres of the Lexus (235/40 R19 front, 265/35 R19 rear) plus some wind noise to disturb the serenity inside.

The headlights of both cars were very effective for night driving. In the case of the BMW, the auto high beam assist is one of the better examples of its kind, detecting cars from oblique angles well before the drivers of those cars were at risk of being blinded.

It’s in the cabin of the BMW 330i that this comparison is won.

The front seats of the BMW offer strong side bolstering to hold the occupants secure during high-g cornering, but they’re also very comfortable over longer distances.

While the front pews of the Lexus IS 350 are also comfortable and yet hold the driver and passenger in place while cornering at higher speeds, you may need to resort to the lumbar adjust for more lower back support over longer drives.

It is easier climbing in and out of the Lexus than the BMW – from the front seats, at least – with the driver’s seat sliding back and the steering wheel retracting into the dash when the engine is switched off and the door is opened.

Headroom in the rear of the BMW is marginal, due to the sunroof fitted, but is better than the headroom available in the rear of the Lexus, which is quite restrictive.

The BMW also features a third climate control zone for the rear seat occupants, and USB recharging, whereas the Lexus features adjustable vents, but no switchgear to adjust the temperature setting.

To its credit, the Lexus has rear seats with cushioning that is undeniably softer and more inviting.

The rear seats of the Lexus can be lowered from the cabin, whereas the BMW owner can only lower the seats from the finger pulls in the boot.

Lowering the Lexus seats leaves a large step between the boot floor and the seat, making it harder to load bulkier items. The BMW’s seats lower into a position flush with the boot floor for easier through loading.

So the two cars are level-pegging for physical comfort, with a slight overall advantage to the 330i, but the BMW draws well ahead in the field of infotainment.

BMW’s combination of head-up display, trip computer read-out in the right half of the instrument binnacle, and trip information in the infotainment touch-screen means you can have digital speed, fuel economy and satellite navigation route instructions all on display at the same time – or any combination of other data points for that matter.

Naturally, the instrumentation reconfigures itself on the fly, if you choose Eco-Pro mode from Sports or Adaptive. Each configuration provides the right type of information in each scenario. In short, BMW’s infotainment options are very hard to fault – or outgun, if you’re a rival brand.

The infotainment system in the Lexus leaves something to be desired, especially in direct comparison with the BMW. There’s one particular shortcoming in the design of the sat-nav system in the IS 350, for instance. It doesn’t by default provide an ETA or distance to destination.

Furthermore, when I plugged my phone in to recharge it from one of the USB ports, CarPlay apparently ended the car’s sat-nav program, and it also overrode my selection of music from a USB stick in another port.

It’s all a little unsatisfactory, when the BMW offers wireless CarPlay and you don’t experience the same conflicts.

Owners can operate the highly-responsive and ‘intelligent’ sat-nav system in the BMW intuitively, with voice recognition, whether or not you know the precise command you wish to enter.

And the system will also prompt you with faster ways to enter a destination if you know the address, teaching you how to get the best results.

So that’s how it ends: the BMW wins once again – and not just for its prestige badge.

How much does the 2021 BMW 330i Luxury Line cost?
Price: $77,900 (plus on-road costs), $82,800 (plus ORCs) as tested
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 190kW/400Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined), 7.9L/100km (on test)
CO2: 150g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)

How much does the 2021 Lexus IS 350 F Sport cost?
Price: $75,000 (plus on-road costs), $79,600 (plus ORCs) as tested
Available: Now
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 232kW/380Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined), 10.1L/100km (on test)
CO2: 217g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2016)