I went through the same decision process and ended up with an '11 IPL 6MT, my situation, however, is a little different. Here's why I bought the G instead of an 335i:
- I wasn't going to buy either car because both will receive new models within the next couple of years, so I'm doing a 3-year lease and the lease rates on the G is much more attractive at this point.
- I wasn't looking at the IPL but just an ordinary G Coupe 6MT, but the dealer had a brand new IPL 6MT with only 16 miles on it, and they were willing to sell it to me at invoice, plus a $1500 maintenance package thrown in for the duration of my lease, it ended up being only marginally more expensive than a regular 6MT Coupe.
- I test drove a 335i Coupe 6MT w/ Sport, Prem and Nav (cancelled order sitting on their lot) right before I decided on the G. The salesman took me to some twisties and really led me open her up, and it was as flat as a hockey puck on ice. I liked it, I liked it a lot.
- But I had already ruined this generation of 3 for myself, I had an E90 330i 6MT Sport Prem Nav when it first came out in summer of 2005. I made the mistake of impatience and got a sedan instead of a coupe which was what I really wanted. Overall I thought it was a great car, but I didn't love it. There was no chemistry between me and the sedan, so I got rid of it when I went back to school in 2006. Driving the 335i reminded me of that experience. It's not fair to the coupe because of my own mistake, but I still didn't feel any chemistry this time.
- I went with the IPL G because it was unbelievable value for 90% of the 335i's performance. And like I said, I'm waiting for the next generation of these cars, so I'm leasing not buying, and the finances on the G just worked out much much better.
I want to make it clear that I believe the BMW is without a doubt at this point still a higher quality product, although
not by much. And when my lease is up on the G it's very likely that I'll hop into the next generation 3er, but in my situation this time around, the IPL G's finances just made too much sense to pass up.
I love the car too, it's imperfect in many different ways. It's not as torquey as I'd like, the interior material isn't as uniformly high quality as I'd like, and there isn't as much useable space as I'd like. But with the imperfections comes other things that I absolutely adore on the G, the exhaust note I personally find extremely gratifying, something I found myself missing while in the BMW, the engine's willingness to rev puts a smile on my face, and the interior/exterior styling connects with me more on a personal level.
Some pictures for everyone to enjoy (my gf was the one taking the pics):
