I recently went through the process of buying a new car. I test drove 5 cars in the midsized luxury class before I picked the Bimmer. Before I test drove the cars, I was not convinced that the BMW name and driving experience were worth the price tag.

I was wrong.

The other cars that I test drove:

Volvo S80 -- This is a great car for a family of three or four. The driver and passengers feel very safe in this car, which is a real plus. It has a heavy, smooth ride and good acceleration. I felt like this might be a car for a slightly older crowd and was a bit put off by the sheer size of this car. It was BIG.

Infiniti i-30 -- This also seemed a bit more sedate than I was looking for. The ride in the Infiniti was very different than the European cars. This car was doing most of the work for you. You aren't part of the machine, you're more of a passenger.

Lexus C300 -- Same smooth, eastern engineering as the Infiniti. More of a sportscar than the i-30, but still not what I was looking for.

Saab 9-5 -- This was a fun car. I liked the ride but did not like the size (another BIG car) and the sightlines. The nose of this car really sticks out, making the blindspots huge in the front. I found this in the Audi TT, as well. It made me feel a bit less safe, so I crossed it off the list.

That took me to the BMW dealership. I test drove the 5 series, but again felt that the car was too big for my needs. So we test drove the 3 series..and here's what I found.

The LOOK of the car:

The car looks cool. The fastback is very different than the rounded edges of the older cars. It also seems to look more like a sportscar than a touring sedan, which is nice. Almost all the paint/interior combos work, except for the light yellow exterior. I choose the black/black combo, as I felt that it looked classy and sporty at the same time. The green/sand and the metallic blue/sand were also nice.

The INTERIOR:

The leather is definitely the way to go. You also need to get the optional heated seats for the winter months in the north -- they really work and you can't imagine living without them. The optional wood grain is nice as well, but less of a must have. The seats have memory controls, which is nice for a car with multiple drivers. Since my wife is about 13 inches shorter than I, this really saves my knees!

The DRIVING EXPERIENCE:

This is where the car really rises above. First of all, you can opt for the clutchless shift Technotronic transmission. This lets you have the control of the shift in bad weather (NICE in the SNOW) and the convenience of automatic in traffice (NICE for the COMMUTE). It also really lets the driver feel like part of the car. In the BMW, you feel every bump. You stick to the road and can really steer into your turns. It's very different and takes some getting used to. Most of the American and Japanese cars have taken this part of the car and over engineered it to the point where the computers are more of the pilot than the person behind the wheel. Not the Bimmer.

If you test drive this car, make sure to drive on the open road, as well as the back roads. This way you'll see the acceleration and the handling that set this car apart.