Thought I'd do a thorough test on all the cars mentioned in the title before deciding on one for a personal contract hire - all are similar in contract hire pricing and reasonably similar in terms of performance and fuel consumption.

 

Unconventionally, I'll start with my verdict....and that of the wife and kids :-)

 

1. Skoda

2. BMW

3. Lexus

4. Infiniti

 

No surprises that there aren't many Infiniti's on the road - simply put, its outclassed by the rivals.

 

Lexus, actually a joint second with the BMW, and actually drives a little better all round that the Beemer in my opinion.

 

The BMW has lost some of its sparkle (I'd had 3 530d Sports about 10 years ago) the steering feels numb, the handling is not as sharp as that of the Skoda, the throttle response is also not as sharp and the gearbox is not transitioning from gear to gear as smoothly as the Skoda when both cars are in sport mode. The BMW also feels too "clinical", there is no drama at all, its just too quiet. I know many have complained about the sound generator in the VRS, but I'd rather have such artificial sound piped into the car than near silence and no drama when pushing the car hard.

 

All the cars were test driven for a minimum of a 48 hour test drive, the Skoda and the Infiniti were provided on 4 day test drives.

 

I've had the final car today (the BMW) and asked the wife and kids for their opinion having sampled all four cars - unanimous verdict .....Skoda - good choice as I have a Candy white VRS TDi estate due on the 3rd Dec......options? Sunset glass, Pan Roof, Black Pack, Leather seats with white stitching, folding mirrors.

Edited 4 November, 201411 yr by vrs2014

Good choice! Damn all you people who ordered the Pano roof... It's my only purchase remorse. I looked at the price of it and pictured a normal old school sunroof and promptly discounted it as an option. Then I saw one on here about 3 weeks before my car arrived and I was instantly gutted I didn't spec one!

Candy white IMHO the best colour (not bias at all )

Good effort getting them all in for 48+ hrs!

 

Glad you chose the Skoda in the end of course What BMW did you try? 

Thanks for shRing.

It's good to read of a 'proper' evaluation rather than purely a road test verdict.

Look forward to seeing pics of the new steed.

Nice outcome but how could those three rivals possibly be similar in terms of cost / monthly / deposit, etc...?

 

Those three are all substantially more expensive than the Skoda. The lexus start at 30k for the base model!

Those three are all substantially more expensive than the Skoda. The lexus start at 30k for the base model!

 

The cost of leasing a car is highly dependent on the depreciation.  So cars that cost less, but depreciate more are quite often more expensive to lease than cars which cost more but depreciate less.  Also, it depends on what deals the lease company have going, and what discounts they have secured on buying the cars in the first place - they're probably getting bigger discounts (just like retail) on BMW and the others than they are on Skoda at the moment.

If the depreciation isn't very much then it can work out better to have a dearer car.

What BMW did you try?

 

 

It was a 520d M Sport Auto which had 2,000 miles on the clock.

How did you manage to get a 4 day test drive?? My dealer let me drive it for about half an hour and came with me. Luckily I already knew I was buying a vRS so wasn't that fussed but still, it would have been fun to drive around in one for 4 days.

I arranged my test drive through the lease company

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My local Dealer (RRG Skoda) managed to organise it via Skoda head office.