I somehow doubt that a Ford Focus in any guise excepting the RS would offer anywhere near the same driving dynamics as a BMW 1 Series.

Then again, maybe I am wrong/idiotic.

Ferrer is looking for driving pleasure, henk you are looking for other things more I think - features, comfort, usability. Ferrer isn't like that, and that's where he is coming from.

In Europe, it seems like comparing apples to oranges (the German 3 are RWD/AWD whereas the competition is FWD), but here in North America (Canada specifically) when you compare two sport coupes - the two most obvious contenders being the G37 Coupe (46.3k) and 335i Coupe (53.4k) (and yes I know Infiniti is in Europe but no one buys them), then the value of the BMW can certainly be called into question. The 335i is a great car, but I highly doubt it's 7k more of a car than the G, and I also doubt that it comes equipped with as many standard features of the G. A bit different from those two, but the TL SH-AWD which is a delight on the inside starts at only 45k in Canada. Here in North America, we have an abundance of cheap (sporty to various degrees) luxury cars.

The competition is intense, but BMW can charge a premium because they have the little blue and white roundel on the hood and that buys you a lot of status here if you are a young-middle-management-suburban yuppie.