2005 Audi A4 3.2 Quattro vs. 2006 BMW 330i vs. 2005 Infiniti G

One of the keys to the sport of trapshooting is to know precisely how much to lead the clay pigeon by. Traveling at up to 100 mph out of the spring-loaded trap, the clay is a streaking speck, tough as hell to track.

BMW's 3 Series has been the automotive equivalent of the clay target, each edition a hard-to-nail meteor that's had its adversary's shotgun barrels blazing futilely for nearly its entire existence. Notice we said "nearly": Comparison-test statisticians out there likely remember our momentous August 2002 face-off wherein a previous-generation 330i was nicked by a blast from Cadillac's CTS and knocked out of the sky by Infiniti's then-new high-caliber G35. Lucky shot? No, the rest were genuinely catching up.

But that was then; this is now. Meet the all-new 330i (base price $36,995, rising to $47,390, with such added goodies as the $2200 premium package, $2000 nav system, $1600 sport package, $1275 automatic transmission, and $1250 active steering); an updated G35 ($31,460, $36,510 when upgraded by a $3350 premium package, $750 sport suspension package, $550 aero package, and $400 for the Sirius Satellite Radio); plus an itchy trigger-fingered Audi A4 taking the role of the now less au courant Cadillac ($36,120, $41,520 after accounting for the $2050 premium package, $1000 Bose/XM Satellite Radio system, $900 cold-weather package, $600 sport package, $450 pearl effect paint, and $400 wood trim).

Take aim, Tokyo and Ingolstadt--the latest from Munich has been slung from the trap.

Hardware
Of the three, the small BMW gets the prize as most transformed, being so extensively redesigned that about all the last-generation 3 seems to have bequeathed to its successor is the numb concept of the car. In chassis dimensions, suspension configuration, and engine construction and specifics, the 330i is brand spanking new.