I've driven both a few Corollas and a few BMWs, including the 1997 328is I'm now selling.

The BMW is comparatively a pig on gas. It's got a 2.8L engine. That big engine also brings other benefits. It's very responsive and fast with a great deal of torque, compared to the little Corolla.

The leather seats are infinitely more comfortable than any seats in any Corolla, even with the car's stiffer suspension.

Every part of the BMW is made with better materials than the Corolla. Better plastics, better fabrics, much better steel. Given the same routine, the BMW will last longer.

It's a prestige marque because it's a higher end product made out of higher end materials and to tighter tolerances. I suppose the word "better," like "worth" is personal and subjective. There's most definitely more markup dollars on a BMW, but there's also a much higher bill of materials. They're just not in the same class whatsoever.

Using the Corolla as an example really stretched the Toyota example needlessly however, since even BMW's lowest end car is a higher end product than Toyota's highest.

And no, no one "needs" the handling of a BMW or any other great handling car for that matter. But driving one, compared to driving a Corolla, is like making a trip in a luxurious dreamliner compared to riding a donkey. I thought I'd go extreme too. They feel great and good handling = fun to drive.

This is similar to the Apple notebook compared to <randomname> netbook analogy.