The 3-series there is like the Toyota Camry or Chevy Malibu here. It was the "nicest" car they could generally get - that or the Audi A4. So that's what most of them drove. You didn't see the normal "working folk" driving Jaguars, Land Rovers, Porsches, etc.
At least when I was there, and who I was hanging around with, they stayed within that car allowance, and didn't spend out of pocket. I think that's different than here - where if everyone got a $500/month car allowance, a LOT of people would justify using that to get a $1,500/month car.