I've not flown an Airbus product, but have flown the 737-200,-300 and-800.

Personally, I think Boeing did a very poor job on the NG 737's.

It was all to make SWA happy, and keep the common type rating.

When you look at the level of technology available to Boeing when the NG series was introduced (think 777 and 767-400) they did a very poor job. Here are some examples:

The fuselage diameter is the same between the 727, 737 and 757. The classic Boeing nose (very noisy cockpit) of the 707 could easily have been replaced with the roomier, quieter, and better ergonomically 757 nose. Wasn't done!

The 757 was introduced in the early '80's. when an engine starts it's smart enough to automatically put the generators on line. That "technology" was available for 15 years prior to the introduction of the NG, but on the 737 you still have to manually select the generators.

The FMS systems used on the 757 and 767 aircraft are made by Honeywell. They're great. With the 737 you get a POS system made by Smiths Industries. I think a comparison of a BMW to a Yugo is appropriate.

Fail-active vs fail-active autopilot system.

Boeing could have incorporated the latest available technology and built a helluva airplane. Instead they chose to design and construct a very mediocre product so SWA (the launch customer) would be happy.

I believe the marketplace bears this out. If you look at product lines offered by Boeing and Airbus and compare aircraft "families", Boeing outsells Airbus significantly in every comparison except the 737NG vs A-320 series.