Don't believe much of that comparison chart. It tells you a lot of things that the other apps don't have when they do and do it better. I would not put Carrara in the same catagory as C4D but Carrara does hold it's own for it's price.

You might find that upgrading to Carrara6pro a better choice, money wise. At least till you know for sure you want to spend the bigger bucks. Carrara is a good, all in one, app. And the sale price for the upgrade is a very good deal right now.

Just so you know, I'm not pushing Carrara. I use Vue6.5I, Modo301, Carrara6Pro,  and Poser7 as my main tools. Each one does something the others don't. or does it faster/easier.