Quote:
JimFlat6 said:
The Bentley GTC is probably quicker between 140 and 180 mph then a F430 and is more practical for road trips. Its performance and useability really makes F cars seem like they left something out.
Good points. My wife and I both enjoy road trips in nice cars.
Here's more:
1) Bentleys are the only high-style, high-performance, sporting make around that doesn't give me issues with fitting comfortably in the car.
I was just tooling around in a Cayman the other day (demo/loaner - long story) and I was so disappointed in its lack of leg room. I wouldn't possibly be happy owning it. It was actually painful to drive after a while because of the seating constriction.
All Ferraris used to be the same way. Many Porsches are still too small in one dimension or another for me. The Carrera GT has barely enough leg room to make it a keeper.
Bentley interior dimensions, on the other hand, have been massaged towards professional athletes, an important market segment for any uber-priced autos. Their newest range of models (GT, Flying Spur, GTC) have extremely accommodating interiors for someone my size (6'4"/1,93m). Their seating ergonomics are quite superior compared to any other "fast" car I have ever tried, including the latest M5.
Interestingly, my 5'0"/1,53m wife remarked after test drives of the GT and Spur that they were very comfortable for her to drive while she ordinarily has trouble seeing out of or comfortably handling the usual "big" style cars (she drives an A4).
2) Since I like to drive nice vehicles year-round, all wheel drive is a necessary ingredient for deriving optimum value from a purchase. My "big thing" in transportation is what I like to call "guaranteed mobility". Bentley's association with VW/Audi has made competent AWD an attractive selling feature of the latest cars.
All this adds up to more value for my use than my 996TT Cabriolet. More interior & luggage room for trips, more comfort on less-than-perfect roads, better NVH scores, longer cruising range, same or higher valet/curb-appeal scores, and comparable freeway-traffic performance and back-road (W/FEMALE PASSENGER ABOARD!) zest.
There's no doubt in my mind which car I'd prefer to take for a weekend trip to Chicago. It wouldn't be the TT Cab.
I'll probably be a customer unless my wife decides to get a GTC instead of her A4. She likes the Continental GT a whole lot.
) to do SF/LA to LV or London to Paris/MC, etc anyway..... 
