In just a couple of weeks I will have had my 2006 Bentley Continental GT for a year, and that time has gone fast. So I thought I'd put out a few comments on it so far... mostly good to fantastic:

- It's a second car, so I don't take it out in the wet or drive it daily, and so far have put just over 3,000km on the clock - a bit more than average for my garage queens.

- It's probably the BEST car I've owned, ever, in 50 years of car-owning. It has the combination of good looks, sporty yet elegant, giving pure comfort on good roads. It's quiet and isolates you from the rough world out there.

- The looks are stunning - it has a real road presence that many other luxury cars lack. I'm not sure what defines it, but certainly it is a different look to most other cars and you know it. I get a lot of looks on the road, but none in the gas station as I did with the Vanquish where people would come up almost every time to comment on it. It is not an everyman's car...there is something in the styling that says 'wealthy, back off.' If only they knew that I'm a car enthusiast first and not a status-seeker, that might change things. Maybe a bumper sticker: "My Other Car Is A Lada." (Yes, just kidding - I hate stickers of any kind anywhere). Still, I bought the badge - I'll have to live with it.

- While it is very comfortable, the seats are firm and huggy, and sometimes after an hour's drive they get a little hard. This is still a sports car at heart, and it lets your a** know it.

- I have not yet found an interior in any car that looks so good. It is dropdead stunning. Apparently there are some VW bits in there, but never having owned or even seen a late model VW, I don't really care. And yes, the nav is a bit ancient, but then I used to own a Vanquish with a tape deck! Everything inside the CGT just looks so good.

- I've only washed it twice. That's the advantage of not taking it out in bad weather. About once a week I dust it down and use a microfiber and (recently) Mothers Showtime - the best instant detailer I've used yet. Used to be a Meguiar's guy and still am for polish and waxes, but Mothers have the shine advantage in regular cleaning. I'm a believer that the less you touch the surface, the less damage you do with fine scratching. I've only waxed it about 3 times. And it works - I haven't been able to get it any shinier no matter what coating I put on... I've obviously reached a shine limit.

- I've never driven it at night. One night I will, just to see the dashboard illumination.

- The batteries last a LONG time without trickle charging. I use a CTEK Multi XS 3600 - but just for looks since it hasn't made any difference to the charge.

- The CGT is shod with Pirelli P Zero's, and they are a nice quiet, goodlooking tire. As for grip, I've never driven it in the wet or in any situation that tests them, so I don't know. Wear is negligible for the 3k I've done, even though our city has a lot of corners and hills - think San Francisco on a smaller scale.

- The only disappointment is the sluggish cornering at slow speed. It is an effort to get it round a sharp corner...seems to want to go straight.

- I love the sound of the exhaust, but after a while the note gets a bit tedious. While it doesn't have the spine tingling bark of an Aston Martin, the sound is impressive.

- I can't drive it too rapidly because I have a large number of points on my license from my SL600, but this 3 ton behemoth just points to the horizon and leaps away from anything. It is FAST!

The only other car that has given me as much pleasure was the SL600. It handled better than the Bentley, was faster, but didn't give me that feeling of utter luxury and decadence when I got into it. The Bentley Continental GT ticks all the boxes for me, and I'll keep this one for a long time yet.

 

Wow- perfect review. You took some of the words out of my mouth directly- why I do and will one in the future. Love the part where you sorta say " just says something and has it like others dont" ...so vague but yet so simple and true!

 

I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks.

 

Great read and one of my very favorite cars as well - thanks for posting; I really enjoyed that. I've never driven one but would certainly jump at the opportunity. Any pics you might having laying around? I'd love to see it - especially the interior. How's the reliability been?

 

Sure, I'll get round to take some pics sometime. As a former photographer in the air force many years ago, I rarely touch a camera nowadays though. My Canon 450D and a few expensive lenses just sits in its waterproof, dustproof, knockproof case - which is also userproof it seems

Reliability for me is 100%, but you've got to remember I don't use it that much. When I do, it is on longer trips so the engine gets a chance to warm up properly. And I look for hills so I can give it some acceleration under load to keep those plugs clean. I'm probably an unusual owner - I can enjoy the car at rest as much as driving it...don't have to be out in it all the time.

I have only heard of one problem when I took a look at a 2004 for sale. The dealer said the owner had a $15 part installed, but had to have the engine taken out to do it. Cost NZ$5,000, and the owner was so disgusted he put it up for sale. I couldn't pin the dealer down on the part that was needed, but I would say that's a pretty rare fault.

 

Just a quick explanation on my speeding demerit points - just in case you think I'm an anti-establishment halfwit ...

This was my first speeding ticket of any kind in 25+ years. Before that I've got only one for going 35 in a 30 area, so I'm no speed lout. I'm a real-world defensive driver with no accidents or even near misses, and drive to the conditions. But I'm not slow either, and a while back on a Porsche World Day I beat everyone in the slalom including track drivers and longtime Porsche owners. I have a trophy to prove it, and I had never driven a Porsche before. My wife never hears the end of it.

But this time I was behind a station wagon that kept on varying its speed on the motorway, well under the limit, not letting me pass. I don't tailgate, but I was tempted for the first time to do this. I hate these kind of drivers. So when the opportunity came, I floored the SL600 and passed. The road was clear, no traffic, straight, no side roads...everything was perfect for a safe overtaking manoeuvre in the empty passing lane.

As you might know, the SL600 has an unofficial 0-60 time of under 3.6 sec according to Car & Driver. It's a fact, I can tell you now. So in a matter of seconds I was up to 40km/hr over the limit and climbing - just in time to see a police car coming the other way

I think the reason I didn't get the car impounded was that I didn't give any excuse for my speed. Plus my clean record. The cop just handed out a fine and we were done.

Okay, enough time wasted on this miserable excuse for my bad behaviour. I don't get the same urge to do silly things in the Bentley for some reason, so I'm safe for a while yet!

EDIT: After writing this post I went to check on the date of the ticket to see when my demerit points would be withdrawn. It is Today!! I'm a free man. Now to see whether I can reach 198mph somewhere

 

Great write up...you sound like me in terms my appreciation of my cars. I really enjoy the simple pleasure of looking at cars. Driving them is usually more interesting but I definitely understand the pleasure of viewing a car in your garage. Thanks. This write up helps me with my urge to get a CGT. It has a timeless design that has always caught my eye.

 

Agreed. I first saw them in UK when I was visiting there round 2002-3. There were two, in black, behind my rental Ford Focus at a roundabout. I pulled over into the lefthand lane and before I could say "millionaire" they were just dots in the distance. Never seen anything go so fast and disappear so quickly in a blast of sound as those two racing.

Knowing the strictness of Brit police, they would have lost their licences for sure if they were caught.

But this brings me to the design. While I love the shape too, the fastback still looks a little awkward to me. I read somewhere that it reminded a viewer of an upturned boat, and that's it exactly... bit like a beetle. From the back it doesn't have the elegance of an Aston or the brutish squatness of a 911. The 2012 model looks a little better now they have defined the shape a little more with some strong cutlines, but I've seen better efforts for the rear window.

However, I'm splitting hairs here - none of those views stopped me from buying it, or later trading up to another when the ashtray is full And from most viewpoints it is still a spectacular looking piece of machinery and metal.

 

Regarding the reliability, that's good to hear. The CGT is definitely on my short list as a must have at some point down the road. And yes, I too have a similar appreciation for great cars whether on the road or looking pretty in my garage.

Regarding your citation history, no need to explain. I was quite the speedster in my younger days and I still enjoy a good romp once in a while, but I can appreciate my ride at 70 just fine and the urge doesn't happen nearly as often anymore - especially w/my SUV ('08 Cayenne GTS) although it can get going pretty well.

Thanks again for the additional insight & looking forward to those pics when you get around to it...

 

Great writeup, thanks for posting!

 

I appreciate mine much more these days since I changed the suspension height to view it.

Since we have a sharp hump leading to our garage which will ground it, I need to put it on high suspension, and I leave it there so I don't forget to raise it on the way out. But it looks slightly ungainly at its highest level with all that wheel arch exposed, so in the last month I've taken to lowering it inside the garage. The extra 30 seconds it takes is compensated by the perfect visual alignment I get to see now.

I think as we age it's really important to keep our motor responses sharp by pushing the boundaries often. I hope I never turn into one of those doddery cautious drivers who hold up lines of traffic. Sounds like you won't be one either!

 

Agree, agree, agree..., sounds like there's a good chance we may end up in the same OCD ward together in our old age...!

 

I read recently that being conscientious - a related degree of OCD I guess - is a precursor to long life:

---
Dr. Howard S. Friedman and Dr. Leslie R. Martin write that while it is very important to live a healthy active life, the thing that will enable to you to live the longest is “conscientiousness,” which they describe as “the qualities of a prudent, persistent, well-organized person, like a scientist-professor — somewhat obsessive and not at all care-free.”
---

If that's the case, no ward will be good enough for us!

 

Good info....I've been eyeing these for a while for my wife.
Although only thing holding me back is as you say the interior is gorgeous and we have two little boys and a third on the way. I can't imagine how they would destroy that beautiful interior

 

You never know... with the Bentley they might just sit quietly there in awe