My wife and I had a little fun with her CGT a couple of Saturdays past. We were in the closest city to us with a good selection of high end vehicles. We pull in to a Mercedes dealership and watch the salespeople rush in like flies on a turd. Of course I said I wanted to drive a AMG S63....I had to remind him to get a copy of my DL before he rushed out to pull one out of inventory. After that my wife spotted a 2015 S65 behind velvet ropes. Of course the salesman opens it up and after a few minutes of him hearing my wife and I compare it to the new Flying Spur and speculating how the performance would differ our man suggest we take it out for a spin. Being that I am not in the market just yet I graciously declined as I saw it was creating consternation with his GM being that it was a special order vehicle (I will actually get either the S65 or the Flying Squirrel...as the wife calls it...in about a year but I would have felt bad about getting his hopes up). After that we decide that we should at least test drive a Panamera turbo S just to make sure that it was out of consideration. So off the the nearest Porsche dealership and...like flies on a ...well, you get the idea. This sales rep was a hoot. He was thrashing that poor car on side roads and then insisted I do the same. My wife told him to beware of what he asked for as he had no idea of my motorsports background. Threshold braking from about 95mph had him reconsidering his offer. Definite no go on the Panamera so off to the Aston Martin dealer but the wifey wants to stop by the B dealer and drive the Flying Squirrel (only I drove it on a prior test drive). Needless to say it set the bar. We then head off to drive a Rapide but the dealership closed a little to early. A few months prior we stopped by the Ferrari dealership to look around and the salesman insisted my wife and I drive a California (a used one of course), which she did. I told him it was not necessary since I had driven one prior to deciding on the Bentley but he insisted...of course I did not turn him down a second time. He did this with a full disclaimer that I had no intention of trading in the CGT for a Cali. Nice guy and he did have my wife and I pondering a trade. If I would have driven up in my Ford pick-up truck I would have most likely had to produce 2 years of tax returns and sign over my first born to get a drive in any of those vehicles.

I guess next time we are back in Houston I may have to stop by the MB store and see if that S65 is still behind the ropes......

 

BTW...that 2015 Flying Spur is incredible!

 

Great read Robin! As you may recall, was looking to get a 65 when the deal on the GT came around. Love test drives and remember scaring the $#!^ out of the guy at Ferrari / Maserati years ago.

Test drives.... free new tires and brakes pads
Rental cars can be fun too.

 

That is a GREAT! story. LMAO fo sho. Loved the Ford truck comment and your right.

I have had some similar experiences out with my car. At the boot shop in Pigeon Forge the owners extended their private parking in the back so my car won't get dinged. The Jaguar dealer GM commanded the salesman to get out the new XKR S for me to drive. I wonder how many of these salespeople really believe they have a real competition for the Bentely? Is that Merc S65 equal to the GT?

LMK what you think of the Rapide when you go back. If I had to give up Bentley I would consider the DB9 S as a possibility. Have only drove the V8V and it was to small and underpowered.

 

Mel, I didn't drive the S65, just sat in it for a bit. It is very comparable to the Flying Squirrel for comfort and beauty. The S63 that I did drive lacked the seat comfort, ride and raw torque of the w12 FS. I called the saleman to set up a test drive in the S65 for my wife next week while she is in Houston but the car was sold. I did drive a 2013 DB9 convert (not S model) as it was originally my intended purchase until I made the mistake of driving the Bentley. IMO, the Bentley beats it on acceleration, braking and ride (which really surprised me) as best as I could compare over your typical short run test drive. Needless to say we bought the Bentley. I do want to drive a Rapide S but I don't think it will be practical to own as we need a car that can allow easy ingress/egress and comfort for my elderly inlaws. The Rapide rear seats seem a little short in that area although I don't need to tell the salesperson that inconvenient fact when I ask for a test drive.

As I type this I realize that we still have not driven the Maserati Q-porte GTS...hmmm...I guess I have to run the GTC back to Houston again for some more window shopping.

 

My wife wants a Quatraporte but the funds are not there at this time. We drove a used one with a six cylinder and i was underwhelmed. I am sad and glad to hear the DB9 lost the comparison but thrilled to have the winner. Some time ago i started a thread about what to get after Bentley and I never saw a clear winner.

Hey for the in-laws eh? Be my super hero and get the RR Phantom. Come on man the Mac Daddy of all four doors. If you let me drive it i'd come down and give you a sexual favor.

 

Funny you mention it but a used Ghost crossed my mind. I was admiring a 2012 Ghost with very low miles (why have one and not drive it???) that was priced about the same as the S65. It might be perceived as a little pretentious for my locale. Interesting that many of my referring docs have made comments about my wife's GTC suggesting I earn "too much money"; these same guys sink 300 to 500K in a fishing camp on the coast and a 300K boat to match! I happen to enjoy exotic vehicles and choose spend my insanity dollars there.

About the quatroporte, I drove one back in 2008 and it seemed nice enough but did not justify the 130K price and I was also underwhelmed by the performance on a road course (was not thrashing it at all as it was a friend's wifes car and less than a month old). I figured I might as well test drive one for poops and giggles if I find myself near the dealership and bored. I must say that it did have a beautiful exhaust note!

 

My GTC is quite pretentious up here and any RR would over the f…in top. The Ghost is a bit less than the Phantom but not by much. I love the term insanity dollars.

The six cylinder Quatraporte had a very poor exhaust note.

Very disappointed to not see comment on the favors promised.

 

"Very disappointed to not see comment on the favors promised."

Oh...I guess you didn't get the PM!

 

Never got a pm?

 

If I was looking for an upscale four door with real back seats I would look at the Ghost of course, it being a little more affordable and less pretentious than the Phantom, the Audi A8 or better yet the S8 if I needed the performance, or of course the Mercs you are looking at. The Masser Q, and the Jaguar XJL are nice cars to look at but not in the same league IMHO.

The Rapide and Cali's are not real four seaters. If you want a real people carrier you'd have to go with the big SUVs. I had a GMC Denali XL that was a fantastic bus that gave an excellent highway ride. Easy to get in and out and everybody could see all the sites. It would haul six adults in comfort and more little ones in the boot.

 

If you live near Houston as your earlier post suggests, drive a RR Ghost (the Houston dealer has both Rolls and Bentley) and tell us what you think of it compared to the Spur. BTW - I live in Kemah which is just south of Houston.

 

Hello Tom ain't seen you around lately so it's gppd to hear from you. How do you think they compare? What about the new Mulsanne Speed?????

 

I have not driven a Mulsanne Speed although I did test drive, at the dealer's invitation, a regular Mulsanne for 3 days. The Mulsanne drove like a dream and I was impressed. The only thing about a Mulsanne is that the trunk is tiny compared to others in its class, especially the Spur which is also very impressive and has a massive trunk. I like to drive my cars long distances and the trunk in the Mulsanne was a problem in that regard. Until recently, my long range plan was to buy a Spur which I and my wife had test driven many times. This is why I asked robinardoin to test drive the Ghost and compare it to the Spur. However, recently a couple in the Roll-Royce Owners' Club decided to sell their Rolls-Royce Ghost which I decided to buy. This is because I loved the color combination and IMHO hasn't been matched by anything I have seen to date as far as sedans go. I had lusted after that car for over a year. Incidentally she placed 1st in class at the annual meet this year. Pictures attached. And if you want the ultimate window shopping car, IMHO you can not do better than driving up in a Rolls-Royce.

I think, at some level, it is hard to determine the ultimate winner in the driving experience test. What matters is what you have pointed out many times - a car that captures your mind is the car that you should buy. BTW - I still have my GTC, another car that I could not live without (see avatar picutue).

 

Oh Tom my hero at the next level, way to go fearless leader.

As I recall you had the boot of the GTC masterfully packed to the maximum and I am very let down to hear the boot f the Mulsanne is small. Intolerable! I do think the layout of the dash and interior is more stunning in the Bentleys'. It seems the RR I have seen are a bit understated for me.

I would have to change out those wheel on that Ghost as that is true one thing that puts me off a bit. They look a bit to "old man" for me.