MOTORING Big, brash... ...but very Bentley
Showy and stately it may well be, but if you’re looking for a car that reflects your status then the Mulsanne surely has to be a contender at the top end of the luxury car market. You can clearly see how glorious it looks, oozing luxury with a hand- built finish. Motoring journalist Nick Jones has the unenviable task of deciding whether you should be investing a relative small fortune in such a car.
My Mulsanne is the Speed version but trust me, the standard Mulsanne is no slouch: the twin - turbocharged 6.75-litre V8 engine fairly barks a throaty rumble that you’ll enjoy hearing when you bury the throttle into the Wilton carpet. The bonnet rises and soon the horizon approaches with an alarming intensity, shifting through all eight gears from the automatic gearbox. And despite all of its power and obvious vast top
speed and torque, the Bentley is refined. The relatively poor road surfaces are ironed-out and you are wafted along like royalty. In Comfort mode, the ride at any speed is sublime, as you’d expect. Should you wish to sit in the rear as opposed to be up top, you can relax with your cushion with simply acres of room to spread out – a bit like a first class passenger on a long-haul flight. You can’t help but notice the beautiful smell it
provides with all those hides that have been hand- stitched together, stretching over virtually every surface you can see in the cabin – and you’re not left wanting for electrically-powered adjustment for the seats and virtually everything else, either. I love the fridge in the rear with bespoke crystal champagne flutes to enjoy on the walnut tables, and the impressive tablet-style twin 10.4-inch screens which disappear or rise into the rear of the front seats. The boot is surprisingly small for such a car that measures over 18-feet long, but hey I’d sooner have more leg room than be able to carry another case of Bollinger. Parking is one downside, as it’s such a big car. Forget
any standard bay, it just won’t fit; still, you have front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, but take heed – just park it miles away from anything else like I did, it’ll be fine.
80 business network October 2018 So where in the market is it, then? Well, the Rolls
Royce Phantom is the closest match but costs considerably more money. So that puts the Bentley in a strong position; at this level of money however, image would precede list pricing for sure, and the Bentley for me is a standout choice. Forget the fuel costs, insurance, and servicing – the Bentley Mulsanne is a winner in my book.
FACTFILE
MODEL Bentley Mulsanne Speed
PRICE OTR From £252,000
PERFORMANCE Top speed: 190 miles per hour 0-60 mph: 4.8 seconds Power: 530 horsepower
CO2 EMISSIONS N/A
COMBINED MPG 18.8 mpg
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