Bentley Continental GTC

It’s a great car, the GTC. Well sorted, nice hood, good looking. But it’s been adopted by an army of twats, so we can’t really recommend it.

• Comfort

  Really is the place to be if you want to lounge while you cruise. The old-school opulence is still in plenty of evidence even in this most modern of Bentley products, even if getting the headrests embroidered with your initials is the height of bad taste. No, it’s not got the same stately-home glam and genteel waft of the Arnage, but you really can kick back and relax in a GTC. And enjoy the people casting rather obvious glances your way. They’ll either love you or hate you, that’s for sure.

  

• Performance

  As you’d expect from that rather wonderful 411Kw 6.0-litre W12, hacking the roof off doesn’t exactly blunt the performance too much. Let’s face it 0-100km/h in 4.8seconds and a top end of 315km/h should be enough for most. If not, just add some of the “Speed’ options.

  

• Cool

  It’s all about who’s driving in the cool stakes. Put it this way, cool people dig a convertible Bentley, but it’s an Azure.

  

• Quality

  Superlative build quality from the Bentley boys for over $426k. Other manufacturers should pay homage. Some say the GTC or Continental straight isn’t a ‘proper’ Bentley because of the VW involvement – though if they want to remain in the dark ages they should possibly all drive Jensens or pop along to their nearest Bristol dealer and check out what happens when you stand completely still for 40 years.

  

• Handling

  The security of four-wheel drive means that while the small-ish Benters (everything is relative) isn’t the last word in driving satisfaction, you can’t really go wrong. There’s grip to spare, mass is kept under a tight leash and the GTC still manages to weave a glamour that makes it feel a bit smaller than it actually is. Encouraging to drive rather than out-and-out brilliant.

  

• Practicality

  Big-ish boot, seating for four quite happily, sod it, let’s all have one!

  

• Running costs

  If you really have to ask, then sorry Sir. Don’t be daft. Pick the max if everything, then apply it here. need we go on?