Bentley Continental GTC

Our verdict

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 552bhp 6.0-litre W12, hacking the roof off doesn’t exactly blunt the performance too much. Let’s face it 0-62mph in 4.8seconds and a top end of 195mph 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. A GTC can be the right kind of car on the Riviera, absolutely the wrong one in Manchester’s city centre. 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 £132k. 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. Group 20, 35-percent tax, max tax liability… need we go on?