RE: Bentley Bentayga - the designer's view: PH Blog
Discussion
You don't need to be in the target market to understand aesthetic quality. Of course it's personal and subjective, but on the whole we all recognise a visually unattractive person and on the whole a visually gorgeous person....so...
I think the designer's/stylists have done themselves a diservice here.
The Original Cayenne is very good example to draw upon.
It's quite universally rejected on looks alone.
But Porsche were one of the first high profile manufacturers to spot and maximise their chances in the sector...unless the buyers were ok with ALL having a Range Rover (still king in my book)
It sold well due mainly to that fact, it was original(ish) and had brand kudos, so thems with money (target market?) snapped them up. Porsche then reacted to the only (but considerable) negativity aimed at it...the looks.
Badge w
es with cash then....fine....if that's your market...profit rules right?
2nd hand values of the Mk1 Cayenne...not so good.
Bentley, sadly have not learned from the above. (other than a quick profit some of which will have to be used to re-skin this thing down the line)
Late (but not last)to the party, the are repeating the Porsche formula to the letter
Accomplished, by-the-numbers SUV, clearly displaying what Bentley stands for in a god-awful suit.
I look forward to the Mk2.
I think the designer's/stylists have done themselves a diservice here.
The Original Cayenne is very good example to draw upon.
It's quite universally rejected on looks alone.
But Porsche were one of the first high profile manufacturers to spot and maximise their chances in the sector...unless the buyers were ok with ALL having a Range Rover (still king in my book)
It sold well due mainly to that fact, it was original(ish) and had brand kudos, so thems with money (target market?) snapped them up. Porsche then reacted to the only (but considerable) negativity aimed at it...the looks.
Badge w
es with cash then....fine....if that's your market...profit rules right?2nd hand values of the Mk1 Cayenne...not so good.
Bentley, sadly have not learned from the above. (other than a quick profit some of which will have to be used to re-skin this thing down the line)
Late (but not last)to the party, the are repeating the Porsche formula to the letter
Accomplished, by-the-numbers SUV, clearly displaying what Bentley stands for in a god-awful suit.
I look forward to the Mk2.
Is anyone that has expressed an opinion on this thread (and the others) in the position to consider spending £150k+ on a luxury SUV?
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
jhonn said:
Is anyone that has expressed an opinion on this thread (and the others) in the position to consider spending £150k+ on a luxury SUV?
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
Exactly, like the Cayenne and the rest of the execrable SUVs that litter our roads, they're not for "Petrolheads", it really doesn't have to beautiful it has to be noticeable. The "look at me" brigade. It's why Ferrari haven't designed a pretty car in thirty years. As long as it stands out on the road, then damnably ugly is as effective as drop dead gorgeous.The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
Job done.
jhonn said:
Is anyone that has expressed an opinion on this thread (and the others) in the position to consider spending £150k+ on a luxury SUV?
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
I'm not in the position to spend £5m on a Yacht but I'd know a fugly one from a good looking one. Maybe Bentley do want to create something distinctive rather than good looking . . . they've certainly done that but it still doesn't make it attractive or stylish or good looking or exciting. The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
I know they will sell a lot of them, it's a Bentley, it'll be fast and quiet, very expensive and just more of everything a RR is, so it will sell. But people watch X factor and Coronation Street . . . popularity in a target market doesn't make it good or stylish, just popular in that segment. It's still as ugly as an Alegro, even if it does go like a 911.
Just like to point out that this chap designed the interior.
Forget the exterior or the minicab it's based on. No one has complained about the actual interior, rather the opposite, so in reality the PH massive have in all conversations about this car been commending Day.
He has clearly done a wonderful job on the inside.
And as the owner, it's the inside you are going to experiencing while everyone else is suffering the visual abuse of the exterior.
Forget the exterior or the minicab it's based on. No one has complained about the actual interior, rather the opposite, so in reality the PH massive have in all conversations about this car been commending Day.
He has clearly done a wonderful job on the inside.
And as the owner, it's the inside you are going to experiencing while everyone else is suffering the visual abuse of the exterior.
£150k plus options for a car that's hideous, Range Rover autograph or SVR edition can be had for 40-50k less and is classy and accomplished luxury 4x4 gin palace. Bentayga exterior is minging and the interior is the automotive expression of Victoria Beckham's klunge...that probably has quilted leather too.
There seems to be a misguided assumption on here that all well healed people are blind and tasteless! Sure, it will sell to some people purely because it's a Bentley SUV, but it's appeal could have been far broader if it was actually a well executed and attractive design. There is absolutely no excuse for poor design in this instance - especially given the relatively low volumes implicit with the marque and the freedom of processes that result. If content (part count) and "jewelry" are removed, stance, proportion, volumes and surface execution cost nothing. Ergo bad design costs no less than good design to put into production, but in terms of resultant lost revenue poor design can cost a fortune...
Edited by D.no on Thursday 26th November 08:36
George111 said:
I'm not in the position to spend £5m on a Yacht but I'd know a fugly one from a good looking one.
Sure... I'm not disputing that you have discernment - however the point that I'm making is, if you're wealthy enough to easily afford one of these then your aspirations and tastes may be different from the majority of us where it's unattainable.There's one wealthy person I know who owns a Range Rover and a Continental that I can imagine would consider one of these, possibly.. - it's opinions from people like him I'm interested in.
There's been a few posts saying that it will be bought by rich soccer players...any on here got an opinion?
jhonn said:
Is anyone that has expressed an opinion on this thread (and the others) in the position to consider spending £150k+ on a luxury SUV?
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
I think it's horrible.The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
rhinochopig said:
These monstrosities are what happens if the design brief is to - come hell or high water - shoehorn the entire front aesthetic of the current model range onto the next model.
It happened with the cayenne and it's happened here. For me it shows a total lack of imagination on the part of the designer - or a marketing team with too much influence.
Yes they will sell because of the marque, but one has to wonder whether a more resolved design would sell better; one that uses more subtle aesthetic cues to identify it as being from a specific manufacturer.
Spot on. This idea that if you think it's ugly you're not the target audience is absurd. I would never buy an original Cayenne because it is an ugly pig, the new one looks great though so I might. Grafting a 996 on the front of a Touareg didn't work just as this Bentley doesn't. It'd lazy design. They had a clean sheet FFS. This is an unmitigated aesthetic disaster which restricts buyers to the usual oil and football badge jockeys and that's a real shame. It happened with the cayenne and it's happened here. For me it shows a total lack of imagination on the part of the designer - or a marketing team with too much influence.
Yes they will sell because of the marque, but one has to wonder whether a more resolved design would sell better; one that uses more subtle aesthetic cues to identify it as being from a specific manufacturer.
jhonn said:
Is anyone that has expressed an opinion on this thread (and the others) in the position to consider spending £150k+ on a luxury SUV?
The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
I don't think Range Rover have anything to worry about. It looks like something from one of those unknown Chinese manufacturers. Anyone make me a price for one in 3 years? The opinions expressed about the Bentayga make for good reading; however if you're not in the target market, then your opinion while certainly relevant to you and your peers is no indicator of how well it will be received.
If you're in the target market I'd love to hear what you think.
D.no said:
There seems to be a misguided assumption on here that all well healed people are blind and tasteless! Sure, it will sell to some people purely because it's a Bentley SUV, but it's appeal could have been far broader if it was actually a well executed and attractive design. There is absolutely no excuse for poor design - especially given the relatively low volumes and implicit freedom of processes that result. If content (part count) and "jewelry" are removed, stance, proportion, volumes and surface execution cost nothing. Ergo bad design costs no less than good design to put into production, but in terms of resultant lost revenue it can cost a fortune...
Absolutely spot on. It's seemingly the point most overlooked here - yes, it'll sell enough because there are enough rich people out there with no taste or sense of style and who just want the badge - but it would sell far better to both demographics if it hadn't been soundly beaten with the ugly stick - as there are far more rich people out there with taste. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff