RE: Bentley Bentayga V8: Driven

[Willy Nilly]

G13NVL said:

Why so much hate for these? Or just because people can’t afford them themselves? If you want a spacious, luxury, comfy mile eater with good visability ahead, that will waft in almost silence I bet, what else are you going to buy?

You know the old Turbo R Bentley's of 1990's vintage? Well, I can't afford one of them either, but when I look at one I give them a nod of acknowledgement and when I read about them in Top Gear way back when I wanted one. Special cars.

The Bentayga is a turd of a car that is almost mind-bogglingly expensive and based on a relatively lowly VW. For that kind of money, I want a bespoke platform, not one shared with an aspirational mum-mobile. Styling is obviously subjective and the car isn't aimed at me, but damn that thing is a monster.

[J4CKO]

Willy Nilly said:

G13NVL said:

Why so much hate for these? Or just because people can’t afford them themselves? If you want a spacious, luxury, comfy mile eater with good visability ahead, that will waft in almost silence I bet, what else are you going to buy?

You know the old Turbo R Bentley's of 1990's vintage? Well, I can't afford one of them either, but when I look at one I give them a nod of acknowledgement and when I read about them in Top Gear way back when I wanted one. Special cars.

The Bentayga is a turd of a car that is almost mind-bogglingly expensive and based on a relatively lowly VW. For that kind of money, I want a bespoke platform, not one shared with an aspirational mum-mobile. Styling is obviously subjective and the car isn't aimed at me, but damn that thing is a monster.

The Bentayga will be better built in every way than a Turbo R, not sure why it bing based on a highly developed, advanced, well tested and solid structure is a bad thing, Bentley would not, on their own be able to produce anything as good, why would you want something less good just because it is bespoke ?

I am not a massive fan but lets have it right, it isnt like the Q7 is poorly made and it wont rot for fun like Bentleys and Rollers of old, back then a Rolls/Bentley was a much more solidly built vehicle than run of the mill cars, nowadays pretty much everything you buy is massively more stiff and solid than back in the 80s so it isnt like its a compromise, a bespoke body would make it more expensive, Rolls use a bespoke Spaceframe Architecture for their cars, the Cullinan starts at pretty much twice the price the Bentayga starts at, bet it has a fair bit of BMW DNA in there as well.

The Q7 is a fantastic piece of kit (if thats your thing), the the Bentley is orders of magnitude differently trimmed and finished, the bits you touch are far removed from most of the Audi parts bin.

[Cold]

G13NVL said:

Why so much hate for these?

It's the PH equivalent of pulling the pigtails of the girl who sits in front of you in geography class. You say you do it because you don't like her, but secretly you wish she was your girlfriend.
The most prolific posters on this thread are those who bang on about how awful this car is. That poor girl will have a red raw scalp soon.

[0a]

What most of us dislike about it is how vulgar it is. What those that will buy it like about it is how vulgar it is. A good commercial product from VW.

[Willy Nilly]

J4CKO said:

The Bentayga will be better built in every way than a Turbo R, not sure why it bing based on a highly developed, advanced, well tested and solid structure is a bad thing, Bentley would not, on their own be able to produce anything as good, why would you want something less good just because it is bespoke ?

I am not a massive fan but lets have it right, it isnt like the Q7 is poorly made and it wont rot for fun like Bentleys and Rollers of old, back then a Rolls/Bentley was a much more solidly built vehicle than run of the mill cars, nowadays pretty much everything you buy is massively more stiff and solid than back in the 80s so it isnt like its a compromise, a bespoke body would make it more expensive, Rolls use a bespoke Spaceframe Architecture for their cars, the Cullinan starts at pretty much twice the price the Bentayga starts at, bet it has a fair bit of BMW DNA in there as well.

The Q7 is a fantastic piece of kit (if thats your thing), the the Bentley is orders of magnitude differently trimmed and finished, the bits you touch are far removed from most of the Audi parts bin.

If one wants a well-built car, that's what the Japanese do best. Bentley's are about opulence. The Bentayga is based on a relatively run on the mill car. Chuck all the leather and wood at it you like, it's still based on a car the hoy ploy can get their hands on so will always be an expensive VW Touareg. Does a Veyron share its platform with a Passat? No, it's a purpose-built, no expense spared, no messing about mega car.

Every time you sit in your new Bentayga there will be this nagging voice in the back of your head reminding you it's just an expensive Touareg and you're not quite a rich as you'd like people to believe. If you buy a Ghost, it's just a 7 Series, but a Phantom is the real deal.

The Bentayga is not only pig ugly, it's Bentley Value range for poor people.

[Ares]

TheGuru said:

G13NVL said:

Why so much hate for these? Or just because people can’t afford them themselves? If you want a spacious, luxury, comfy mile eater with good visability ahead, that will waft in almost silence I bet, what else are you going to buy?

A Range Rover, Rolls Royce Cullinan, BMW X5, Audi Q7, a BMW 7 series, Porsche Cayenne, MB S Class, Audi A8, Lexus LS - dozens of options really

Cullinan, yes. Range Rover, almost.

Everything else, a world away. Two in most cases.

[Superflow]

The Bentayga is not the best looking thing and it does look like a Chinese copy to me.

I wonder if they will now do an Audi Q7 that comes with Prosecco in the boot.

[Ares]

HardtopManual said:

G13NVL said:

Why so much hate for these? Or just because people can’t afford them themselves?

It wouldn't be PH if someone didn't come along and shout "jealous!" when you stated a negative opinion of a car.

For me, it boils down to not liking the styling, not seeing the point of a stupidly quick soft roader, absolutely hating the looks, not liking the image, and not being registered blind.

Maybe it's just that most of PH doesn't move in the sort of circles where they could, in all seriousness, open the car boot and pull a couple of bottles of champagne and some flutes from three integrated red, leather cases. I can think of a few blokes at work who would be all over that sort of thing, but I wouldn't go for a drink with them, so I'll never get to enjoy a glass of champers out of their car boot.

I'm no fan of the styling, but having been passenger in them, few things offer a better transportation experience.

[Ares]

[redacted]

[Ares]

Willy Nilly said:

Every time you sit in your new Bentayga there will be this nagging voice in the back of your head reminding you it's just an expensive Touareg and you're not quite a rich as you'd like people to believe. If you buy a Ghost, it's just a 7 Series, but a Phantom is the real deal.

There really won't be. What parts do you really think are shared untouched?

Common platforms are, well, common. Car's aren't built on chassis anymore.

[Willy Nilly]

Ares said:

Willy Nilly said:

Every time you sit in your new Bentayga there will be this nagging voice in the back of your head reminding you it's just an expensive Touareg and you're not quite a rich as you'd like people to believe. If you buy a Ghost, it's just a 7 Series, but a Phantom is the real deal.

There really won't be. What parts do you really think are shared untouched?

Common platforms are, well, common. Car's aren't built on chassis anymore.

Shared platforms are great for the mass market. At the Bentayga end of the market, I want a car that was only ever going to be a Bentley, I don't want to look at my 200 grand car and see the similarities between it and a VW.

Volkswagen = people's car. Bentley = aristocrat's/landed gentry's car.

I'd love an Elise, but probably wouldn't want one so much if it shared a platform with a Fiesta, because it wouldn't be a purpose built car it is if that sort of compromise was made.

[DonkeyApple]

Willy Nilly said:

Bentley = aristocrat's/landed gentry's car.

That’s not correct. It’s always been a new money brand. It’s one of the few modern brands that has remained wholly faithful to its roots as a car for the chap who thinks it appropriate to urinate in the drawing room in front of their guests.

[Ares]

Willy Nilly said:

Shared platforms are great for the mass market. At the Bentayga end of the market, I want a car that was only ever going to be a Bentley, I don't want to look at my 200 grand car and see the similarities between it and a VW.

Volkswagen = people's car. Bentley = aristocrat's/landed gentry's car.

I'd love an Elise, but probably wouldn't want one so much if it shared a platform with a Fiesta, because it wouldn't be a purpose built car it is if that sort of compromise was made.

I'm sure Bentley will be devastated that your 200-grand won't be going there way.

But out of interest, what similarities do you think you can see between a Touareg and a Bentayga?

[Ares]

DonkeyApple said:

Willy Nilly said:

Bentley = aristocrat's/landed gentry's car.

That’s not correct. It’s always been a new money brand. It’s one of the few modern brands that has remained wholly faithful to its roots as a car for the chap who thinks it appropriate to urinate in the drawing room in front of their guests.

There is probably an accommodating option on the spec list to help with it too

[NomduJour]

Ares said:

I'm sure Bentley will be devastated that your 200-grand won't be going there way.

But out of interest, what similarities do you think you can see between a Touareg and a Bentayga?

It’s just so cynically-conceived - spinning a ~£200k difference across essentially the same underpinnings, the options-bin veneer is wafer thin. Same for the Lamborghini Anus, Q8 etc. The Cullinan is an embarrassment too, but it seems that it at least might not be entirely X7 underneath.

[NomduJour]

Touareg:



Bentayga:

[J4CKO]

NomduJour said:

Ares said:

I'm sure Bentley will be devastated that your 200-grand won't be going there way.

But out of interest, what similarities do you think you can see between a Touareg and a Bentayga?

It’s just so cynically-conceived - spinning a ~£200k difference across essentially the same underpinnings, the options-bin veneer is wafer thin. Same for the Lamborghini Anus, Q8 etc. The Cullinan is an embarrassment too, but it seems that it at least might not be entirely X7 underneath.

What exactly are the car manufacturers meant to do, develop an entirely new architecture ? to what benefit as the one for the Q7 will have had countless millions thrown at it to make it as strong, light and fit for purpose as it can possibly be.

If Bentley were still independent, they would have the resources to hand that they have now, does anyone think that a bespoke, low volume monocoque SUV shell would be able to hold a candle to what has been developed by VAG for this ?

There seems to be a lot of snobbery about it as its a VW underneath, does it need to be hand rolled by men in green overcoats in a shed before you will take a look, it would still be pressed steel, welded together but it wouldnt have different strength steels, different bonding types, aluminium extrusions and masses of actual, and simulated crash testing.

Things have moved on, saying independent car manufacturers of modest means can emulate what VAG, BMW or the other big players do is naive, back in the eighties when the Turbo R came out, most of the video games for home computers were still written by kids in bedrooms or a small group of developers, doesnt work for the big productions nowadays, massive global teams and huge budgets.

Cars are the same, regulations, consumer expectations etc mean that it costs a vast amount to build a car, and the product needs to be versatile for a return on that investment to operate at that level, you have to produce in volume and stuff like a Caterham is a world away.

It isnt cynical, its business, they are there to make money not give us poor folk a warm and fuzzy feeling about what we would buy if we had the cash, the folk who buy a Bentayga or Urus dont seem to be bothered, most wont even know, they will just enjoy ther massive, shiny behemoth of an SUV.

[J4CKO]

NomduJour said:

Ares said:

I'm sure Bentley will be devastated that your 200-grand won't be going there way.

But out of interest, what similarities do you think you can see between a Touareg and a Bentayga?

It’s just so cynically-conceived - spinning a ~£200k difference across essentially the same underpinnings, the options-bin veneer is wafer thin. Same for the Lamborghini Anus, Q8 etc. The Cullinan is an embarrassment too, but it seems that it at least might not be entirely X7 underneath.

What exactly are the car manufacturers meant to do, develop an entirely new architecture ? to what benefit as the one for the Q7 will have had countless millions thrown at it to make it as strong, light and fit for purpose as it can possibly be.

If Bentley were still independent, they would have the resources to hand that they have now, does anyone think that a bespoke, low volume monocoque SUV shell would be able to hold a candle to what has been developed by VAG for this ?

There seems to be a lot of snobbery about it as its a VW underneath, does it need to be hand rolled by men in green overcoats in a shed before you will take a look, it would still be pressed steel, welded together but it wouldnt have different strength steels, different bonding types, aluminium extrusions and masses of actual, and simulated crash testing.

Things have moved on, saying independent car manufacturers of modest means can emulate what VAG, BMW or the other big players do is naive, back in the eighties when the Turbo R came out, most of the video games for home computers were still written by kids in bedrooms or a small group of developers, doesnt work for the big productions nowadays, massive global teams and huge budgets.

Cars are the same, regulations, consumer expectations etc mean that it costs a vast amount to build a car, and the product needs to be versatile for a return on that investment to operate at that level, you have to produce in volume and stuff like a Caterham is a world away.

It isnt cynical, its business, they are there to make money not give us poor folk a warm and fuzzy feeling about what we would buy if we had the cash, the folk who buy a Bentayga or Urus dont seem to be bothered, most wont even know, they will just enjoy ther massive, shiny behemoth of an SUV.

[Ares]

NomduJour said:

Ares said:

I'm sure Bentley will be devastated that your 200-grand won't be going there way.

But out of interest, what similarities do you think you can see between a Touareg and a Bentayga?

It’s just so cynically-conceived - spinning a ~£200k difference across essentially the same underpinnings, the options-bin veneer is wafer thin. Same for the Lamborghini Anus, Q8 etc. The Cullinan is an embarrassment too, but it seems that it at least might not be entirely X7 underneath.

Cynical? Common Sense and Commercial more like.

What specifics components that are shared with the Urus/Porsche/Audi/etc cheapen the Bentley?

And how is that different from what ever other manufacturer has/Is moving towards?

Or is it just going back to the old days where Bentley should have an inferior underpinnings just so people can boast at the Golf Club?

[NomduJour]

Of course it’s cynical - when the hardware is essentially the same and your brand differentiation is largely based on spangly bits and chassis/ECU tuning, you’re only a tiny bit of marketing budget away from being seen through.