2020 Bentley Continental Review

ALISTAIR WEAVER: A few weeks ago, we launched our test of the Porsche 911 Turbo S, describing it as the consummate everyday supercar. But that didn't go down too well with Bentley and McLaren who were quickly on the phone, extolling the virtues of their GTs for the same money. So in the interest of journalistic integrity, and to be honest, it seemed like fun, we've returned to the same roads with the McLaren GT and the Bentley Continental GT. Both cars claim to achieve the same thing but come at it from very different perspectives. The Bentley is basically a luxury coupe with sporting pretensions. This McLaren is a mid-engine supercar with an extra dose of versatility. But the question is this, can either of them threaten the all-around brilliance of the 911 Turbo? Let's find out. Because of the two-car test, I've be joined by another member of the Edmunds team, and who else but our doyen of all things luxury, Mr. Mark Takahashi? Mark, how are you doing back there? MARK TAKAHASHI: Feeling good, Alistair. Honestly, could not be better. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Have you got an outfit specifically for this test? MARK TAKAHASHI: You dress for the car you want, Alistair, not the car you have. ALISTAIR WEAVER: He's the only man I know that genuinely wears cufflinks on a daily basis. MARK TAKAHASHI: I do have cufflinks, too. ALISTAIR WEAVER: There you go. There you go. What should we encourage all viewers to do before they watch the rest of the film? MARK TAKAHASHI: Hit subscribe? ALISTAIR WEAVER: And head to edmunds.com for all your car shopping needs. MARK TAKAHASHI: I'm fired. This Continental GT is a big, luxury coupe with a respectable amount of performance. Its forte remains comfort and refinement, and in that regard, very few cars can touch it. Prices start just over $200,000. This particular Continental GT is a first edition specification with some options piled on top, pushing the grand total up to $277,000.00 Oh my. ALISTAIR WEAVER: This GT costs just over $200,000, or about $250,000, as it's tested here, so it's pretty much on a par with the Bentley. Now, to create this car, McLaren has taken the basic principles of the 570GT, including the carbon fiber monocoque and mid-engine configuration, and then grafted on some extra practicality in a bid to appeal to a different kind of customer, somebody who might otherwise have considered a 911, or even a Bentley. Now obviously, in the current environment Mark and I cannot be in the same car. But I should say, from the outset, that we've both spend plenty of time in the Bentley and the McLaren. To be honest, we even ran into each other when we were out testing them independently just a few days ago. I even took the Bentley out to Costco. I was reading the YouTube comments for my 911 Turbo film and a lot of people said that I was lacking in enthusiasm, a bit kind of downbeat. But here's the reality. Am I excited to be driving a McLaren? Well, of course I am as. A 10-year-old, I've dreamed of this sort of stuff. It's incredibly exciting. But at the same time, I'm paid by Edmunds to deliver you an objective opinion of this car. I'm not an influencer, getting excited and saying, it's the greatest thing I've driven since the greatest thing I drove yesterday. Edmunds is here to give you an objective opinion on whether this or the Bentley is a better car than the 911 Turbo. That's the question that we're setting out to answer. So if I have to park some of my enthusiasm and seem a bit more scientific and considered, then so be it. MARK TAKAHASHI: Under the hood of this Continental GT is a twin-turbo charged 4-liter V8. That's good for 542 horsepower and 568 pound feet of torque. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Now, like the Bentley, the McLaren has a fully twin-turbo V8 that's nestling just behind my shoulder blades. It has 612 horsepower, which is 70 more than the Bentley. But-- and here's the rub-- it has 103 pounds feet less torque, and that's an important clue to both its engines character, and to be honest, the car's character. For me, the McLaren engine has been its weakest link since they got into supercar building with the 12C. In many ways, it's almost like an old-school Turbo. Not a lot happens till you get to 3,000 RPM, and then all hell breaks loose. Then when you lift off, you get this "psh" from the Turbo wastegate, which is kind of fun in a raw, supercary type of way, but it doesn't feel very well-suited to the aspirations of a transcontinental grand tourer. Now, it is genuinely super cool, bordering on hyper car rapid. I mean, McLaren's claiming 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds, and we can't wait to get it back to our test drive, when it eventually reopens, to test that out. And it should also hit 204 miles an hour. But because of the character engine, it sounds ridiculous to say, it doesn't actually always feel that fast. Subjectively, you really have to work it hard to deliver its best. And if I'm honest, nor does it sound all that good, even with this 3 and 1/2 thousand dollar optional sports exhaust fitted to this press car. It's not that it sounds bad, it just doesn't have the culture and sophistication of the Porsche engine or the Bentley V8. It certainly doesn't sound like a quarter of a million dollars' worth. MARK TAKAHASHI: This Bentley isn't as quick as the McLaren, but you know what? It doesn't have to be. It's a proper grand tourer with far more performance than most drivers will ever desire. It has this authoritative but gentle shove of thrust. It also has the confidence that comes with standard all wheel drive. With a 0 to 60 time of 3.9 seconds, it's anything but slow. Of course, it's easy to go fast in a straight line, but what happens when the road begins to bend? ALISTAIR WEAVER: The steering is fantastic. It's hydraulically assisted, not electric, for the geeks out there. And this is really saying something. I actually think it's better than the 911 steering, in terms of the way that it communicates the grip of the tires and what's happening on the road. The brake pedal is almost racecar firm, which I love, and to be honest, I've actually been left for braking for a lot of my time in the car. The whole thing has a agility, poise, and finesse that the Bentley can only dream of. And some of that's due to mid-engine configuration. Some of that is due to the lighter weight of this vehicle. But it also talks to the starting point. McLaren's test drivers and engineers, it's almost like they couldn't quite help themselves. Now, this car isn't quite as sharp as a McLaren 570GT, or if you want to go up in the price range, a 720S. You feel like in the initial response to steering is also a little bit more body roll than you might expect for McLaren, but to be honest, all things are relative. Such a wonderful fluency through these S-bends. Nice man letting me go. Thank you, sir. Thank you kindly, Mr. Colorado driver. A little acknowledgment. That Bentley just looks so big and ostentatious in my rear view mirror. It's such a statement of wealth. MARK TAKAHASHI: I will take that as a compliment. On a curvy road like this, you really feel all the Bentley's weight. But it's not off-putting. It navigates these curves with grace. Helping matters is the 48-volt dynamic ride option. It adds this electric motor that twists the anti-roll bars underneath the car, allowing it to corner just a little bit flatter. Even though the McLaren has the Bentley beat on a twisty road like this, I contend this is still plenty entertaining. Compared to the McLaren, the Bentley glides over road imperfections, but at the same time, it's not too floaty. It's got just enough stiffness to give you that confidence to know that you can get through a sharp turn. If you flick the dial all the way to sport, it stiffens up the suspension, sharpens up the throttle response to add a little bit of excitement to that confidence. Yee-haw. Sounds good, too. That's a rumbley V8. ALISTAIR WEAVER: What I've always liked, by the way, McLaren sets up their cars. They give you a different controls for the transmission than they do for the suspension. So on a road like this, for example, Angeles Crest near Los Angeles, I'm running in sports suspension but then track on the transmission because I love the whip, crack, throttle responds and slightly faster gear changes. But I want a little bit more compliance in my suspension setup. And McLaren's saying they've improved the ride quality on their GT for long distance comfort, but to be honest, I think it has to do a disservice to the rest of their range. Every McLaren rides well. In fact, the 720 rides quite superbly, at least as well, if not better, than this car. It's not like you get in this GT and think, oh, at last, a McLaren that won't send me to the chiropractor. It's fine. It's a nice long distance companion, but then so is pretty much every other McLaren. The one thing that might grate on a long journey is you get an awful lot of tire rub, particularly on the concrete road surfaces that we have here in California, although to be honest, the Bentley also suffers from that. And of course, unlike the Porsche or especially the Bentley, the McLaren is a strict two-seater. The Bentley has room in the back for a couple of reasonably sized adults or even a child seat. I should know. I tried. [MUSIC PLAYING] MARK TAKAHASHI: The cockpit of the continental is very attractive with materials quality that is unassailable. I mean, I geek out on leather and it is perfection. I probably would not have gone with all this piano black and shiny metal trim, because in certain lighting conditions, it creates these uncomfortable hot spots in your vision. Speaking of visibility, outward visibility isn't great with the Bentley. The windshield is pretty narrow, and this roof pillar here is really thick. The rear window? Also very narrow. That rear seat, I fit in it now, almost comfortably. Throughout the car, there's plenty of spaces for your personal effects. There's a good bin underneath here, some cupholders here, a little slot here on both sides of the center console. Also, there's a good enough bin in the doors to hold some water bottles, and even a small bag. The infotainment system is specced from the Volkswagen group, which includes Bentley, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi. It's really quick to respond. It's easy to use. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Its big screen is right where you want it, in your sight lines. This GT is also option with the Nime Audio System for $8,800, and it's worth it. It's got really punchy bass and super clear highs. As far as ease of use of everything else, everything is well-labeled, organized right where they should be-- and look at this. There are buttons on the steering wheel. McLaren doesn't have that. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Like the 570 and the 720, the GT has McLaren signature dihedral doors that need a bit of power to close, but I love them. I also like the simple minimalism of this cockpit. It looks and feels great. But ergonomically, to be honest, it's a bit of a mess. The switches for the wing mirrors are downhill behind the steering wheel. The switches for the seats are buried away, somewhere down here where my right hand is. And this is really irritating. Although this central infotainment screen is bespoke to McLaren-- it actually works pretty well-- if you wear polarized sunglasses, like I do, and pretty much any other McLaren customer in California, you can't see it. And I don't mean you can barely see it. I mean, it's just a black hole, and it's kind of reminded that McLaren is still a pretty small company and doesn't have the might of Volkswagen and behind it, like Bentley or Porsche. Augment storage? A bit rubbish, to be honest. You got a little cubby in here, two cupholders, and a little pocket here, which is just about big enough for your sunglasses case. But there's no glove box. Now, on paper, the McLaren has more luggage capacities than the Bentley, but I should really say something about this area behind me here. The problem is it gets cooked underneath by the engine, and from above by the glass hatch. So anything in there tends to get sort of slow-roasted. I don't want to put a laptop back there. And of course, it's lacking in security and it blocks your rearward view. So does it have the overall practicality that Bentley-- despite the Bentley, on paper, having less luggage space-- well, the answer to that is a definitive no. I think part of the problem with the GT and the fact it didn't get a super favorable initial press reaction was the way McLaren pitched it. They wanted this to appeal to a different customer base, so they banged on about golf clubs in the trunk and practicality and Grand Touring aspirations. The reality is it isn't a GT, like the Bentley, or even the Porsche. What it is is a supercar with extra versatility and practicality. It's kind of in the spirit of the original Acura NSX, and if you think about in those terms, it starts to make a lot more sense. I want a supercar that I could happily take on vacation for a week. I also prefer the way this car looks to the 570. What I actually want is a GT with a slightly sharper setup of the 570. So you could call it a GTS, for example. That would be terrific. So Mark, do you fancy some seat time around here in the McLaren? MARK TAKAHASHI: Yes, please. ALISTAIR WEAVER: But have you brought your rubber gloves? MARK TAKAHASHI: Never leave home without them. [MUSIC PLAYING] So fashionable. I think everyone's going to be wearing these in the future. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Welcome to our world. MARK TAKAHASHI: All right. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Have you got keys to the Bentley? MARK TAKAHASHI: Say again? ALISTAIR WEAVER: (GERMAN ACCENT) Do you have the keys to the Bentley? MARK TAKAHASHI: Why, yes. Yes I do. OK, now. Whoo, nice hair, dude. ALISTAIR WEAVER: If you want to know the difference between these two cars, you just have to look at the keys. The McLaren is all kind of lithe, lightweight, and elegant, and the Bentley's is just giant and ostentatious. That is not designed to be kept in a pocket. That is designed to be thrown on a bar, or even into a pot. The Bentley. Let's go. I think Bentley's done a great job of trying to disguise this car's mass, and on a twisty road like this, it does sort of shrink around you a little bit. But to be honest, that only goes so far. I mean, it's 1,400 pounds more than the McLaren, and that is always going to compromise its kind of sports car pretensions. As an ex parte Brit now living in the US, it always makes me laugh, the kind of image of ultimate automotive luxury for both Rolls-Royce and Bentley is this sort of weird pastiche of a 1950s British gentlemen's club. And when I say gentlemen's club, I don't mean the naughty one. I mean the sort of whiskey and cigar emporium. I mean, where else do you imagine raspberry leather with cream and lashings of real timber? I find it a bit bizarre, to be honest. But I do like some of the sense of humor, though, in this car. I love this rotating screen thing that takes you from all the modern world tech to the old world. I know it's an optional extra. I know it's a bit silly, but it's a bit of humor. It feels special. It's what a Bentley should be all about. MARK TAKAHASHI: The McLaren is good, really good. I like being part of the car. I like having some effort to draw that performance out. And the limits are so high in this that I feel like I'm less of a component than I prefer. And then there's something to say about cruising range and fuel economy. That Bentley has almost a 24-gallon gas tank compared to this. This really only has about 320-plus miles of range, while the Bentley has well over 100 more miles. I think I can easily tick off 400-plus miles in the Bentley. Or after 300-plus miles in this? I think I'd be ready for a break. That Turbo wish? Tasty. Oh, so good. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Tell you what. Driving this thing, you just feel utterly imperious. You absolutely feel like you're the king of the road. Get out the way, peasants. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. We should say, as well, that both of these cars are going to be ferociously expensive, both to buy and to run. And depreciation is heavy. They're not classic cars that might appreciate in value. To buy either of these cars for, say, a quarter of a million dollars and then want to sell it in three years' time, you're potentially going to lose $100,000 just in depreciation. And I don't care how rich you are, that's got to sting. So I think we've established that the Bentley is a fantastic luxury coupe that doesn't quite pull off the role of sports car, and the McLaren is an exciting, versatile supercar that doesn't quite pull off the role of luxury grand tourer. But what about that question that we posed right at the beginning of this film, which is, are either of these vehicles better than the Porsche 911 Turbo S we tested just a few weeks ago? Well, Mark and I have been discussing it and we both reached the same conclusion, that for the same money, both the McLaren and the Bentley feel more special. There's much more sense of occasion. But are they objectively better than the Porsche? MARK TAKAHASHI: Hey, Alistair, just got an email from Aston Martin. DB11 anytime we want it. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Hm. Might have to come back Mark. MARK TAKAHASHI: Indeed. [MUSIC PLAYING]