2023 Bentley Continental

2023 Bentley Continental Review

Pros
- Opulent interior design and craftsmanship
- Excellent balance of comfort and performance
- Endless customization options
- GT Speed model's exhilarating performance
Cons
- Noticeable road noise on coarse asphalt
- Limited outward visibility
What's new
- New S trim adds blackout exterior treatment
- Wireless charger comes standard
- Part of the third Continental generation introduced for 2020
The 2023 Bentley Continental GT embodies an old-world sense of motoring that might be dead and gone. The grand-touring car of nearly a century ago was a stately car built for supreme comfort over long distances. Now people just fly to far-off destinations. But like its name suggests, the big Bentley is still built with one thing in mind: road trips. And who doesn't love a road trip, especially in an elegant cabin, carried forth by copious amounts of engine power and performance?
Available as a coupe or convertible, the Continental GT is sleek and muscular, with a lavish interior and exceptional ride comfort. A standard air suspension manages to soak up rough, rashy road surfaces and still deliver responsive handling. The Bentley's big mass is inescapable, but an optional anti-roll system helps curb excessive body movement when the turns get tight and entertaining. For 2023 a new S trim debuts, largely a blacked-out exterior appearance package, but including a sport exhaust system and more aggressive style . A wireless phone charger is now standard equipment.
The base Continental GT, with its 542-horsepower V8 engine, should be plenty of ponies for most buyers. But ultimate bragging rights come with the GT Speed trim, which uses a 650-hp 12-cylinder engine. That's astounding power, which you'll be hard-pressed to find proper use for in America, but it's still an intoxicating sensation. Get your fix while you can because Bentley has announced the end of the line for the W12 with next year's model.
Drivers more in tune with the Continental's overall mission of comfort and well-being may steer over to the Azure trim. Its spa-like approach to cabin comfort includes heated, cooled and massaging front seats, heated armrests, and even customizable cabin lighting. Regardless of trim, however, the Continental GT offers a compelling alternative to hyperluxury rivals like the Rolls-Royce Wraith and Aston Martin DB11, or ultra-performance competitors like the new Ferrari Roma, Porsche 911 Turbo and BMW M8. While it seems counterintuitive to drive thousands of miles in an ultra-high-horsepower car that gets just 19 mpg combined, we can think of worse ways to take a road trip.
Which Continental does Edmunds recommend?
Bentley Continental models
The 2023 Bentley Continental GT is a four-passenger luxury coupe also available as a convertible. Both coupe and convertible are offered in five trim levels: Continental GT (base trim), Continental GT Azure, Continental GT S, Continental GT Speed and Continental GT Mulliner.
All trims except the GT Speed come with a turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine (542 horsepower, 568 lb-ft of torque). The GT Speed features a turbocharged 12-cylinder W12 engine with 650 horsepower and 664 lb-ft. Both engines pair with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
Continental GT
The base coupe comes with a generous list of luxury features, including
- 21-inch alloy wheels
- LED headlights
- Adaptive air suspension with ride height control
- Heated side mirrors
- Soft-close doors
- Hands-free-opening trunk
- Leather upholstery
- Synthetic suede headliner
- Heated front seats with memory
- Heated steering wheel
- Ambient cabin lighting
- Center trunk pass-through for longer cargo
- 12.3-inch touchscreen
- Navigation
- Apple CarPlay integration
- Dual USB-C charging ports front and rear
- Wireless phone charger
- 10-speaker audio system
Advanced driver assist features include:
- Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
- Blind-spot warning (alerts you if a vehicle in the next lane over is in your blind spot)
- Rear cross-traffic warning
- Rear passenger safe-exit system (can prevent a rear passenger from opening a door into traffic approaching from behind)
- Semi-automated parking system (steers the Continental GT into a parking space while driver controls accelerator and brake)
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Top-view parking camera system
Continental GT Azure
The Azure boosts the comfort level with more advanced seats and a handful of extras:
- 22-inch wheels
- Choice of high-performance summer tires or standard all-season tires
- Bentley Dynamic Ride (active anti-roll system for smoother, sharper handling)
- Panoramic sunroof
- Heated, ventilated and massaging front seats with adjustable bolsters and cushions
- Heated armrests
- Customizable ambient cabin lighting
Keeping with the Azure's focus on comfort and long-distance touring comfort, it also includes additional driver assist features, including:
- Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the Bentley and the car in front)
- Lane keeping assistance (steers the Continental GT back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)
- Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line on the windshield)
- Night vision
Continental GT S
The new S trim is similar to the base trim but adds:
- Black exterior trim (grille, vents, door handles, door mirrors, exhaust tips)
- Sport exhaust system
- Bentley Dynamic Ride (active anti-roll system for smoother, sharper handling)
Continental GT Speed
The GT Speed comes with the roaring W12 engine and additional performance upgrades, including:
- 22-inch alloy wheels
- Pirelli high-performance tires
- Performance-tuned adaptive suspension
- Electronic limited-slip differential
- All-wheel steering
Continental GT Mulliner
The Mulliner blends the top features from the other trims and turns up the luxury with:
- 22-inch Mulliner-spec alloy wheels
- Handcrafted, fully customizable interior materials
- Quilted leather upholstery
- Exclusive Mulliner exterior details
Several option packages are available, including:
- Touring Specification
- Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the Bentley and the car in front)
- Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line on the windshield)
- Lane keeping assistance (steers the Continental GT back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)
- Night vision
- Front Seat Comfort Specification
- Ventilated front seats with massage function
- Adjustable bolsters and cushions
- Neck warmer for convertible models
- Leather Specification
- Replaces synthetic suede with genuine leather (seats, door panels, steering wheel)
In addition to broad choices of color, wheels, upholstery and trim choices, stand-alone options include:
- Panoramic glass roof
- Carbon-ceramic brakes
- Bentley Dynamic Ride (base trim)
- Heated windshield
- Diamond-knurled switchgear
- Wind blocker and neck warmer for convertible models
- 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system
- 18-speaker Naim premium audio system




2023 Bentley Continental videos
Bentley Continental GT vs. McLaren GT — Price, Interior, 0-60 and More
NOTE: This video is about the 2020 Bentley Continental, but since the 2023 Bentley Continental is part of the same generation, our earlier analysis still applies.
Compare the Bentley Continental
Bentley Continental vs. Aston Martin DB11
With the exception of Rolls-Royce, these two are about as high as you can get in the premier league of British luxury. Both are powered by turbo V8 engines with similar power output, although the Bentley has a boatload more low-end torque. Both also offer optional 12-cylinder engine upgrades, and both are built for long-distance comfort and speed. The Aston's lower center of gravity and nearly 1,000-pound lighter mass mean it will feel livelier than the Bentley in corners and curves, but the Continental is a little roomier overall.
Bentley Continental vs. McLaren GT
The four-seat Bentley nails the grand-touring formula quite like no other car, but it won't quite give you the dopamine rush of the McLaren GT's raw, unfiltered thrill ride. With more than 600 hp on tap and weighing about a third less than the Bentley, the McLaren is a driver's delight. But it can still do long-distance comfort and even offers more cargo space than the Bentley. Then again, it only offers two seats, so maybe you won't need all that space. Intrigued?Read Edmunds' comparison test of the McLaren and Bentley, conducted in 2020 but still relevant.
Bentley Continental vs. Porsche 911
The Porsche 911, specifically the Turbo S trim, is just as nice on the track as on an open stretch of high-speed highway en route to a distant destination. The 911's blend of performance, handling and comfort is masterful, and a reason it remains a favorite of enthusiast and casual drivers everywhere. It's significantly smaller than the Bentley, though, with tiny rear seats and far less luggage capacity. It's also more common than the Bentley, which has the clear advantage in exclusivity and customization.
Related 2023 Bentley Continental info
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