FF v Bentley

Meg has a CGT with 37K miles which she uses as a daily. Great car, Great in the snow. Zero issues. Did buy the extended warrantee as she wants to keep it for a while. Plenty of luggage space. Very good lights at night. Highly recommend. Have been driven around in an FF. Things like the seat belt device that comes forward seems much less well made than in the CGT.

Hope U guys are well!

 

Have you seen the new V8 S mulliner package? I'm currently looking for the right one. Super cool!

 

I have a 2009 Brooklands Coupe . IMHO, more modern VW-Based coupes are not in the same league with FF in terms of quality, driving experience. I have a 599 and rode in an FFf. Totally different animal from a Bentley for what it's worth.

 

Owned 2 Speeds (2008 and 2010), put a total of 2k miles on 3 different FFs (rentals in France and Cali).
Looks is a personal matter, FF has more room in the back making it more practical a bit, Conti feels (and is) better put together, more solid, like one sculpted piece of steel while FF feels more like a bunch of separate pieces joined together.
FF is more agile but surprisingly not that much more, in today's environment,in daily use, it's marginal (at best) performance advantage is negligible.
In my experience the Conti (Speed) was more stable and confidence inspiring, especially at triple digits, in very slippery conditions seemed to have a bit better traction (both cars on Winter tires).
Please, try to drive both,preferably back to back and come to your own conclusions.
The new 2015 Speed or the new V8S are both unbeatable, IMO.
Btw, I've put 30k miles on my 2008 Conti and never had the car in service beside routine maintenance.

 

Absent
Of the new bentley models which would you choose? W12 or V8? Thanks

 

Topgear did comparo of snow capabilities few years back. Dont remember result but was fun episode. England probably won out as usual though

 

TG liked the Bentley better I believe. I test drove a Speed a few months back and it drove very nice but felt heavy. Took bumps like a champ.

 

FF, no contest in my opinion.

 

lots of comments so I won't add too much. the Bentley is much better in the snow than the FF, although a change of tires may have worked wonders. The Bentley is better made, the FF is more fun

 

Something tells me that I thought I saw studs on the Bentley tires in the Top Gear test. And Clarkson OF COURSE turned off the stability controls in the FF, he is an idiot.

I've driven a Bentley, pretty cool but slow in comparison, seats are very good, but so are the FF's just not as soft. Brakes were crap in the Bentley and SPECATULAR in the FF. My FF will do 0-160-0 in about 4,000 feet and I have done that a bunch of times .

The Bentley is VERY pretty. I thought about one for special occasions but the FF is perfect for special occasions, and with my big fat ego gets way more attention.

In the end they are totally different cars with an easy choice between the two, the FF.

 

FF.

IMHO the Bentley no longer has the understated interior, too much bling.

I think the expression in the UK is "footballer's car".

Have you considered the Wraith?

 

Ive owned both and would not go back to a Bentley the Gt is just a VW in so many ways and when you compare balance, handling, brakes, real world performance it is just to heavy and not possible to drive past 7/10ths were you then really notice its short comings.

Having said all that the more people buy them helps keep the FF exclusive which is fine by me.

 

I've had both.

Everything said about the build quality is true. The Bentley feels better made, the paintwork is one of the nicest paint jobs you'll see on a modern car. The fit and finish is really up to that level. I did not at all care for the driving experience of the Bentley. It always felt big, heavy and ponderous to me. Maybe thats part of its allure but it simply didn't work for me. The more I drove it, the more I did not like it. I also did not like the attention it garnered- people seem to react to you like you are one of the "evil financial people that ruined the planet" (I dont believe thats true but thats the reaction). I don't mind the attention with Ferrari as much because its more about the sportiness of the car than the "you must be an investment banker who burns $100s for fuel".

I don't love the looks of either car and I just thought about breaking my RWD purist ideology for a winter time fun car. So the CGT didn't work for me. I thought maybe the FF would, but that car didn't do it for me either. I didn't like how I could feel the AWD system constantly engaging and disengaging, I found it distracting. I also didn't like the fact that for a daily car I couldn't get various things like blind spot warning (the CGT didnt have that either). Bottom line is there was not enough in these cars to inspire me- and that's what I was looking for.

I will say Bentley the company made far more efforts to reach out and interact with me as a customer and all their gear- car cover, battery tender, was of the highest caliber; whereas with Ferrari it was "good enough" level...

My bottom line is both of these are GT cars and I think you have it right the Bentley is more on the luxury side/ Ferrari more on the sport side. I say try both out- but make sure you really drive them. I liked the CGT for a short ride, over longer rides I found myself constantly managing that mass- I was more exhausted from driving that than driving my 458 for a few hours!

 

Absolutely no comparison. I owned two GTs, one after the other. First for 3 years and then bought another to replace the first when they updated the model for 2011. The second one was sold after 4 months, solely because I made the mistake of test driving the FF and that was that! Don't get me wrong, I liked the Bentley so much, I bought another, but you can't compare it to an FF. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The Bentley is a car. The FF is a supercar. Comfort wise, there's nothing between them. Performance wise, agility, response, feel, noise, poise, they're continents apart.

 

I would go with the FF, having sampled one a few weeks ago it seems to be possibly one of the most rounded Ferrari's ever made, quite when you want it to be a ferocious beast when you want it to be. The power of the V12 is seemingly never ending.

Also spent time in the back and despite being 5.9ft tall I found it very comfortable.

Bentley is nice but it doesn't do the ferocious as well as the FF does.

Would this be a replacement for the 458 or to complement it?

 

Agreed, I tested a Bentley before picking up the FF and it just felt really big and disconnected. Nicely built and the finishes are nice.. but the driving experience if Ferrari all the way.

 

I don't think anything can compare with the interior comfort of a Bentley or a RR -- they really are in a class of their own. I think you have to judge for yourself whether they are just a trifle too conspicuous for where you live.

 

Use to have a 2012 CGT W12 Convertible. Amazing car, not as fun to drive as the FF but it is a great daily. Has all the "modern" comforts and is a smooth ride. But at the end of the day, a Ferrari will always put a smile on my face with weeks, months, and years of ownership. A CGT? Not so much.

 

FF is in another class altogether and considered a proper supercar. I've seen maybe 3 in the wild (not at a dealership or car show) since it was released.

In the UK, I can expect to see Bentley Contis everywhere and unfortunately they do have a bit of a 'footballer's car' image. The only cool Bentley's left are the big 4 door luxobarges. They do have a nice sounding engine, but the FF's V12 sounds even better!

 

This has been posted before, but Chris Harris really has it right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzR04SKnwPE

 

If I were at your altitude year round and intended heavy winter use, and I discounted the fun factor, I would probably opt for the Bentley. Sturdy, competent, and tanklike, its TT will be much less affected by altitude.

 

In Aspen? Not sure that's an issue.