Why such an exhaustive intra-brand comparison? Well, some will without doubt wonder why they should bother moving up to an Arnage when a Flying Spur will certainly do, and when specific features are
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| Once again I'm thoroughly stunned at how outrageously deft this next-generation Bentley is when the road starts to wind. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
pulled out of the overall equation, such as transmissions, the new Spur comes out looking like the better bet, there are a discriminating few willing to pay the additional cost to get there hands on what is still arguably the best of the best; and the Arnage T, in my experience, is still the world's ultimate luxury-sport sedan. But can it dance as well as a Spur when the road starts to wind? While I wasn't able to test them on the same stretch of road side-by-side, my guess is it would be a toss-up. They're both so wonderfully balanced, only a back-to-back shootout would do.
Yes, once again I'm thoroughly stunned at how outrageously deft this next-generation
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The Flying-B brand has a long history of making sporting cars, going way back to its Speed Six and "Blower" Bentley days. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)
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Bentley is, not that I didn't expect as much from a marque that makes the even heavier Arnage manage corners with an agility that most compact sport sedans can't muster, but such poise from a limousine-sized car still shocks the senses. And I didn't even have the suspension dialed in to its firmest setting during my initial run up the aforementioned coast-side highway. "Dialed in" is the appropriate terminology when talking Flying Spur, by the way, as it features multi-variable suspension settings via its easy-to-use Audi MMI-like electronic interface. Push the button on the lower console featuring the shock absorber pictograph, and the various suspension settings show up on the screen, at which
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| Despite its superb handling prowess the Flying Spur coddles its occupants with an unrivalled ride quality. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
point you can twist the main dial to the right or left in order to set it at most comfortable or most capable, from a performance standpoint, respectively. Tautening up its ride does reduce body roll, which is hardly much to worry about in its standard setting, as mentioned, but nevertheless it corners flatter and therefore can increase the car's overall speed through consecutive curves. In the opposite way, softening its suspension settings improves the ride over rougher stretches of tarmac, when downtown or on highways that suffer from expansion joint problems, for instance. Even when turned to its stiffest setting the Spur's ride couldn't be called harsh, even remotely. Rather
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| The electronic interface allows adjustment of just about everything. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
the big Bentley simply bit into the pavement with more tenacity, making the most of the car's heft to keep it squarely planted between the lines.
The electronic interface allows adjustment of much more than just suspension settings, incidentally, but affects additional driver preferences as well as the usual climate control, this one a four-way system, audio system functionality, which features a handy six-disc, in-dash CD changer, and navigational adjustments. The latter system was a little frustrating as I couldn't get it to show the street names in my neighborhood, with it only displaying a network of connecting roads. Its directional accuracy worked each time I tried it, but the mapping was a bit less than adequate.
