BENTLEY ARNAGE Red Label 4dr Auto (1999)

Some tiny imperfections

I bought the Bentley Arnage after driving a Mercedes S Class. It felt like a step up, and the S Class had a few too many faults for my liking. The Bentley Arnage I expected to be a world class vehicle, and it certainly has been that. I bought second hand in 2003 and that was the last financial outlay I made on the car apart from fuel. The dealers are fantastic, and I get the feeling they do certain minor repairs within the yearly service. Regardless, they are brilliant there. I never liked the tone of the staff at Mercedes, seemed to think you owed them something. All very different at Bentley.

The only reason I would advise someone against buying a Bentley Arnage is if you only ever make short trips. Obviously a huge engine like this benefits from having a good run fairly regularly, but more importantly it isn't really a car for tight traffic. The dimensions are a little foreboding for that sort of thing.

Anyway the real pleasure is out on the open road. It's so wonderful to be tucked up inside your own little bubble, and the comfort is just second to none. There is some noise coming from the rear wheels sometimes, which is more than I had on the old S Class, but it's not that bad.

The Bentley Arnage is very powerful for such a large and heavy car, certainly gets away from a standstill at a pace. Although it doesn't appreciate tight corners at speed.

The interior is just another world. I had thought the S Class was, well, classy, but the Bentley is so far superior. For example the way they mix together the traditional wood panelling and the digital display of the stereo unit, it's so well done, makes other cars look really amateurish, as if they've just slapped the stereo into the centre panel. All in all a class act, I'd struggle to beat it.

Having said all that, it hovers between 10 and 15 miles per gallon, so if the fuel prices keep going the way they are then I may have to reconsider...