Mulsanne, any one own, driven, experienced one?

[dunebuggy]

I'm thinking of swapping my Conti GT (and a fair bit of additional cash) for a 2012-13 ish Mulsanne.

I've watched the reviews of course but I always feel they merely give a snap shop based on (often) a very brief experience with the car.

My main reason to make the change are that I want a car with proper doors, and the realisation that I do a lot of motorway miles and appreciate comfort more than "sportiness" much of the time. I do realise that to Lotus owners calling the GT sporty would make them guffaw at length.

So...Does anyone have any experience of ownership. Is it, quiet, comfortable, reasonably swift when needed?

Things that really annoy me...rattles and noises, hesitant gearboxes at junctions, bits falling off (actually in that order)

Cheers one and all

[Lockhouse]

Have you looked at the Flying Spur?

[stain]

I have a Phantom and Flying Spur so Bentley were keen for me to try a Mulsanne. It was a real let down being neither as luxurious and surreal as a Phantom, nor as Bentley-ish as the Spur. It didn't sound great, the performance was hampered by the weight, tiny tiny boot and creaks from the cabin on their demo. The depreciation on these is comical too. I know of a chap who lost 100k simply by taking delivery and then trying to sell it without ever getting behind the wheel. The new Spur is far better or look at a used RR of some sort.

[TonyF]

I have a gtc V8 conti and recently had a new mulsanne on demo for 4 days.
Couldn't see me in one over my gtc to be honest, it is a lovely car but just didn't tick the boxes for me.

[riozilla]

I had posted a similar question about the Mulsanne over on 6speed and you can read the comments here:

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/bentley/381762-...

I decided to keep my Arnage and ended up not getting a Mulsanne (yet).

[dunebuggy]

I have looked at the flying spur but it doesn't seem like much of a change (for obvious reasons i know) from my GT and i wanted something different.
If it creaks and rattles that will be a killer for me, I can't stand that.
But reading Dazzelaze and the story of his Phantom doesn't give me much hope about the Rolls option either.
I haven't tried a Wraith...I've looked in the interior though and felt it a little bland. Perhaps another look.

[chilistrucker]

Sadly i have nothing to compare it to, Bentley or Rolls wise but I did some chauffeuring for a guy who had a 12 plate Mulsanne. I really, really liked it as a car to drive and never picked up on any creaking noises or rattles. Very quiet, very smooth, and very quick should you need it to be. His had the Naim audio system which was truly epic, but parts of it were far to complicated to understand. To be honest a lot of the "system" elements seemed over complicated and fussy to me, but that could just be me. It certainly had presence though, compared to the S500 i regularly use the Mulsanne certainly turned more heads and drew more attention than the Mercedes. Lovely car but purely from a driving point of view, I found the S500 just as lovely.

[cgt2]

I would always choose the Mulsanne over a Spur if budget allows.

I've done a lot of miles in one and the Mulsanne is a different level of luxury and finish (start by comparing the dashboard) but if you play with the dynamic modes you will be surprised how fast you can hustle it on twisties where space allows. It is a big car but I like the steering and it does shrink a bit around you as it's very driver focused.

In terms of day to day living I found the navigation/voice control doesn't work too badly and it's useful having both screens as you can have different info on the dash to the centre display (Spur seems to be a more Audi-centric display in this regard).

The Mulsanne Speed is even better, actually quite mind-bending when you remind yourself of the size.

A relative Used bargain too considering it was circa £300k new.

[cgt2]

Oh and I never experienced any creaks or rattles, I have in Conti GT though. If you get a chance to visit Crewe, it's very evident that a lot more time goes into building a Mulsanne than the GT/Spur.

[f430hunter]

had a mulsanne speed for a week as a courtesy car loved it but thought the depreciation is horrendous so bought a arnage final series instead which i love and wont lose crazy money on.

[riozilla]

I had posted a similar question about the Mulsanne over on 6speed and you can read the comments here:

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/bentley/381762-...

I decided to keep my Arnage and ended up not getting a Mulsanne (yet).

[wilwak]

dunebuggy said:

I'm thinking of swapping my Conti GT (and a fair bit of additional cash) for a 2012-13 ish Mulsanne.

I've watched the reviews of course but I always feel they merely give a snap shop based on (often) a very brief experience with the car.

My main reason to make the change are that I want a car with proper doors, and the realisation that I do a lot of motorway miles and appreciate comfort more than "sportiness" much of the time. I do realise that to Lotus owners calling the GT sporty would make them guffaw at length.

So...Does anyone have any experience of ownership. Is it, quiet, comfortable, reasonably swift when needed?

Things that really annoy me...rattles and noises, hesitant gearboxes at junctions, bits falling off (actually in that order)

Cheers one and all

DuneBuggy..... any progress? I too have been looking at a Mulsanne. I love the car itself but I'm not sure I could live with the attention it may attract.

[Byteme]

No need to think about this. The latest Flying Spur is the best car they've ever produced.

It's just a pity Bentley and Aston Martin can't build a car with a dedicated dash/facia for right and left hand drive markets when even the cheapest budget car has this.

[spyker138]

I am thinking of doing the same - I have an Arnage and a GT Speed and to be honest the Arnage still makes me laugh more.... I have done a few test drives and think the Mulsanne continues the more traditional Bentley line and is a good successor to the Arnage - big, cut from solid, proper V8, wafts when you want to waft and surprisingly sporty when you are in the mood. After 40k miles in the GT Speed can respect it but not love it. Not sporty enough to be a sports car, a great GT, but so is the Arnage!!

[mattf93]

spyker138 said:

I am thinking of doing the same - I have an Arnage and a GT Speed and to be honest the Arnage still makes me laugh more.... I have done a few test drives and think the Mulsanne continues the more traditional Bentley line and is a good successor to the Arnage - big, cut from solid, proper V8, wafts when you want to waft and surprisingly sporty when you are in the mood. After 40k miles in the GT Speed can respect it but not love it. Not sporty enough to be a sports car, a great GT, but so is the Arnage!!

Sell the GT and buy something different then?

[spyker138]

mattf93 said:

Sell the GT and buy something different then?

Yes I know... but I've owned it from new, and it's depreciated so much that there is nothing anywhere near what it's worth that I'd swap it for (i.e. it's worth more to me). And it's a great place to be as my daily driver, and perhaps that's why it's not my first choice when I fancy a weekend drive.