Continental GT V12 realistic MPG on long cruise..
Discussion
Hi All
My GT hunt started because my head was turned about what great value some of these cars are looking now! As is typical of any petrol head my search budget kept rising until I was then in 2013-20015 V8 S territory... Mainly because I liked the improved MPG. My plan is to use the car for the 1200 mile round trip down to Bordeaux and back several times a year.
However I keep coming back to the slightly older V12's because they just seem such good value, and can't help but think the V8's still have a long way to drop! So I have returned to looking at the 2008MY V12's but wondered what realistically I might get on a 80MPH cruise on the French auto route? Will it make 20MPG?
Any other tips or advice welcome as I plan to view a few cars in the next couple of days!
My GT hunt started because my head was turned about what great value some of these cars are looking now! As is typical of any petrol head my search budget kept rising until I was then in 2013-20015 V8 S territory... Mainly because I liked the improved MPG. My plan is to use the car for the 1200 mile round trip down to Bordeaux and back several times a year.
However I keep coming back to the slightly older V12's because they just seem such good value, and can't help but think the V8's still have a long way to drop! So I have returned to looking at the 2008MY V12's but wondered what realistically I might get on a 80MPH cruise on the French auto route? Will it make 20MPG?
Any other tips or advice welcome as I plan to view a few cars in the next couple of days!
Yes it will make 20 easily .
We get 22 + mpg through France under 82 mph .
Saw 24 once in the UK motorway in a coned 50 ish zone .
We have come from 5 years and 160K miles in a Cayenne S ( 4.6 V8 ) that did 21/22 mpg through France too so no change there .
Don,t care what they say the W 12 is shear torque n power .
You will like the massage seats , air suspension and the double glazing on a long trip .
Also the radio auto tunes in as you go along - so no phaffing re-tuning as you transit countries.
So just do the maths on the price diff - about £20 K and work out how much fuel that will buy .
Then factor in an extra what 5 mpg to say 27 ? For a V8 ??
But importantly don,t forget the further depreciation of say 3/4 years V8 ownership another £20 K at least.
It’s a no brainier buy a sorted well looked after W12 ( 04-06 ) for 1/2 the £££ and lose v little say £1/2 per year if that .
We get 22 + mpg through France under 82 mph .
Saw 24 once in the UK motorway in a coned 50 ish zone .
We have come from 5 years and 160K miles in a Cayenne S ( 4.6 V8 ) that did 21/22 mpg through France too so no change there .
Don,t care what they say the W 12 is shear torque n power .
You will like the massage seats , air suspension and the double glazing on a long trip .
Also the radio auto tunes in as you go along - so no phaffing re-tuning as you transit countries.
So just do the maths on the price diff - about £20 K and work out how much fuel that will buy .
Then factor in an extra what 5 mpg to say 27 ? For a V8 ??
But importantly don,t forget the further depreciation of say 3/4 years V8 ownership another £20 K at least.
It’s a no brainier buy a sorted well looked after W12 ( 04-06 ) for 1/2 the £££ and lose v little say £1/2 per year if that .
Fiammetta said:
Yes it will make 20 easily .
We get 22 + mpg through France under 82 mph .
Saw 24 once in the UK motorway in a coned 50 ish zone .
We have come from 5 years and 160K miles in a Cayenne S ( 4.6 V8 ) that did 21/22 mpg through France too so no change there .
Don,t care what they say the W 12 is shear torque n power .
You will like the massage seats , air suspension and the double glazing on a long trip .
Also the radio auto tunes in as you go along - so no phaffing re-tuning as you transit countries.
So just do the maths on the price diff - about £20 K and work out how much fuel that will buy .
Then factor in an extra what 5 mpg to say 27 ? For a V8 ??
But importantly don,t forget the further depreciation of say 3/4 years V8 ownership another £20 K at least.
It’s a no brainier buy a sorted well looked after W12 ( 04-06 ) for 1/2 the £££ and lose v little say £1/2 per year if that .
Most likely looking for a 2008 onward car with some of those revisions and I want Mulliner pack and miles to be reasonable - Trying to stay sensible say sub £40k - Which makes it half the cost (or more) of a more recent V8.We get 22 + mpg through France under 82 mph .
Saw 24 once in the UK motorway in a coned 50 ish zone .
We have come from 5 years and 160K miles in a Cayenne S ( 4.6 V8 ) that did 21/22 mpg through France too so no change there .
Don,t care what they say the W 12 is shear torque n power .
You will like the massage seats , air suspension and the double glazing on a long trip .
Also the radio auto tunes in as you go along - so no phaffing re-tuning as you transit countries.
So just do the maths on the price diff - about £20 K and work out how much fuel that will buy .
Then factor in an extra what 5 mpg to say 27 ? For a V8 ??
But importantly don,t forget the further depreciation of say 3/4 years V8 ownership another £20 K at least.
It’s a no brainier buy a sorted well looked after W12 ( 04-06 ) for 1/2 the £££ and lose v little say £1/2 per year if that .
Edited by UH-Matt on Saturday 20th January 23:02
dunebuggy said:
2011 update was a big one. Infotainment system massively improved. If you can stretch...I'd say it's worthwhile.
This purchase isn't about stretching. If I was going to spend £60-70k I'd buy the V8 with those updates. But I fancy something that's not going to sh*t money when I do lots of miles in it, so the slightly older variants are more appealing - It's a barge to get me to France and back in and I use Waze on phone for nav anyway. I'm not sure the 2011 update is worth (nearly) double the money of a 2007? Happy to be told otherwise 
2008 W12 pre-facelift Speed; I see around 20 on a long run if I'm not too heavy on the gas. Most of my long journeys are on the continent.
Facelift cars have better gearboxes and instrument displays. The biggest bugbear I have with mine is that the instruments are set too deep in the dash.
If I was going to replace her it'd be a like-for-like facelift W12. Having driven both on a circuit the V8S is undeniably the better handling car but IMHO doesn't have the W12 Speed wall of torque.
Facelift cars have better gearboxes and instrument displays. The biggest bugbear I have with mine is that the instruments are set too deep in the dash.
If I was going to replace her it'd be a like-for-like facelift W12. Having driven both on a circuit the V8S is undeniably the better handling car but IMHO doesn't have the W12 Speed wall of torque.
I see what you mean. The 2011 update was fairly considerable but, possibly not worth double the money. Then again in terms of depreciation I'd guess that by 2011/12 they've hit the flatter part of the curve?
I too prefer the w12 to the v8 but of course it's very personal. I like the Torque and don't drive mine in such a manner as to notice the change in handling. Each to their own of course.
I've looked at a Wraith and may well change in due course but the new GT is also tempting.
Like many of us though I suspect i spend a long time looking and thinking and my current GT (a 2013 GTC Speed) is...lovely. I'd be an idiot to change but, cars are rarely bought with the head I suspect!
I too prefer the w12 to the v8 but of course it's very personal. I like the Torque and don't drive mine in such a manner as to notice the change in handling. Each to their own of course.
I've looked at a Wraith and may well change in due course but the new GT is also tempting.
Like many of us though I suspect i spend a long time looking and thinking and my current GT (a 2013 GTC Speed) is...lovely. I'd be an idiot to change but, cars are rarely bought with the head I suspect!
Edited by dunebuggy on Sunday 21st January 13:41
Thanks for all the comments.
Should be back in the UK next week to go and look at some things.
Almost certainly going to be either a sub £40k W12 (2008 ish) or a sub £75k V8 (2012 ish)
Feel the V8 will still have quite a bit of depreciation to do, is my only concern for what is an "extra" toy.
Decisions decisions!
Should be back in the UK next week to go and look at some things.
Almost certainly going to be either a sub £40k W12 (2008 ish) or a sub £75k V8 (2012 ish)
Feel the V8 will still have quite a bit of depreciation to do, is my only concern for what is an "extra" toy.
Decisions decisions!
What are people’s views on the new 2018 Continental gt ?
I have specced one up and about to push the button on it but I’m not sure.
It is the “First edition” spec I’ve gone for in w12 guise and am being told Bentley will only build 100 of these !
Good that it’s a limited production run but will it be as good as the reviews ?
I have specced one up and about to push the button on it but I’m not sure.
It is the “First edition” spec I’ve gone for in w12 guise and am being told Bentley will only build 100 of these !
Good that it’s a limited production run but will it be as good as the reviews ?
TonyF said:
What are people’s views on the new 2018 Continental gt ?
I have specced one up and about to push the button on it but I’m not sure.
It is the “First edition” spec I’ve gone for in w12 guise and am being told Bentley will only build 100 of these !
Good that it’s a limited production run but will it be as good as the reviews ?
I liked everything about it except the diamond cut bezels on the dials which were a bit too "blingy" for me. Each to their own though - I thought it was a lovely bit of kit.I have specced one up and about to push the button on it but I’m not sure.
It is the “First edition” spec I’ve gone for in w12 guise and am being told Bentley will only build 100 of these !
Good that it’s a limited production run but will it be as good as the reviews ?
UH-Matt said:
^^^ What he said. If depreciation isn't a major concern I'd push that button too and enjoy in good health!
That’s my point, I did have a V8 gtc mulliner that I sold a year ago after 4 years of ownership that only cost me 26k in value to own after covering 11000 miles in including a couple of runs down to Sorrento and back ( which was epic by the way ) so didn’t think it depreciated by much at all, but the new w12 I’ve specced is a shade over 200k and I think will be hit hard over time, that’s my dilemma !
TonyF said:
UH-Matt said:
^^^ What he said. If depreciation isn't a major concern I'd push that button too and enjoy in good health!
That’s my point, I did have a V8 gtc mulliner that I sold a year ago after 4 years of ownership that only cost me 26k in value to own after covering 11000 miles in including a couple of runs down to Sorrento and back ( which was epic by the way ) so didn’t think it depreciated by much at all, but the new w12 I’ve specced is a shade over 200k and I think will be hit hard over time, that’s my dilemma !
I've been looking at the online configurator for a new one as well, but mine doesn't seem to have option prices included.
Is this something you only get from the dealer or is it because (even though i specify UK) i'm doing it from overseas?
Does the UK version have the prices of options configured when done from the UK?
Is this something you only get from the dealer or is it because (even though i specify UK) i'm doing it from overseas?
Does the UK version have the prices of options configured when done from the UK?
Hi all, I am running a Mulliner 2006 GT its 94k, and running perfectly.
You can get 25, most motorway conditions here M1/M25 have the variable speed limits, so if you are careful, you can realistically get reasonable MPG from the W12
Unfortunately the above image is the usual scenario, that spoils all efforts of good MPG.
You can get 25, most motorway conditions here M1/M25 have the variable speed limits, so if you are careful, you can realistically get reasonable MPG from the W12
Unfortunately the above image is the usual scenario, that spoils all efforts of good MPG.
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