2006 Bentley Arnage R Review

Bentley Arnage – Driving Impressions: Seeing a Bentley Arnage R sauntering down the motorway is a rare sight, one many will never see. To drive one is an even rarer privilege held by those wealthy enough to own one or those fortunate enough to run in the right circles. But is the Bentley mystique and brand association worth the price of admittance? Maybe, depending on whom you ask. Bentley prides itself on building pieces of rolling art, still formed and constructed mostly by hand from the highest quality materials, but by today's standards they lack modern conveniences drivers demand and to which they have become accustomed. For the $250,000 sticker price of the Bentley Arnage R, one could buy a loaded Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG that will run circles around the Arnage R in every way – including exclusivity – and still have enough money left over to buy a well equipped BMW 5 Series. Not only has the quality of volume production cars drastically improved, luxury cars of today are frequently technologically superior to the status cars of the ultra-luxury class. Today's modern masterpieces are loaded with laser guidance systems for parking and cruise control, massaging and cooling seats that counteract lateral cornering forces, night vision and computer based technology for everything from the audio system to suspension settings, and list goes on and on. Regardless, it seems there are still enough high rollers who can appreciate a hand-built custom carriage from Bentley and are willing to lay down the cash for the privilege of ownership despite the lack of modern conveniences. Buying a Bentley differs from buying a series production car. When laying down the kind of cash necessary to acquire an Arnage R, you pretty much get to build the car to your liking. Bentley offers 40 different paint colors plus the option of adding a two-tone scheme to your new ride. A choice of 27 interior leather options, including piping on the seats and headrests, complements any exterior color. As Bentley states in its press materials for the Arnage: “The only constraints are of imagination, and perhaps the broad bands of good taste." While the Arnage R comes with a 400-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V8 pounding out 616 lb.-ft. of torque, buyers have the ability to step it up and opt for the Arnage T which is powered by a stronger version of the V8 delivering 450 horsepower and 645 lb.-ft. of torque. Both cars run this power through a dinosaur of a four-speed transmission. Standard for the R and RL models are six-spoke, 18-inch wheels with the option of adding 12-spoke, 19-inch wheels if you like. The 19-inch wheels are standard on the most powerful model, the Arnage T. A DVD-based satellite navigation system has been integrated into the dash of the Arnage for a cleaner look while improvements to the rear suspension are claimed to have improved handling and ride qualities. Whatever your idea of exclusivity and luxury, the Bentley Arnage R still carries the old school charm and appeal despite lacking the new school technologies.

Performance

Each Bentley Arnage R is fit with an all-aluminum, 400-horsepower, twin-turbo 6.75-liter V8 that produces an impressive 616 lb.-ft. of torque. All of the power is fed to the rear wheels through an aging four-speed adaptive automatic transmission. Bentley claims a 0-60 mph acceleration time of six seconds flat and a governed top-speed of 155 mph. At this price level one might expect at least a five- or six-speed transmission, especially with Mercedes-Benz and Lexus upping the ante in current models with seven- and eight-speed transmissions.

Handling

The stiffer-than-expected ride is the first clue that the Bentley Arnage R is a driver's car and the first hard corner reiterates that. For such a big sedan, the Arnage holds its own in the corners displaying slight understeer when pushed. Brakes are soft and don't offer the kind of feedback I prefer, but communication through the thick wood-and-leather steering wheel is great and the Pirelli P-Zero tires, along with changes to the spring, damper and bushing rates, offer occupants an improved ride comfort. The Arnage rides on a double wishbone suspension both front and rear.

Visibility

Visibility to the back through the rearview mirror is good despite the small rear window, but the thick C-pillars and small side mirrors produce difficulty in seeing out. In fact, the passenger's side mirror displayed magnification that made vehicles appear much closer making it difficult to trust the mirrors when changing lanes. They are also too small to give a clear view of the passenger's side blind spot.

Fun to Drive

The Bentley Arnage is a fun car to drive for a couple of reasons. First, the Arnage features a surprisingly firm feel of the car. A luxury car is expected to be soft and floaty, but the Arnage throws that expectation out the window during the first mile of driving. The Arnage is a driver's car and the respectable handling and taut but compliant ride make for a lot of fun. Second, driving around town in a car as exclusive as the Bentley Arnage R, which turns heads at every turn, can really play up one's ego. Fact is, you don't really have to tell anyone it's not yours, right?

Front Comfort

When it comes to comfort, Bentley can make a driver feel right at home. That is if you live in an upscale gated community. The Arnage's interior is covered in the highest quality leather and the seats are well padded but lack sufficient bolstering for a driver's car. Electric lumbar adjustment along with padded door armrests, lots of interior room, and a thick wood-and-leather steering wheel add to the comfort level. A couple of things missing that you might expect in this price range are cooled seats and a massage feature.

Rear Comfort

Reclining rear seats that retract to allow easy entry and exit are the highlight of the Bentley Arnage's rear quarters. Large padded door panel armrests keep occupants comfortable, as does a drop-down center console with a small storage compartment. There are even large padded C-pillars for resting your head should you become weary. Negatives are the lack of rear climate controls, massage feature, cooled seats, electric door pulls, and the distance passenger's must reach to adjust the air vents. At $250K, the Arnage should require little effort from its passengers to achieve total comfort.

Interior Noise

Though the Bentley Arnage R is a driver's car, it is nevertheless surprising how much engine noise intrudes into the cabin. Add to that some wind noise from the windscreen as well as a noisy climate fan and you might be disappointed with your investment if isolation is a goal. Some engine noise would be acceptable due to the Arnage's sporting character, but what exists is excessive. The exhaust note does have a nice tone to it, though.

Loading Cargo

Here is where the Bentley Arnage really shines, which, if you think about it, is a problem for this car. The trunk is spacious and covered top to bottom with high quality carpet. The liftover height is low, adding to comfort levels when throwing your Louis Vuitton luggage into the boot for a weekend getaway, and the lid raises to a full 90-degree angle, placing it well out of head bashing range. A light pull using the assist grip on the inside of the lid activates an electric assist motor that snugly closes the lid. Forget taking the Arnage on a ski trip, though. There's no trunk pass-through or folding rear seats, although you could probably have them commissioned.

Build Quality

As expected, the mostly hand-built Bentley Arnage has impeccable fit-and-finish. Inside and out, panels are flush and seams are straight and tight. Small hand-built character flaws are apparent, like door hinges in need of a good smoothing before the painting process, but these small imperfections tend to be acceptable given the assembly process. Our test car did, however, have issues that were unacceptable at any price, hand-built or not. The navigation screen would only intermittently raise and lower, and never did activate so that we could test how easy it was to program, the passenger's side front seatbelt jammed and took a bit of fiddling to get it working again, the brakes and driver's door squeaked, and at the end of our testing the remote keyless fob wouldn't unlock the back doors or release the trunk.

Materials Quality

No expense was spared when it comes to the materials inside the Bentley Arnage. Hand-sewn leather is abundant and the wood trim is top notch. Beautiful metal vent bezels and switches have the look and feel of quality. The only issues that detracted from the feel for me was the look of the parking brake and the cheap plastic pull used for the bonnet release.