Bentley Turbo R Reviews from UK and Ireland

The Right hand head gasket blew at 49600 miles.

This car is by far the best I have driven or owned.

It goes beyond all my high expectations on performance.

It transports you safely in the richest comfort while having the capability of evolving to perform like a high performance sports car in a split second!

Interior light fault when purchased.

A superb piece of (old) engineering that never ceases to please when driving.

It is without doubt the finest car I have owned and driven.

It is the first car I have ever got out of after a non stop 375 mile journey to have no issues with back problems.

Would thoroughly recommend to anyone who wants something special - but be aware of maintenance costs - it is NOT a Ford!

The heater's effectiveness seems to be in inverse proportion to speed.

The cruise control is a bit variable - I am interested to read of others' experience on this point.

I'm not looking forward to unleashing all that torque on Winter roads, but in general it's a rapid stealth machine.

In general terms, it redefines handling and performance and seems to shrink around the driver - unfortunately country roads don't expand to suit!

The steering rack developed a leak after about 5 months. The company from which I bought it (a well-known London independent specialist) took the car back and reconditioned under warranty. A few months later, we took the car in for a regular service, and the company announced that they weren't happy with the reconditioning so replaced, again under warranty.

The rear cups that hold the kingpins have started to corrode, and needed replacing. Likewise the front negative camber bushes have needed replacing. Finally, the drive belt had started to stretch, and was initially tightened, then replaced.

These three items were "normal wear and tear" and thus we had to pay for the work.

The car puts a grin on my face every time that I drive it. At slow speeds, it is happy to waft along gracefully, and shows no signs of "wanting to go faster". However, when I decide that I want to up the pace, it responds incredibly smoothly, without a hint of turbo lag, and handles like it was on rails.

I had expected something like the Jag Sovereign, but a bit better. Instead, I've found it to be in a completely different league.

This is the long-wheelbase variant, and the interior space is incredible. When it rained, I could sit my baby daughter in her car seat, and then crouch down in front of her, in the foot well, to strap her in properly.

The pre-sales service from the (independent) dealer was excellent. We went up to look at their stock, but couldn't find quite what we wanted. A few weeks later, the dealer phoned to say that they had a car coming in that we might like, and then brought it down to us for a test drive later in the week.

The rear on side shock absorber leaks.

The cruise has failed.

The steering rack leaks.

The windscreen rubber perished and caused a complete replacement.

The engine pinks at high speed. It dislikes LRP. (It hates unleaded).

Who cares.

I just love everything else about the car. It cost so little to buy, is very cheap to insure and if you keep out of a Bentley dealer's clutches and find a truly competent, local mechanic it will still hold its purchase value so well that even with all the problems I have had, it could well work out cheaper to run (15,000 miles per annum) over three years than a new Citroen Picasso. As a bonus, the walnut burr picnic trays in the back seats are better made than the lightweight, plastic, gallic alternative.