The 2014 Bentley Flying Spur: What the critics say

Edmunds.com

It’s all about the back seat in the Flying Spur. Recognizing that the brand’s typical buyer over the next decade will likely be a member of “the chauffeur-driven Chinese plutocracy,” Bentley has engineered a refresh of this luxury four-door that puts an emphasis on looks, comfort, and rear-seat amenities. “Less fun, and therefore less of a Bentley, than the car it replaces,” the new Spur still impresses. So refined is the back-seat experience that “we wouldn’t have felt better looked after in a Rolls-Royce.”

Motor Trend

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“From the avalanche of leather and wood, to the champagne-chilling fridge, to the privacy screens, to the picnic tables,” the rear cabin definitely resets the bar. An LCD screen is mounted on the rear of each front seat, and the aft passengers get a touch-screen remote to control all climate and entertainment options. By comparison, the driver’s luxe cockpit actually disappoints.

Autoweek

But it’s not as if the driver has been forgotten. Despite the softer ride, the Flying Spur “reacts to inputs like a car a thousand pounds lighter.” In fact, “the handling occasionally defies physics.” What’s more, this is a remarkably powerful sedan. Being told that it needs only 4.3 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph is one thing; “feeling three tons of Bentley conjure that number into reality is another experience entirely.”