Bentley Continental Flying Spur (05 on) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on
Last Updated: 16 October 2008
What's the fastest production saloon car in the world? An AMG Mercedes? BMW M5? Maybe a Maserati Quattroporte? Actually it's the rather frumpy looking Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Because while those cars might match or in some cases beat the Bentley from the traffic lights, none can match its incredible 195mph top speed. Far more relevant of course is its effortless real world performance, fabulous cabin and secure all weather handling. And the fact that while still horrendously expensive compared to everyday car, at upwards of £115,000 the Bentley has few real rivals. Bentley does make another saloon, the Arnage. Though much less sophisticated it’s largely built by hand, explaining the £50,000 extra it costs.
4 out of 5

Other Bentley reviews

1.5 out of 5

Running costs

Running costs probably aren’t the main concern for your average Flying Spur buyer and have to be viewed in the context of the staggering straight line performance, but they’re pretty horrendous nevertheless. Emissions of 396g/km make it among the most expensive of company cars, the 16mpg thirst is not going to please anyone but the directors of Shell and BP and insurance is group 20, the highest rating possible. The Continental's residuals are at least strong in percentage terms compared with a mainstream family car but you can still expect to lose £50,000 over three years and that’s without factoring in servicing costs.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

12 months or 10,000 miles.

Warranty

Three years/unlimited mileage.

Road tax (12 months)

£475.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

0.5 out of 5

Green credentials

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    396

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Continental Flying Spur is clearly a high-emission model. With an average of 410g/km CO2 across the line-up, its emissions are high, but perhaps unsurprising for a luxury saloon. The range is very thirsty too, averaging 16 mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2