Bugatti Veyron (06 on) - Review

Supercars should be recalcitrant, noisy and a bit frightening. That's simply not the case with the Veyron. One of its development aims was to produce a car that's as easy to drive as a Bentley. And that's exactly what it feels like. The supple suspension is remarkably compliant, the Veyron being a surprisingly comfortable car to drive. Obviously, given its million Euro price tag all the materials inside are the absolute best you can buy. All the interior surfaces are a tactile delight, the butter-soft leather beautifully finished, the smooth and machine-turned aluminium exquisite. The stereo offers phenomenal sound, the air-conditioning and heating very effective and the sound-proofing remarkable. Space isn't generous, but it is a two-seat supercar capable of more 250mph.

Nobody buys a Veyron with practicality in mind. Which is just as well. There's very little luggage space offered, the Veyron's engine and the countless cooling radiators which are required to stop the engine from going into meltdown meaning you might manage a sports bag if you're lucky. However, if you've dropped the sort of money required to buy a Veyron you can afford to send your luggage ahead, buy a new wardrobe when you arrive or have a chase helicopter carrying your cases/golf clubs. Parking it shouldn't be an issue either; after all, the valet at the hotel or your staff can deal with that.

Perhaps the most obvious pointer to the Veyron's mammoth performance, besides the instruments reading 1001PS (PS being the metric measurement of horsepower) and 400km/h, is the lack of rear-view visibility. After all, that mighty engine has to go somewhere, and to cleave through the air at the speeds the Veyron can requires a low cabin. The rear view is hopeless, over the shoulder visibility not being ideal, either. It all makes junctions a bit fraught, the Veyron's saving grace being its ability to literally stop traffic wherever it's driven. Forward visibility is good, the windscreen pillars not too obstructive. Remember, though, this is left-hand drive only. The seating position is easily adjusted, many of the operations, surprisingly, being manually rather than electrically operated. Different seat sizes are also offered, so if you're a snake- or hippo-hipped you should be able to get comfortable.