My £15k Bentayga-beater
Steve Cropley’s verdict on his Bentley Bentayga
V8 was, as ever, a great read (Our Cars, 2 June).
I’ve been known to follow Steve’s recommendations, including buying a Ford Mondeo back in the last century. While my budget has improved since then, it still doesn’t stretch anywhere near the £208,000 cost of the Bentley. However, I’m continuing to enjoy my 2008 ex-demonstrator Range Rover Sport V8.
I’m pleased that a simple push button heats my seat, rather than a “long-winded and confusing affair”, I can create a flat cargo floor, I can work the radio from the steering wheel and I have a full-size spare, rather than Steve’s £565 spacesaver.
Add my Sport’s immediate off-the-mark accelerator response, the all-day cruising ability of its V8 (particularly during my regular 400-mile run from South Croydon to West Cork), its TV that entertains me while I’m waiting for the ferry and its adaptive cruise control and it amounts to an effortless and enjoyable driving experience.
Its value now is sadly only about £15,000. Would I ever trade it for a Bentayga? Never. That’s £208,000 saved!
The total number of vehicles on display currently exceeds 500. Some highlights include a coachbuilt Humber Super Snipe made for and used by the Queen on her coronation tour, an ex-white House 1965 Lincoln Continental limousine, the first Monica and a prototype right-handdrive Delorean DMC-12.
In addition to the vehicles owned by the museum, local collectors are actively encouraged to display their vehicles, and these exhibits are continuously rotated to keep it fresh.
One of the main benefits of the museum is the lack of barriers around vehicles, which allows the visitor to get close to each one and take photographs unhindered.
The museum is great to visit if you’re on a driving holiday, and the island has many scenic roads to explore, not to mention the worldfamous TT course and unrestricted mountain section. Everyone who visits should do at least one lap.
Isle of Man Motor Museum volunteer
Any cars for me?
In his 9 June column, Steve Cropley noted that “nobody has yet built me the ideal set of wheels”. He went on to say that his ideal car would be “a truly refined, fairly tall, fourmetre-long hatchback with supple suspension and a minimum of road and wind noise”. That’s just the car I would like to buy next.
I would add that my ideal car would also have a low floor to optimise access and enable an upright seating position. This is important, as after a 53-year working lifetime, I’m now arthritic (blame years of mending lorries) and can’t get comfortable in a low-slung seat.
I currently drive a diesel Citroën C4 Picasso with the EAT6 torqueconverter automatic gearbox. This is nearly ideal, except that I would prefer it to be narrower and shorter so as to better fit into my garage.
As far as I can see, when I come to replace this car, the only contenders will be the Citroën C3 Aircross and Peugeot 3008 automatics – unless you know better.
Caterham, Surrey
I’d suggest the Seat Arona, Ford Puma, Hyundai Kona and VW T-cross – KC