9 Things I Learned While Driving A AED 1 Million Car

When Bentley offered me the chance to have a GT convertible for a long weekend, I thought what could possibly go wrong? Then, I thought, do readers of Lovin Dubai care about test drives? All automotive brands would like people to take their cars for a test drive when considering a new car, believing that once you try it, you will be convinced. That’s true in a way, there is only so much marketing and brochures can do to sell a car, you really need to get behind the wheel to see how it really feels. But, how many of us are really going to spend over AED 1m on a car? That’s the starting point for most Bentley’s, they go up much more than that. The V8 500 horsepower car I was given is AED 1.1m. The other thought that crossed my mind, was that if I did ever buy one of these, would my life change, would I be perceived as different driving around Dubai in a Bentley, here are nine things I learned…

1. It’s pretty scary

The sales guy walked around the car after giving me the keys on Thursday morning looking at the wheels, and he said, ‘we know every mark on the alloys’. So, five minutes later I crawled out of the driveway of the gorgeous new Bentley showroom on SZR. 

2. Certain cars as better as convertibles

I quickly put the roof down, it takes about 45 seconds to do this, but you have to be either stopped or going at less than 30km per hour to do so. With a car this stunning, it often turns heads, so unless you are a very private person, you may as well have the roof down to smile back. 

3. It’s damn expensive – I racked up AED 1,800 in speeding fines

I generally know all the speed limits on the roads of Dubai, so I didn’t think that speeding fines would be an issue. When I returned the car on Sunday morning, they told me I had amassed AED 1,800 in speeding fines. One in Abu Dhabi and two in Dubai. The reason is that it’s twice as powerful as my own car, even though I knew the speed limits and tried to obey them, it just went faster and I got caught out!

4. It’s like driving a boat

I don’t normally drive a boat. If I did, I would take extra care when leaving the dock, same with a Bentley. It takes a while to maneuver. Even the dashboard has the finish of the captain’s deck on a boat. Oh, and your friends will want to hang out with you more, as long as they can drive too!

5. A Bentley is up there with most people’s life goals

There are many cars that people have on their wish lists. From a Ferrari to a Porsche. All weekend, everyone who joined me for a spin, I asked them, would you actually buy it? Most people said yes, ‘I’d have one in the garage’. When asked where it ranked, the general consensus was that a Bentley was above a Rolls Royce, but below an Aston Martin. Of course, there are many different types of Bentley’s The best selling is their new SUV, the Bentayga that starts a cool AED 1.3m. People looked on in admiration at the car all weekend, one guy gave a thumbs up on JBR, and these guys just stood there looking at it in the Last Exit on the way back from Abu Dhabi. 

6. It’s seriously comfortable

I drive a sports car normally, so even though this is almost twice as powerful, the speed wasn’t the most surprising thing, it was the comfort. Every-time I sat in the car I pressed the massage button, and just relaxed. I felt like doing a few more laps on each journey, it was so comfortable. That’s what real luxury feels like, you just sit back, and enjoy it. 

7. It makes a cool company car

It might send the wrong message if senior people are driving Bentley’s in a one-year-old company, but it did provide for a cool company vehicle for a few days. We had a company outing on JBR, and we happened to sit down beside HH Sheikh Mohammed. That was a memorable Thursday. 

8. You may not recognize your car in the car park

At a valet in the YAS Viceroy in Abu Dhabi, the valet guy said, ‘that’s not your car is it’, which was a little rude, but he was right. Still, for the most part, I went about business as usual, apart from all the speeding fines! Everywhere I went, I took a pic of the parked car, to see how out of place it looked in my normal daily routine. 

9. If you go feel like buying one, they have an offer

5 years free service and warranty, not bad.