Marrying old-world luxury with modern technology is one of the more difficult challenges facing designers these days. The folks at the Bentley plant, experts in wood, polished metal, and leather coachwork, now have to set a touch-screen LCD among these natural materials. Even in the $200,000 Continental GT, it comes off as an uneasy partnership.
The cabin of the 2012 Continental GT tested by CNET sports tasteful metal buttons and dials. A glass B emblem tops the metal gearshift, and metal organ-stop pulls open the vents. The color of the leather lining the cabin of CNET's car was called Beluga, something to which potential buyers of this car can relate.
And there, in the center of the dashboard, sat a touch-screen LCD, plastic buttons along its base clashing with the polished metal used elsewhere. Displayed on that screen were the bright colors and cartoonish design of the maps I've become familiar with from driving various Volkswagen models. And those cars cost a lot less than the Continental GT.
Volkswagen owns Bentley, so there is no mystery about how this navigation system got into the car. It is perfectly serviceable, showing graphics for upcoming turns and suggesting appropriate lanes for freeway junctions. It also includes traffic data, changing the route dynamically if there is a traffic jam ahead.
But what looks fine in a $25,000 Passat seems too common for the Continental GT. In a car like this, I would want something that looks like it was designed by Q for James Bond. Or, at least, give me the very excellent navigation electronics used by Audi, another Volkswagen property. Bentley's navigation system doesn't even have Internet-connected local search, instead relying on a static points-of-interest database.
The simple touch screen in the Continental GT seems a little common for this pricey car. Bentley designers should do something a little more James Bond-like.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Where the Continental GT's cabin electronics really excel is in the Naim Audio system. Audio is an area where electronics and luxury have progressed hand in hand, and Bentley partnered with one of the best. U.K.-based Naim Audio produces audiophile-quality amps and CD players, and designed a system with 1,100 watts and 11 speakers for Bentley.
Listening to Kruder & Dorfmeister's "The K&D Sessions," I was blown away by the system's capability to elevate vocals in these multilayered tracks. Bass held a quiet intensity that felt more like a body-molding mattress than a punch to the gut. The Naim audio system in the Continental GT stands with Bang & Olufsen's Audi systems as the best I have heard, but the Naim system handles medium-bit-rate MP3s better, covering over some of the inherent flaws from this compressed format.
And the Continental GT's stereo accepts all the modern digital=audio sources, including Bluetooth streaming, iPod, and HD Radio, while the car's own navigation hard drive offers room for digital tracks. The Naim system includes a six-CD changer in the glove box, right next to an audio port I know well from Volkswagen and Audi models. This proprietary port accepts adapter cables for iPod, USB, and other audio connectors. Its main fault is, as it's in the glove box, I had to stretch across the car every time I wanted to plug in or unplug my iPhone.
This handset actually works in conjunction with a Bluetooth-paired phone in the car.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The Bluetooth phone system also works as expected, but offers one surprise. Bentley includes a handset docked in the car's center console. I could make calls using the microphone and speakers set into the cabin of the car, or I could use this handset. It does fall under California's law against using a handset while driving, but it would allow a passenger to take a call without bothering the driver quite so much.
Voice command worked well with the phone system, but in a bit of a letdown, did not control any of the other electronic features in the car. For example, I couldn't enter an address to the navigation system through voice.
Cruising down the freeway, I took advantage of the Continental GT's adaptive cruise control, one of the more advanced tech features Bentley managed to get into the car. At a speed of 65 mph, the big 6-liter twin-turbo W-12 kept the car quietly thrumming along, automatically matching speeds with slower traffic in front so I could listen to music over the stereo undisturbed.
Looking under the hood, I was impressed by the packaging of this engine. Volkswagen boasts about the compact design of the W-12, which was apparent even through all the plastic cladding.
View the original article here
The cabin of the 2012 Continental GT tested by CNET sports tasteful metal buttons and dials. A glass B emblem tops the metal gearshift, and metal organ-stop pulls open the vents. The color of the leather lining the cabin of CNET's car was called Beluga, something to which potential buyers of this car can relate.
And there, in the center of the dashboard, sat a touch-screen LCD, plastic buttons along its base clashing with the polished metal used elsewhere. Displayed on that screen were the bright colors and cartoonish design of the maps I've become familiar with from driving various Volkswagen models. And those cars cost a lot less than the Continental GT.
Volkswagen owns Bentley, so there is no mystery about how this navigation system got into the car. It is perfectly serviceable, showing graphics for upcoming turns and suggesting appropriate lanes for freeway junctions. It also includes traffic data, changing the route dynamically if there is a traffic jam ahead.
But what looks fine in a $25,000 Passat seems too common for the Continental GT. In a car like this, I would want something that looks like it was designed by Q for James Bond. Or, at least, give me the very excellent navigation electronics used by Audi, another Volkswagen property. Bentley's navigation system doesn't even have Internet-connected local search, instead relying on a static points-of-interest database.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Where the Continental GT's cabin electronics really excel is in the Naim Audio system. Audio is an area where electronics and luxury have progressed hand in hand, and Bentley partnered with one of the best. U.K.-based Naim Audio produces audiophile-quality amps and CD players, and designed a system with 1,100 watts and 11 speakers for Bentley.
Listening to Kruder & Dorfmeister's "The K&D Sessions," I was blown away by the system's capability to elevate vocals in these multilayered tracks. Bass held a quiet intensity that felt more like a body-molding mattress than a punch to the gut. The Naim audio system in the Continental GT stands with Bang & Olufsen's Audi systems as the best I have heard, but the Naim system handles medium-bit-rate MP3s better, covering over some of the inherent flaws from this compressed format.
And the Continental GT's stereo accepts all the modern digital=audio sources, including Bluetooth streaming, iPod, and HD Radio, while the car's own navigation hard drive offers room for digital tracks. The Naim system includes a six-CD changer in the glove box, right next to an audio port I know well from Volkswagen and Audi models. This proprietary port accepts adapter cables for iPod, USB, and other audio connectors. Its main fault is, as it's in the glove box, I had to stretch across the car every time I wanted to plug in or unplug my iPhone.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The Bluetooth phone system also works as expected, but offers one surprise. Bentley includes a handset docked in the car's center console. I could make calls using the microphone and speakers set into the cabin of the car, or I could use this handset. It does fall under California's law against using a handset while driving, but it would allow a passenger to take a call without bothering the driver quite so much.
Voice command worked well with the phone system, but in a bit of a letdown, did not control any of the other electronic features in the car. For example, I couldn't enter an address to the navigation system through voice.
Cruising down the freeway, I took advantage of the Continental GT's adaptive cruise control, one of the more advanced tech features Bentley managed to get into the car. At a speed of 65 mph, the big 6-liter twin-turbo W-12 kept the car quietly thrumming along, automatically matching speeds with slower traffic in front so I could listen to music over the stereo undisturbed.
Looking under the hood, I was impressed by the packaging of this engine. Volkswagen boasts about the compact design of the W-12, which was apparent even through all the plastic cladding.
View the original article here
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