For our final installment of Same Platform Week, we’re looking at two luxury sedans built on Volkswagen’s D platform. The D, of course, stands for “Damn, this thing is complicated.” Only one wears a Volkswagen badge, however. The other, improbable as it may seem, is a Bentley.
We had another really close vote yesterday, as often happens with two similar cars. The two Honda SUVs we looked at shared engines and drivelines, but had different transmissions, and that seems to be what tipped the scales ever so slightly in the CR-V’s favor. Many of you said you would have chosen the Element if it had a manual gearbox.
I think I might pick the CR-V regardless. The manual is just the icing on the cake. I don’t have anything against the Element, but the CR-V just seems more my style. It’s just a decent little car. The Element is more of a lifestyle choice, and it’s not one I’m sure I want to make.
Every automaker has made at least one truly boneheaded move in its history. Ford had the whole Pinto fiasco, Chrysler partnered up with Daimler, Daewoo came to America. In my opinion, Volkswagen’s boneheaded move was hiring Ferdinand Piëch to run the place. Piëch insisted on moving the brand upmarket, attempting to turn the People’s Car into the Rich People’s Car. He also bought up luxury brands and folded them into the Volkswagen Group. The result of all this putting on airs was this unlikely pair of automotive siblings: a Passat with delusions of grandeur, and a Bentley that would have given old Walter Owen a migraine with its complexity. Oh, for the carefree days of nice simple Beetles and Rabbits. Let’s check them out.
2004 Volkswagen Phaeton – $9,000
Engine/drivetrain: 6.0-liter OHC W12, five-speed automatic, AWD
Location: Ravenna, MI
Odometer reading: 74,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Volkswagen’s fanciest car to date was Piëch’s pet project, intended to compete with Mercedes and Lexus. It cost a fortune to develop, and absolutely flopped in the marketplace. It turns out that if you want a Mercedes or a Lexus, you go buy a Mercedes or a Lexus, not a Volkswagen. The few buyers who did pony up for an ultra-premium Volkswagen lost their shirts on depreciation: This car is being sold for less than one-tenth of its original price.
The base model Phaeton came with a 4.2-liter V8 from Audi, but this one has the optional engine: VW’s bonkers W12. Imagine two of the VR6 engines in your cousin’s GTI joined together on a common crankshaft, and you get the idea. This six-liter monster puts out 414 horsepower through a five-speed automatic to all four wheels. It’s ferociously complicated, and not what you’d call trouble-free. This one runs and drives well, according to the seller, but there’s no telling when the next sensor will find something it isn’t happy with and trigger a check-engine light. Right now the only warning light is the tire-pressure monitor; the car has new tires, but obviously someone didn’t reinstall or reset the sensors.
It’s as fancy inside as you’d expect from a car in its price class, with power features galore, and every surface adorned with leather or wood. I want you to pay particular attention to the control panel on the side of the driver’s seat; it will become important in a minute. It’s in good shape overall inside, but it could use a good cleaning.
I think one of the big problems with the Phaeton is that it really does just look like a slightly bigger Passat. There’s nothing special or memorable about its appearance at all. This one is in good shape, but it appears to be missing the VW badge on the back. How are people supposed to know it’s a Volkswagen?
2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur – $27,999
Engine/drivetrain: Twin turbocharged 6.0-liter W12, six-speed automatic, AWD
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Odometer reading: 63,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Unlike Volkswagen, Bentley has a long and rich history of building big fast cars, going back more than a hundred years now. The marque has been owned by Volkswagen since 1998, and this big sedan has been around since 2005. Depreciation hasn’t been kind to this one either. This Continental Flying Spur was a nearly $200,000 car when it was new, but now you can buy it for about as much as a Hyundai Elantra.
The Flying Spur is also powered by a W12, but Bentley worked its own magic on it: this one puts out 552 horsepower thanks to twin turbochargers. Combined with a six-speed ZF automatic and all-wheel-drive, it made the Flying Spur the fastest production sedan in its day. It’s no slouch even today. Of course, it sucks down fuel like nobody’s business, and trying to do any service or repairs on it is likely to drive you insane, but that’s the price you pay. The seller says this one runs and drives well, though it has a check engine light. They think it’s a fuel cap issue, but it’s worth checking for yourself. Do those cheap Autozone OBDII scanners work on Bentleys? They must, right?
Remember those seat controls on the Phaeton? Look at this photo. Deja vu, right? It’s one of my problems with “premium” cars; you can always spot the parts that came out of someone else’s bins. The rest of the interior is awfully nice, though, I have to admit. And apart from a few little things, it’s in really good condition.
Honestly, this one doesn’t look all that special on the outside either. It’s a fairly generic large four-door sedan. Take the Bentley badges off, and no one would know what it was. It’s in nice condition, as it should be for the price. I think the black wheels are aftermarket, and frankly, I’m not a fan. A dark gunmetal gray would look better, I think.
I try to be as impartial as I can about the cars I feature here, just in the interest of fairness, but I guess I can’t hide the fact that I don’t actually like either one of these. The Phaeton is just silly, and the Bentley brings out my inner class-warrior. But I’m curious to hear what you all have to say about them. You’ve got all weekend to vote and discuss. See you back here on Monday!
I got passed this weekend, slowly, on my drive down from Seattle-ish to Medford, OR by a Bentley of that ilk with California plates. Or plate. The front one was hidden somewhere.
He probably enjoyed being cosseted by luxurious seats and surroundings while I enjoyed getting upper 30s mpgs in my Accord.
I was actually surprised to see one in the wild outside of Los Angeles where I used to do a lot of work. I have lived around various parts of the US, and I wondered where people in rural petro-chemical Texas got their Rollers, Range Rovers, Jaguars and even a freaking McClaren serviced. Flat beds were probably involved.
aw man. can i just donate the price of the bentley to the kid of my fav mechanic’s college fund? even at 9 grand the VW’s first hiccup will probably put you at 27 g’s for total cost.
Whatever that pick-up behind the Bentley is, I’ll have that one.
Can you do a shitbox showdown camper trailer week? Unless that is too far away from automobile.
I think it really should be self-propelled to qualify. I’ve done RVs in the past; maybe it’s time to do so again.
Thanks for the reply, I’ll probably bug a different author about cheap campers instead.
A MT/MS Mark and Mercedes SBSD throwdown. I’ll read it.
I owned a 2004 W12 Phaeton that I purchased new. It was a wonderful car, but it went through over $30,000 of warranty work (replacement controllers, various parts, etc.) The Flying Spur is the fraternal twin of the Phaeton – in fact, the wiring diagrams for the 2004 Phaeton & 2004 Flying Spur are identical!
Much as I loved that Phaeton, I would not want a 20 year old version of it, nor would I want a 14 year old Phaeton clone (the Bentley). The ongoing maintenance costs of either one would be massive.
I think it’d be good fun to badge one of these Flying Spurs as a Kia Amanti, and this would be a fine candidate with the wheels refinished, but it’s 28 grand and comes with at least one Mystery Code.
I actually like the Phaeton, though, and eating a few grand in either repairs or decreased value after it breaks, then being able to reminisce about the Phaeton (in hushed, reverent tones) once I sell it on, feels more appealing than taking a larger gamble on the Bentley (said as though I’m calling a Compass “the Jeep”).
The Phaeton is at least cheap. In the Bentleys case I think of the old rule that if you couldn’t afford a new one you won’t afford a old one either. I do like Bentleys,but this one is probably not worth it.
But the Bentley does have years of support and maintenance the Phaeton not so much
I can’t say I covet either of these; I imagine my Toyota Celsior is just as comfortable and will still be functional long after both of these have failed irreparably. If I had to choose one, I guess the Phaeton is cheaper for however many miles it manages to cover before leaving me stranded, at which point the only rational action would be to abandon it at the side of the road and walk back to my Toyota.
The Celsior is superior in just about all measures but speed, but speed isn’t luxury, so… whatever xD
Mark, get your class warrior into the Bentley and it will switch sides
I always digged the bougie passat, even with the kill me service itl require.
Plus, once the rest of the car becomes a complete money pit, have a w12 to rob and slam into a mid engine caddy.
Maybe it’d be worth the extra coin if the Bentley wasn’t the lamest possible spec: black on black with black wheels. Enough with the black wheels.
I’ll save my $20k for repairs and go VW. Or if I am going to be the guy who pretends to have money in a horribly depreciated luxury car with poor reliability, I’ll go get a Maserati Quattroporte or a S63 before a “trying too hard” Bentley.
Since saying “Neither” has been ruled as ‘cheating’ here, if I have to spend imaginary Internet money today, I’ll have to pick the VW, as there’s NO WAY I’m spending $28K on a vehicle with black wheels!