JackStraw

Interesting. I thought that the ECU upgrade was what improved the throttle response and increased the horsepower. I thought that the TCU upgrade sped up the shifting and added the Manual mode.

I also thought that the only differences between C and S in the stock version was that in comfort mode the car starts in 2nd gear as opposed to 1st and that upshifts occur at lower RPMs.

If the Renntech C mode is no different than the stock, then it would seem that I can have a docile cruiser for around the city and I can live on the edge in S mode on the open road.

david_101

how's the GPS relative to the MB unit?

how's the LCD interface overall?

david

pimpitcharlie

please post more pictures of the bentley

sillydriver

I had always figured the TCU and ECU exchange data to make this possible, but to be honest I’ve never confirmed that there’s a difference beyond 2nd gear start, because I’ve almost never driven in C mode. I’ll experiment with it (conditions permitting) on the way home this afternoon.

Perhaps some of the other Renntech/600 owners on this board would comment on whether they’ve noticed a difference in C and S throttle response.

sillydriver

The Bentley has a non-touchscreen 16:9 display, and the GPS nav system is CD, not DVD based, although the car comes with a set of CDs covering the whole US. I haven’t played with the nav much but the interface is fairly similar to Mercedes CD-based nav: you turn a dial to roll across a set of letters to spell out names. There is a map button which gives you a nice picture, but the problem is that it doesn’t tell you what road you’re actually on. To do that you have to press an info button which clears the map display and lists off town, street, longitude and latitude. Despite this, the overall human interface of the car is pretty good. The LCD screen is flanked by four general purpose buttons on either side. The function of each button in any given mode is displayed on the screen next to the button. Below the screen there is a group of buttons to choose a particular mode: Audio, Nav, A/C, Info, Set-up, Map, etc. A large multi-purpose turn-and-press dial is in the middle of that group. Below that there is a group of buttons specific to the Audio system.

I’m a bit of a techie and don’t mind complex interfaces, but my wife, who is not, says she finds the Bentley (Phaeton) interface to be nearly as intuitive as a Lexus and easier to use than the Mercedes interface.

sillydriver

I tried out commuting in the Bentley yesterday, although I’m back in the SL today. My mileage for the 60 mile round trip fell to 12.5 MPG on a combination of urban and highway driving with a little stop-and-go traffic. I drove briskly and used the car’s sport mode, which keeps revs north of 2000 most of the time, but was careful not to exceed 4000 because of the break-in period. My Renntech SL600 gives me 16.5 to 17.0 MPG on that same route, with similar traffic and a similar driving style. Near the end of the trip home I filled the tank for the first time with 5/16 on the gauge and 225 on the odometer. That implies 327 miles to drain the tank and 13.8 MPG so far if the tank holds the 23.8 US gallons quoted in the book.

In other words, the mileage is pretty poor.

sillydriver

This is a real annoyance. Holding the Fastlane pass out the window and against the exterior of the windshield yesterday didn’t work: perhaps it was too far off to the left or the metalized glass behind it interfered with the transmission. The pass itself worked fine this morning in the SL through the same tollbooth.

sillydriver

JackStraw, it looks like most or all of the difference between C and S is the second gear start. I tried kickdowns from third to second in both C and S and the acceleration felt equally strong. Second gear start does alleviate the inadvertent wheelspin problem.

WIldcat465

[QUOTE=ricky.agrawal]
It's also not about spending weeks in the shop, it's just having to go to the shop. Even BMW is better at it than Mercedes. I walk in, walk out with a loaner. For Mercedes I sit on my *** for a few hours because "the VP hasn't released all the loaner cars yet"
QUOTE]

I've never had to wait for a loaner. When I make a service appointment, I'm asked if I need a loaner and it is always ready when I take in my car.

There was one instance when I tried to schedule an appointment with a dealer closer to my home (MB of San Diego) and was told that I could not pick up a loaner the night before my appointment. I said to the lady, "Cancel my appointment, and I'll take my car to another dealer." My appointment was for 10:30 AM and they explained that I counld not get a car before that time. I then promptly emailed the General Manager and explained that they lost my business and that I would not let them inconvenience me ever. I'll continue to go to the MB of Escondido (10 or so miles up the road) where the service is at my convenience and not at the whim of the clerk who answers the phone.

Juice it

My Bentley salesman assures me the Nav is DVD. I know the Arnage is DVD and would hope that a car that came out in 04 would be. Can you double check that please. I am hoping you are wrong but it doesn't sound like it.

sillydriver

If you order the car now you will receive an 06 model with a DVD nav. The nav on the 05 car I just bought off the lot is definitely CD-based.

1SICKLEX

That interior is breathtaking

vraa

Every dealer in Houston sucks.

BklynBenz

very nice pics, a little late but congrats

lkirchner

Quality of Lexus Service? I sold an SC430 with 1,750 miles on it because of the horrible Lexus service. They either employed the Keystone Cops or Larry, Curly and Moe or all the above. My experience was the worst that I have ever encountered and I have encountered quite a bit; by far poorest than the worst of any Benz dealer with whom I have dealt. "Passionate Pursuit of Perfection" my ***.

zzoorrkk

I never drive it in the C mode, always S or M mode (I like a little wheel spin when starting aggressively). I do not know exactly how Renntech reprogrammed the ECU and TCU, but throttle response is great. IMHO, Renntech has achieved a good balance for the throttle response between everyday driving and aggressive driving. I have not taken her to a drag strip, but I feel that my Renntech SL600 is as fast as my Murcielago to a 1/4 mile.

RJC

The German's helped make this car what it is...excellent.

sillydriver

The Bentley is past its break-in period and after using it on a long drive to a business meeting, I thought I’d update the group.

I love the car, but it’s definitely not a luxurious sports car: it’s a luxury car with good straight-line performance. Despite it’s relatively short range (17 - 18 MPG on the highway with a tank the same size as the Mercedes’) it’s a wonderful car for an interstate highway cruise. The seats are extremely comfortable. You can take your hands of the wheel and it will track dead straight for a surprisingly long while. It’s been said in reviews before, but it’s a little like taking a luxurious electric train.

Obviously the downside is that the Bentley does not deliver an exciting driving experience, and the key to enjoying the car is accepting that it isn’t meant to. Its published straight-line performance is almost exactly the same as the Ferrari 355 a business partner of mine drove to the same meeting. While a little comparison testing on country roads confirmed that this is true, it certainly doesn’t feel that way! The Bentley’s feel under hard acceleration is about the same as my S500 sedan, which is objectively much slower. My SL600, on the other hand, is both objectively and subjectively much quicker and much more exciting to drive hard.

So to conclude, I’m very glad I bought the car – even more than the day I took delivery – but the Bentley and SL (or even the CL for that matter) aren’t substitutes: they’re complementary cars for different moods and purposes.

david_101

thanks for even-handed, informative update.

tandan

took my lexus in for the 30000mi service. 3 weeks before i had stopped to show them a broken console latch. when the part was in, dropped off my car and one day and 2700 dollars later picked up my car. it took me almost 2 hours to get out of there, i won't even get into the details, but suffice it to say, i was so angry the service tech asked me to deal with him and not go back to the cashier. went home, guess what? my console latch still did not work. they had ordered the wrong part! i haven't been back, but i know i'm just cutting off my own nose.

shoes

I wandered into the Aston Martin dealer over the weekend and spent time in the seat of the DB9. I can see this car as a complement to the SL600, since the Aston seems more like it is on a sports car mission than GT to me.

blueSL

I agree, sillydriver's comments on the Bentley are very informative, thank you. The weight of the car was always going to compromise its role as a sports car, though there's no doubting the car's credentials as a long distance luxury GT.

My guess is that after a long drive in the Bentley, you arrive cool and calm, the same journey in the Ferrari will leave you a bit hyper..

Shoes, do you think the SL and the DB9 would be too close to each other to be worth having both? That's how I saw it compared to the SL55.

sillydriver

Well put. The Bentley is so good in that role that it disposes me toward replacing my aging S500 with a W12 Phaeton instead of the next generation S.

ano0oj

Congratulations! Theres always a Continental GT that pulls up to my driver's ed class, sound is superb!

wings

I drove the Bently GT to see if it would be something I would trade my S55AMG 2003 in for and, for me, I did not like the GT enough to give up my S55 for. The power of the Supercharged V8 in the MB and the 4 door Sedan look really appeal to me. Also the S55 new is probably 50K less expensive than a new GT. and the MB dealer is right up the street where the GT dealer is 40 miles away. I think a car buying decision is made up of many things, some objective and some subjective. BTW, My 04 SL600 is definitely faster all the way around than the GT with no squeeks. Car only has about 3500 miles. Best of luck with your new car!