A matter of taste: Rolls-Royce vs Maybach vs Bentley

[hypersonic]

OK, since all of us here tend to be very opinionated about matters concerning taste and style, lets get your
thoughts on these vehicles.

Which is the most stylish ...and what kind of impression does it make to own one.

Obviously, all of these vehicles can suffer from the effects of over-exuberant owners with no sense of refinement
adding all kinds of hideous body kits and modifications but lets just focus on the standard production models for now.


So, here they are:


Rolls-Royce Phantom

Maybach 57/62

Bentley Mulsanne

 

[ter1413]

Close call btwn the Bentley and Rolls. The Maybach is def in last place!!!

 

[Artisan Fan]

Maybachs are for the nouveau riche!

I prefer the Bentley. They are usually the fastest.

 

[hypersonic]

I like all three cars but they are very different from each other.

I view the Maybach as being a very corporate limousine. It is intended to impress rather than inspire. It is probably the most self-conscious of the three. It wants very much to be the ultimate status symbol. Rolls and Bentley are far more self-assured about their positions, in fact both would consider themselves to be in leagues of their own ....they tend to be more focused on the abstract things like aesthetics, tradition, and culture.

The Rolls-Royce is certainly not for everyone ....and it can easily be misconstrued as grotesquely ostentatious. I think it is the most multi-faceted of the three brands. It can be a bling-mobile if you want to take it that way ....but it is also in a class of its own for the way it makes you feel when you're sitting inside.

I have not seen the Mulsanne yet. The front took a short time to get used to ...but I've come to quite like it now ...and it's nice to see Bentley has maintained some of its old-fashioned aristocratic charm.

 

[JayJay]

Bentley is the only one of the three I'd have. The Rolls is too garish and the Maybach is not my taste.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by JayJay

Bentley is the only one of the three I'd have. The Rolls is too garish and the Maybach is not my taste.

Bentley is great. Rolls doesn't look that great in the pic, but I saw one in real life the other day and it is mesmerizing. The Maybach is so ugly with that paint scheme. I mean, I could lose myself with the amazing interior for days, but damn is that paint ugly.

 

[MrG]

The Bentley

The only complaint I have is the interior. I like the look, but it doesn't seem like the back seat has much room, especially compared to the Rolls. I like the space in the Rolls but everything else about the bentley.

 

[dcg]

Goddamn that Mayback is ugly. It's not even the paint scheme (which is atrocious). It's just an ass ugly car.

Rolls for me, though if I had that kind of cash to drop on a car I'd be looking for something that would be fun to drive, not fun to be driven around in.

 

[username79]

Originally Posted by hypersonic

Bentley Mulsanne

Those appear to be toy cars.

 

[GanglandDandy]

If you're talking about style, then one shouldn't be doing the driving. Tough decision between RR Phantom and Maybach 62 (57 is out of the question). Based on exterior alone, I would go with the Phantom. It's difficult to resist the interior of the Maybach 62 though. Legroom in the Mulsanne is not appealing at all. If I had to choose, I would choose the Phantom.

 

[hypersonic]

You see the thing is, for me, the Maybach's interior is quite bland and unimaginative.

I like the Maybach because it is a beautifully made and engineered machine ...but it almost completely lacks class (for want of a better word). The thing that mostly establishes the Maybach as something above the ordinary is its price; aesthetically, it is not particularly remarkable at all.

However, the Maybach is fully equipped with every amenity one could possibly want for maximum comfort.

I think this is where Maybach differs from Rolls and Bentley the most ...it defines luxury in a very practical and physical way -- in this regard we can measure the Maybach against any other lesser luxury vehicle and naturally determine it to be superior. However, Rolls and Bentley are more about emotion and "experience" ....they define luxury in a much more immaterial way.

 

[Sherlockian]

I would dismiss the Maybach for its general bland ugliness. It lacks the strong identity of the other two; its radiator grille brings to mind one of those far-eastern wannabe-tinpot royalty cars, like a Geely or Equus. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, it is easily the most expensive, which makes it seem rather tryhard and therefore gauche and unseemly.

The Rolls' dashboard looks far too large and blocky, though the materials and some aspects of its styling suggest a classic boat's fascia, which I personally like. The back seating area looks elegant and sumptuous, where the Maybach's is too cluttered and over-styled.

The Bentley is more of a car for those who drive themselves rather than have their chauffeaur take them everywhere. No shots of the interior, but from the exterior and Bentley's general reputation and heritage, I'd imagine it to be far more to my liking than the others. I'd just have to make sure Puff Daddy or Victoria Beckham didn't own one in the same colour.

To be honest, I don't think I'd go for any of these; I prefer the less ostentatious style of, say, an Audi A8, or one of the classic shapes of Mercedes S-Classes (W140 or earlier).

 

[hypersonic]

^ yeah I like the A8 too. However, worrying about appearing ostentatious is frightfully bourgeois

lol

 

[TheFoo]

Small timers.

 

[celery]

You don't buy these cars if you have taste. You buy these cars if you have money. A lot.