Motoring News
Yesterday, 17 December 2016Bentley Bentayga: secrets of its design and engineering uncovered
Beneath the skin of the Bentley Bentayga lies a secret world where design and engineering collide. We take a look
In a Bentley Bentayga, there are more than 90 electronic control units secreted within, besides the powertrain, the air suspension and its anti-roll systems and a cooling pack that can cope with a W12 and four fat wheels threshing through sand in 40deg C temperatures.
Clips, conduits and clamps, ducts, sound dampers and seals – these are just some of the myriad parts that locate, cement, energise and cool the clusters of components that make up the unseen innards of your car.
Read our Bentayga review here
Read our Mulsanne review here
In a designer’s world, these components are the car’s ‘B-side’, the flipside of the panels that clothe it to provide a visual character. Designing the A-side is challenging enough. A car’s shape does much to determine its likely success, which is why the design process is invested with so much time, effort, agonising and inspiration.
The B-side is all about realising the car’s function and the engineering of everything from a draught excluder to a differential. There are aerodynamics, crash performance and passenger packaging to consider, besides the
read moreThe best winter deals for £5k or less
A budget of no more than £5000 will net you a great used four-wheel-drive car that’ll cope with the worst of the winter weather
Slippery surfaces, treacherous weather, road salt and seemingly eternal darkness… getting around on the UK’s roads in winter is never a particularly joyous experience.
No wonder so many people turn to the reassurance of four-wheel drive to get them through it all. And with used car prices as they are today, that isn’t as expensive an option as you might think.
We’ve brought together five used cars that prove you can easily find a flavoursome four-wheel-drive for just £5000. And, as our quintet shows, choosing all-wheel drive at this price no longer means that you have to plump for a big, ponderous SUV.
Even the largest car here, the BMW X5, drives more like a sports saloon, and the Mk1 Audi TT marries fourwheel drive with a sharp suit. Then there’s the Honda CR-V, which is about as user-friendly as 4x4s come, and that go-anywhere carry-all, the Volvo XC70. Finally, we have the Suzuki Jimny, easily the best-value and most characterful choice at this price if a serious off-roader is what you need.
Winter on a budget, then. It sounds like a recipe for drudgery – but as we’ll prove over the next few pages, it needn’t be.
Audi TT (1998-2006)
One we found 2004 V6 DSG quattro, 71,000 miles, full service history, £4995
Havin
read more£100K Garage: Ollie Tebbutt
Rear-wheel drive by Hellcat (how better?!), four-wheel drive by Suzuki and a Nurburgring record holder too
read more
Subscribe to this Motoring News feed!
