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I have a test drive booked for a RHD diesel Ghibli on Monday and will post a review then.
Ghibli Diesel
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No. Only the top of the range petrol.
Looking forward to hearing your impressions. I'm still toying with the idea of getting a Ghibli but am not impressed by the lease packages being quoted in the UK.
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305 Posts
I tried the Ghibli diesel this morning and was impressed.
Pros:
Style - lovely
Engine - plenty poky enough, with the sport button depresses a rorty snarl but in normal quiet enough for comfortable motorway cruising. Acceleration was very good and immediate.
Handling - very good steering feel getting heavier in sport mode, nice chunky steering wheel. Ride good in normal noticeably firmer in sport.
Compact feel - although the statistics tell otherwise the car felt compact on the road.
Space - there was enough space in the back for passengers but not an excess of it. Space in the front was more than adequate. A baby seat fits easily contrary to what has be posted elsewhere on this site.
Ride - the car had 20 inch wheels and the ride was good on our rough English roads.
Radio - has DAB which some makers charge extra for.
Cons:
Turning circle - was not as tight as I expected.
Cruise control - as far as I could tell it was not one the best I have used.
Seating position - the car had a sun-roof so headroom was reduced and the seat lowered because of that so that driving position was not as comfortable as it could have been (not a problem I suspect on cars without sun-roofs).
Boot - the space for luggage looks inefficient there is plenty of it but it is low and long although the fold down seats would help on occasion.
The infotainment unit - or whatever you call it seems to control too many things and the lack of buttons for things like heated seats seems a step the wrong way.
Interior quality - was OK not great but then the price is not at the Bentley level. It was at least as good as the E class and BMWs I have had. I did not like the carbon fibre.
Paddles - which I do not use are large and get in the way of the sole column switch. I will be happy not to pay for them.
Gearbox - as many have said it is a pain to use first time, I hope it becomes easier to complete the simple task of moving between P, R and D with practice.
Interior - If you start to up-spec the interior it adds up quickly though it is no different to its competitors here.
Despite the list of cons I liked the car very much and will almost certainly get one as soon as they are readily available in the UK.
I will add other recollections as they come back to me.
Pros:
Style - lovely
Engine - plenty poky enough, with the sport button depresses a rorty snarl but in normal quiet enough for comfortable motorway cruising. Acceleration was very good and immediate.
Handling - very good steering feel getting heavier in sport mode, nice chunky steering wheel. Ride good in normal noticeably firmer in sport.
Compact feel - although the statistics tell otherwise the car felt compact on the road.
Space - there was enough space in the back for passengers but not an excess of it. Space in the front was more than adequate. A baby seat fits easily contrary to what has be posted elsewhere on this site.
Ride - the car had 20 inch wheels and the ride was good on our rough English roads.
Radio - has DAB which some makers charge extra for.
Cons:
Turning circle - was not as tight as I expected.
Cruise control - as far as I could tell it was not one the best I have used.
Seating position - the car had a sun-roof so headroom was reduced and the seat lowered because of that so that driving position was not as comfortable as it could have been (not a problem I suspect on cars without sun-roofs).
Boot - the space for luggage looks inefficient there is plenty of it but it is low and long although the fold down seats would help on occasion.
The infotainment unit - or whatever you call it seems to control too many things and the lack of buttons for things like heated seats seems a step the wrong way.
Interior quality - was OK not great but then the price is not at the Bentley level. It was at least as good as the E class and BMWs I have had. I did not like the carbon fibre.
Paddles - which I do not use are large and get in the way of the sole column switch. I will be happy not to pay for them.
Gearbox - as many have said it is a pain to use first time, I hope it becomes easier to complete the simple task of moving between P, R and D with practice.
Interior - If you start to up-spec the interior it adds up quickly though it is no different to its competitors here.
Despite the list of cons I liked the car very much and will almost certainly get one as soon as they are readily available in the UK.
I will add other recollections as they come back to me.
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305 Posts
No - I would have had trouble knowing it was a diesel on start up. The active exhaust trickery makes a great sound in the car, I cannot say what it sounds like outside. There was no slowness in pickup and I had to set off quickly at one point from a junction when there was a gap in traffic. It has a decent amount of power in a relatively (compared to my past cars) light body and with 600NM of torque it is plenty quick enough for me although I am comparing it to diesel saloon cars like BMW and Mercedes not sports cars like AM and Porsche.
as expected, I would rather hear your opinions weighed against homogeneous competition than stretching the ghibli to compare with an Aston or Porsche.
Actually speaking of porsche how does Ghibli fare against Panamera?
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305 Posts
I have not tried the Panamera diesel as I think it is one of the ugliest cars on the planet.
I was positively surprised by the performance of the diesel Ghibli and have ordered one in Blue Emozione, Executive Pack in Sabbia (was told it had to be fine grain leather for the full cabin in Sabia excluding dash), Rovere Chiaro wood, 8+4 way seats, 19inch Posedione wheels.
AHAHAHAAA fair enough, Ghibli and Panamera buyers certainly operate at polar ends of the design spectrum
Congrats on the order, do you have a build and delivery date yet?
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Have to agree on the view of the Panamera, although I have been told it grows on you..........but what about those who you show the car to? You have to wait until the design grows on them? LOL
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Is there any advantage of the diesel version over the gasoline version ? Should we wait until the diesel is available in the US ?
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When you consider the MPG be sure to think about the urea additive that is quite expensive as well.
I was thinking diesels or some diesels can get by without urea,maybe the member who just ordered a diesel can let us know if urea is needed or even used in Europe.
I don't know if urea is an US only additive
Another thing for US buyers is that diesel cost more here that kills most of the benefit of greater MPG's.
I don't know if urea is an US only additive
Another thing for US buyers is that diesel cost more here that kills most of the benefit of greater MPG's.
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