Articles by Chris Riley

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Infiniti QX80 with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

It's also home to some of the world's most exotic cars — even police get around in a Bugatti.And buyer tastes range from expensive to downright bizarre in some cases.Just ask Hans Holzgartner, head of product for Bentley's Mulsanne limousine.The latest and greatest Bentley, the $733,000 Mulsanne Speed, has an optional entertainment system that costs $43,000.The outrageous requests for customised Bentleys...can take up to 12 months to buildThe rolling lounge room that is the rear seat can be further embellished with a frosted glass bottle cooler at a cost of $22,000 (with crystal champagne flutes, of course). Fold-down picnic tables with iPad docks can be added for another $28,000.That's just the starting point, Holzgartner says.His job is to deal with the outrageous requests for customised Bentleys, which can take up to 12 months to build.By far the wackiest request came from a Middle East customer who wanted a prescription windscreen fitted so she would not have to wear glasses when driving (that went into the "not possible" folder).There was another Middle East woman who wanted to paint her car the same shade as her favourite nail polish. The problem was she would not part with the bottle (one of the Bentley execs got her to paint his nails so he could show the techs back home).Or there was the Dualit food blender that turned up in the post one morning. Puzzled craftsmen phoned the customer, who explained he wanted his car painted the same shade of powder blue.If it's legal and it's do-able, then we'll tryOr how about the man who wanted to incorporate the wood from a tree on his property or the woman who sent some flower petals in the mail and wanted the colour matched?"The paint guys deserve a medal for that one," says Holzgartner. "If it's legal and it's do-able, then we'll try."Surprisingly, the one thing Bentley won't come at is gold plating, simply because the precious metal doesn't wear very well — but the paint shop is experimenting with new finishes, such as rose gold.Described as the world's fastest ultra-luxury driving experience, the Mulsanne is a big — 5.6 metres, 2.7 tonnes — twin turbo V8 sedan.The Speed version is a step up again, with more power and torque, faster acceleration and an even higher top speed.Its 7.0-litre V8 produces 395kW of power and a massive 1100Nm of torque, the latter from just 1750rpm.The combo is capable of catapulting the land yacht from 0-100km/h in a mere 4.9 secs and on to 305km/h.Despite the expense, Bentley sold more than 10,000 cars worldwide last year, 135 in Australia — 87 coupes and 48 of the larger sedans.The new Speed is expected here soon.

We turn the spotlight on the car world's newest and brightest stars as we ask the questions to which you want the answers. But there's only one question that really needs answering would you buy one? What is it? The design has stood the test of time and it is still fourth in its segment The Suzuki Swift needs no

The electric dream is fast turning into a nightmare - Australian sales of electric vehicles have dwindled to a trickle.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the 2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed at its international launch.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Subaru Forester diesel with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the 2015 BMW i3 BEV with specs, fuel economy and verdict.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Suzuki Celerio with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Subaru Liberty with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Current owner, military vehicle dealer Nick Mead, wants £25,000 for the bus and plans to list it on eBay."It's a unique piece of social and political history," Mr Mead said."It's still in working order and, although it's not exactly looking its best these days, someone who wanted to would be able to restore it to a good standard pretty easily."I bought it in 2012 because it was a fascinating vehicle but it's big, ugly and it's in the way now so I'm keen to send it to a good home. Given the American fascination with Maggie Thatcher, it may sell well over there but I'd prefer for it to stay in the UK.The windows are made of 50mm thick, bullet-proof glass"The bus is just as it was in period; we even found a ladies' umbrella on board – whether it's Margaret Thatcher's or not I don't know but we like to think it might be."The bus was built by military vehicle specialist Glover Webb and is based on Foden running gear.The 60cm thick, honeycomb macrolite floor is capable of withstanding a landmine blastIt is powered by a 12-litre, supercharged V12 Rolls Royce diesel engine that can propel the coach to a top speed of 130km/h.The windows are made of 50mm thick, bullet-proof glass, while the 60cm thick, honeycomb macrolite floor is capable of withstanding a landmine blast.With seating for 36 people and space at the rear for an office desk, the coach even had its own auxiliary, roof-mounted motor that could pump clean, carbonised air to the sealed cabin in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon being deployed.With just 22,000km on the clock, the bus was used to ferry passengers on the dangerous Derry Airport – Belfast route during the 1980s.It was also previously owned by the Met Police, used as transport for the Royal Marines band and as a viewing platform at a Ministry of Defence research facility.