Elite Traveler January-February 2016

INSPIRE ROAD TRIPS

elite traveler JAN/FEB 2016 110

Top: The Atacama Desert, made for roof-down driving Above: Readers' second favorite car brand, Land Rover Above left: Taking the Bentley Continental GT for a spin on Trollstigen Road, Norway

THE MOST POPULAR CARS Elite Traveler readers are big on luxurious comfort, judging by the selection of cars they made. The clear winner was Bentley, picked by more than one in 10 of readers. While the firm claims its Continental GT Speed Convertible (its most powerful soft-top) offers the chance to “no longer be an observer of the passing landscape, but be a part of it”, all of this happens in an environment of supreme luxury. But with more Bentley fans opting to drive in Ireland (along the beautiful Wild Atlantic Way) than anywhere else, the weather may mean there aren’t too many chances to take the roof down. Another element of any long road trip alongside comfort (especially if you’re driving from one end of the Americas to the other) is being prepared for anything. Here, it was obvious that the tremendous go-anywhere capability (and comfort) of a Range Rover was an obvious pick for many.

roads where you won’t be in a perpetual traffic jam of RVs) there's no need to pass up the all-important creature comforts. It's possible to drive it in a day, but it's better to take your time and the justifiably famous Post Ranch Inn offers a staggeringly good place to hole up for a day or two, its private houses offering the kind of Pacific views that never wear out. Big Sur is one of the best-known and loved stretches of Highway 1, also known as the Pan- American Highway, running from one tip of the Americas to the other. Including those who opted for Big Sur, the Pan-American Highway accounted for a third of all responses, with plenty brave enough to want to take it from one end to the other. A similar number voted to get their kicks on Route 66, while just under 10% opted for Ocean Drive along Oregon's coast and the impressive Grand Tour across the Alps on the stunningly scenic route from Switzerland to Italy.

THE EDITOR’S PICK… Perhaps it’s the power of nostalgia, but despite having motored along many of the great American highways and across Europe to Italy this summer, my favorite road trip is a tour of Australia undertaken in a barely serviceable Ford Falcon station wagon. The route took in the impressive Great Ocean

THE TOP FIVE DRIVES 1. Big Sur 2. Pan-American Highway (Highway 1) 3. Route 66 4. The Grand Tour 5. Ocean Drive

THE TOP 10 CAR BRANDS 1. Bentley 2. Land Rover 3. Mercedes-Benz 4. Porsche 5. Aston Martin

Road as well as a drive across the Nullarbor Plain. Given a choice of car now, the romantic would suggest a classic Lamborghini Miura, and the curious new hybrid hypercar (McLaren's P1, a Porsche 918 or Ferrari LaFerrari), but there’s also a part of me that wouldn’t want to replace that old Ford Falcon for anything.

6. Ferrari 7. BMW 8. Rolls-Royce

9. Jaguar 10. Acura

Photos: Getty Images