Most people will never know how good the Bentayga is off-road. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
BACK in the mid 2000s Jaguar released a diesel version of the S-Type, a 2.7l Peugeot-sourced unit that was by any measure a good piece of kit — torquey, smooth, quiet and efficient by the standards of the day.
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the whole idea of a diesel Jag just needed a few years to percolate through the layered years of sedimentary prejudice in one’s mind. It seemed odd. Wrong, even. Now, of course, it seems obvious.
The same incredulity greeted the arrival of the Porsche Cayenne in 2002. Had they lost their minds, many wondered? The answer came soon enough — the Cayenne soon made up half of the Stuttgart manufacturer’s volume.
And so, then, to the Bentley Bentayga. It’s worth mulling these historical facts before considering the car in front of you. Many have said that it isn’t a pretty car. Many have asked what on earth Bentley is playing at with such a thing.
I’m here to tell you that what Bentley is doing will probably be the single most successful project in the marque’s history.
Over the coming years more than half of all cars sold will be some kind of SUV, 4x4 or crossover. Bentley has spotted a gap, a gap that exists at rarer altitudes than those occupied by today’s smart SUVs. For those in the market for a luxury SUV there has until now existed a ceiling — probably a top-end Range Rover Autobiography at about R2.3m depending on how you’ve specced it. The Bentayga blasts through that ceiling.
It does so on several levels, not least probably price. The question is whether this is a "proper Bentley", an idea that needs defining if we’re going to establish the answer.
Bentleys, for example, aren’t necessarily supposed to be pretty. They most certainly are imposing and impressive. The Bentayga is an enormously impressive car in the flesh. The "superforming" tech that Bentley uses to cast (as opposed to stamping) its body panels results in the sharpest creases in the automotive world, as well as millimetre-perfect panel gaps and shut lines. The detail of the design will either appeal or not, but the two-box SUV profile is to my mind as good as it gets. It certainly owns the road like a Bentley should.
Stepping up into the car immediately dispels any questions about the honesty of Bentley’s intent. This is without question a fully-loaded hyper-luxury car, with all the interior signatures you’d expect. Explaining what it’s like inside is a bit of a mug’s game, because every car can be tailored to the buyer’s wishes and delivered by Bentley’s in-house specialists Mulliner. On the launch in California I drove a car pared back to piano black severity, as well as other light-toned interiors wrapped with classic Bentley wood veneers, something the firm specialises in. The seats are wrapped in harlequin-stitched leather inspired by the kind of hunting attire worn by the grouse and pheasant hunters of the British aristocracy.
The tech is all absolutely up to date. There’s a good, simple-to-operate eight-inch satnav system and touchscreen up front, with a large, clear heads-up display and a digital screen on the dashboard that can be programmed to display the information you require. That sits between two frankly rather beautiful analogue dials for revs and speed, a nod to the Bentley buyer’s likely love of the artistry of the chronograph.
Passengers in the back get two options — the five-seat car aimed more squarely at families, or the four-seater, which comes with two individually adjustable seats with reclining and hugely effective massaging functions. You also get a detachable screen/tablet with pumping 4G WiFi connectivity, from which you can control audio and climate settings. That stereo is a serious 18-speaker Naim-for-Bentley affair, coming in at 1,800W and 18 channels. Your choice in music is personal, but Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir on this thing would be approaching a religious experience.
The next job of a Bentley is to be quick, and good to hustle down an imperfect sweeping road. We’re not talking about Porsche-worrying pinpoint sportscar accuracy here, but well engineered, pointable, powerful cars for the real world, GT cars that will devour a continent in comfort, style and real pace.
This is where the Bentayga overdelivers on a promise I’m not sure we all really believed would be possible — the promise that has until now come standard with the badge. Because the Bentayga is a storming good drive, sticking its impressive snout deep into the world of rank disbelief.
Bentley made a great deal of noise about its new Bentley Dynamic Ride and, specifically, its 48V active roll control technology. Frankly, the people who developed this deserve a knighthood. The ride and handling on this car is — by a very great distance — the best I’ve experienced in an SUV. It is as cosseting as you’d expect from a Bentley, and yet is flat and assured when pressing on through corners.
It is supremely assured, effortlessly quick and all the while delivering more grip and heft than you can really believe.
You can choose between Comfort, which is great on dirt and a tad wallowy on tar, Bentley, which is a default everyday setting favoured by Bentley’s engineers, and Sport, which stiffens everything up and slips the gearbox into a more aggressive, usefully sporting frame of mind when the road becomes twisty and you want more instant responses, a firmer ride and chatty feedback through the steering.
That chassis also has to cope with a brave new world for Bentley — off-road. The folks at the company didn’t mess around, providing a specifically built off-road course that showed the car as being capable far beyond the likely requirements of an owner. The kind of SUV work the car is more likely to do — towing a yacht up a slipway, a horsebox off a wet paddock or parking on wet grass at the polo is the kind of thing it will do with ease. We even went dune driving in a desert near the Mexican border, drifting sideways through the sand while riding that titanic wave of torque with a grin from ear to ear.
All of which leaves one final test. A Bentley must always be quick — properly seriously quick, the kind of quick that disposes of the GTi-driving classes with disdainful ease. The Bentayga comes with an all-new 6l turbocharged W12 that produces 447kW and 900Nm of torque from a contemptuous 1,250r/min. It will demolish a 0-100km/h sprint in 4.1 seconds, and only then does it get into its stride. It’s staggeringly quick, and as quiet as a library at speeds in excess of 180km/h. The Bentayga will go all the way to 301km/h, space allowing.
Much nonsense will be said. They will say that it’s an Audi Q7 in a frock, and they will be wrong, because 80% of this car is Bentley bespoke. They will say it’s a folly, and they’ll be proved wrong when the sales figures come in.
Because this is a rare, splendid car; a dyed-in-the-wool bespoke Bentley, unflinchingly loyal to every hallmark of what makes a Bentley, and a cleverly thought out modern interpretation of that idea. I absolutely loved it.
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The Bentley facade is unmistakeable and imposing. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
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The luxurious interior is entirely bespoke. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
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The rear has echoes of the old Arnage about it. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
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The seats are inspired by the hunting attire of aristocrats. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
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Most people will never know how good the Bentayga is off-road. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
Most people will never know how good the Bentayga is off-road. Pictures: NICK DIMBLEBY, ALEX PARKER
BACK in the mid 2000s Jaguar released a diesel version of the S-Type, a 2.7l Peugeot-sourced unit that was by any measure a good piece of kit — torquey, smooth, quiet and efficient by the standards of the day.
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the whole idea of a diesel Jag just needed a few years to percolate through the layered years of sedimentary prejudice in one’s mind. It seemed odd. Wrong, even. Now, of course, it seems obvious.
The same incredulity greeted the arrival of the Porsche Cayenne in 2002. Had they lost their minds, many wondered? The answer came soon enough — the Cayenne soon made up half of the Stuttgart manufacturer’s volume.
And so, then, to the Bentley Bentayga. It’s worth mulling these historical facts before considering the car in front of you. Many have said that it isn’t a pretty car. Many have asked what on earth Bentley is playing at with such a thing.
I’m here to tell you that what Bentley is doing will probably be the single most successful project in the marque’s history.
Over the coming years more than half of all cars sold will be some kind of SUV, 4x4 or crossover. Bentley has spotted a gap, a gap that exists at rarer altitudes than those occupied by today’s smart SUVs. For those in the market for a luxury SUV there has until now existed a ceiling — probably a top-end Range Rover Autobiography at about R2.3m depending on how you’ve specced it. The Bentayga blasts through that ceiling.
It does so on several levels, not least probably price. The question is whether this is a "proper Bentley", an idea that needs defining if we’re going to establish the answer.
Bentleys, for example, aren’t necessarily supposed to be pretty. They most certainly are imposing and impressive. The Bentayga is an enormously impressive car in the flesh. The "superforming" tech that Bentley uses to cast (as opposed to stamping) its body panels results in the sharpest creases in the automotive world, as well as millimetre-perfect panel gaps and shut lines. The detail of the design will either appeal or not, but the two-box SUV profile is to my mind as good as it gets. It certainly owns the road like a Bentley should.
Stepping up into the car immediately dispels any questions about the honesty of Bentley’s intent. This is without question a fully-loaded hyper-luxury car, with all the interior signatures you’d expect. Explaining what it’s like inside is a bit of a mug’s game, because every car can be tailored to the buyer’s wishes and delivered by Bentley’s in-house specialists Mulliner. On the launch in California I drove a car pared back to piano black severity, as well as other light-toned interiors wrapped with classic Bentley wood veneers, something the firm specialises in. The seats are wrapped in harlequin-stitched leather inspired by the kind of hunting attire worn by the grouse and pheasant hunters of the British aristocracy.
The tech is all absolutely up to date. There’s a good, simple-to-operate eight-inch satnav system and touchscreen up front, with a large, clear heads-up display and a digital screen on the dashboard that can be programmed to display the information you require. That sits between two frankly rather beautiful analogue dials for revs and speed, a nod to the Bentley buyer’s likely love of the artistry of the chronograph.
Passengers in the back get two options — the five-seat car aimed more squarely at families, or the four-seater, which comes with two individually adjustable seats with reclining and hugely effective massaging functions. You also get a detachable screen/tablet with pumping 4G WiFi connectivity, from which you can control audio and climate settings. That stereo is a serious 18-speaker Naim-for-Bentley affair, coming in at 1,800W and 18 channels. Your choice in music is personal, but Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir on this thing would be approaching a religious experience.
The next job of a Bentley is to be quick, and good to hustle down an imperfect sweeping road. We’re not talking about Porsche-worrying pinpoint sportscar accuracy here, but well engineered, pointable, powerful cars for the real world, GT cars that will devour a continent in comfort, style and real pace.
This is where the Bentayga overdelivers on a promise I’m not sure we all really believed would be possible — the promise that has until now come standard with the badge. Because the Bentayga is a storming good drive, sticking its impressive snout deep into the world of rank disbelief.
Bentley made a great deal of noise about its new Bentley Dynamic Ride and, specifically, its 48V active roll control technology. Frankly, the people who developed this deserve a knighthood. The ride and handling on this car is — by a very great distance — the best I’ve experienced in an SUV. It is as cosseting as you’d expect from a Bentley, and yet is flat and assured when pressing on through corners.
It is supremely assured, effortlessly quick and all the while delivering more grip and heft than you can really believe.
You can choose between Comfort, which is great on dirt and a tad wallowy on tar, Bentley, which is a default everyday setting favoured by Bentley’s engineers, and Sport, which stiffens everything up and slips the gearbox into a more aggressive, usefully sporting frame of mind when the road becomes twisty and you want more instant responses, a firmer ride and chatty feedback through the steering.
That chassis also has to cope with a brave new world for Bentley — off-road. The folks at the company didn’t mess around, providing a specifically built off-road course that showed the car as being capable far beyond the likely requirements of an owner. The kind of SUV work the car is more likely to do — towing a yacht up a slipway, a horsebox off a wet paddock or parking on wet grass at the polo is the kind of thing it will do with ease. We even went dune driving in a desert near the Mexican border, drifting sideways through the sand while riding that titanic wave of torque with a grin from ear to ear.
All of which leaves one final test. A Bentley must always be quick — properly seriously quick, the kind of quick that disposes of the GTi-driving classes with disdainful ease. The Bentayga comes with an all-new 6l turbocharged W12 that produces 447kW and 900Nm of torque from a contemptuous 1,250r/min. It will demolish a 0-100km/h sprint in 4.1 seconds, and only then does it get into its stride. It’s staggeringly quick, and as quiet as a library at speeds in excess of 180km/h. The Bentayga will go all the way to 301km/h, space allowing.
Much nonsense will be said. They will say that it’s an Audi Q7 in a frock, and they will be wrong, because 80% of this car is Bentley bespoke. They will say it’s a folly, and they’ll be proved wrong when the sales figures come in.
Because this is a rare, splendid car; a dyed-in-the-wool bespoke Bentley, unflinchingly loyal to every hallmark of what makes a Bentley, and a cleverly thought out modern interpretation of that idea. I absolutely loved it.
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