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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Whether you see it as the best thing that ever happened to the SUV or the worst moment in Bentley’s long and storied existence, the Bentayga marks a significant change in the way this ultra-premium British brand goes about business. Up until this year it’s solely been in the car game, but we’ve seen this saga play out so many times now we shouldn’t be at all surprised when yet another classic marque seemingly sells its soul for profit. Let’s never forget these companies are mostly subsidiaries of much larger multinationals and therefore tradition is only sacrosanct
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
When premium SUVs initially entered the picture at the end of the ’90s certain brand fans cried foul, not so much those that admired Lexus’ dependability but rather those who revered BMW’s performance. Enthusiasts couldn’t understand why the Bavarian carmaker needed an X5 when it already owned Land Rover, but within a year that blue and white roundel-badged SUV singlehandedly outsold all the British brand’s models combined and the rest, including LR’s future sale to Ford and then Tata in a bundle with Jaguar, is history. On that note a similar scenario
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
There’s a positive spin on all this that even SUV-haters will appreciate. SUV profits pay for some pretty awesome sports cars that might never have seen light otherwise. In BMW’s case we can look to the beautiful Z8 and new i8, while Porsche’s Cayenne funded the sensational Carrera GT and new 918 Spyder. No doubt strong Bentayga sales freed Bentley Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Durheimer to heavily hint at a production version of the gorgeous two-seat EXP 10 Speed
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I suppose I should lend a little insight into the name Bentayga now that I’ve waxed on about the Barnato. Being that Bentley has zero historical references to pull from for its first-ever SUV (other than a Continental GT Speed that Top Speed’s James May and Kris Meeke took through a rally stage in Wales a few years ago), the powers that be in Crewe reportedly created a name by combining the
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Steep mountains and vast tracks of open wilderness are likely what Bentley had in mind, and the Bentayga appears to be capable of great feats of off-road prowess. It’s based on well-proven Volkswagen Tiguan and Porsche Cayenne underpinnings after
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
My time spent with the world’s most premium SUV was limited to two on-road stints, one purely about the drive that occurred during a particularly nasty downpour,
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
There’s no shortage of chrome up front, while this particular example featured the Bentley Styling Specification and was therefore upgraded with a stunning carbon fibre air splitter below, CFRP half shells on mirror caps, and the same lightweight material used for the rear rooftop spoiler. By this point I expected to see more CFRP
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The Bentayga’s outward design is bold in the true sense of the overused word, yet there’s a certain elegance to this mammoth hulk of an SUV as well, especially the way the classic Bentley grille melds into the sculpted hood’s distinctively tapering domed lines, and how the full-LED quad headlamps gently curve overtop the gracefully shaped front fenders, these latter items attractively accented with Bentley’s now trademark stylized “B” engine vents just ahead of each front door. Moving rearward a lovely fender line begins down by the rockers before bending upward around each wheel cutout, after which it fades away where the liftgate integrated
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
As one would expect the cabin is beautifully detailed, with almost every surface covered in the highest quality of contrast-stitched leathers. While my first loaner was fitted with Dark Stained Burr Walnut, my second featured Piano Black lacquered hardwood, but keep in mind near limitless trims, interior colour combos and exterior paint finishes are available. The flashier red interior contrasted the black
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Some of my favourite elements were the optional “naim for Bentley” speaker grilles, albeit more for the system’s superbly crafted sound than the sharply dressed metal covers. A total of 20 speakers include two super tweeters, nine mid-range/tweeter combos, four advanced bass speakers, a 300-watt self-powered sub and others, not to mention active bass transducers (seat shakers), all powered by 1,920 watts and 21 channels of audiophile bliss, resulting in the widest frequency range ever produced in a vehicle. Of course you can control it via steering wheel switchgear, some of this even made from knurled metal,
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Speaking of upscale detailing, the Bentayga’s climate control interface is exquisitely finished with large rotating dials integrating digital readouts at centre for setting and monitoring temperatures. Just above is Bentley’s latest infotainment system sourced from VW AG, which is a very good thing because Volkswagen now offers one of the best of its type available. It comes complete with a high resolution eight-inch colour touchscreen that includes tablet-style tap, pinch and swipe capability, as well as proximity-sensing controls that pop up at the
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
As you can imagine some of the Bentayga’s cabin finery is completely over the top, with as yet unmentioned highlights being its substantive metal paddle shifters, my first tester’s optional knurled metal shift knob, the big circular metal vents across the instrument panel, the polished metal organ stops used to control them, and the wonderfully discrete black-faced Breitling electric clock at dash central. Of note, that’s an option, as is an exquisitely handcrafted white-faced Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon dash clock available for a cool £110,000 sterling, which converted to $183,270 CAD at the time of writing. Those into horology will probably agree it’s worth every penny, other than the famed Watch Snob who says he’d rather “quit this mortal world” than wear a Breitling. That was before modern-day Breitling (now owned by Swatch
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Fanciful as it may be, the Bentayga is downright utilitarian in comparison, which is exactly how an SUV should be. Its front seating area, filled with available 22-way powered perches, is spacious and superbly supportive in all the right ways, while the second row of my five-seat example was commodious for what is essentially a large mid-size sport utility by North American
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Such is for the owner who wants to be driven, not most Canadians who prefer to chart their own course. Then again I’ve driven in populous Asian and South American cities, not to mention New York City and Los Angeles, and therefore can appreciate the need for a good driver in order to arrive at one’s destination refreshed and get something done along the way, as well as the benefit of an SUV to overcome ridiculously deep driveway entrances or travel on a road’s shoulder while skirting around slower moving traffic that almost always hogs the centre lanes.
Here
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
All of that power is kept in check via much of the Audi Q7’s rolling hardware as well
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Speaking of tracks, a handy cargo tie-down track system was added to my loaner’s beautifully detailed fully carpeted cargo hold, an area that measures 484 litres (17.1 cubic feet) behind the 40/20/40-split rear seatbacks and under the retractable cargo cover, or 590 litres (20.8 cubic feet) with that cover retracted, and a substantive 1,774 litres (62.6 cubic feet) with the rear seats folded flat.
It’s here on the cargo floor where you’ll find my only niggling complaint, the rather lazy inclusion of the Q7’s (and lesser Audis) sturdy albeit utterly common matte
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
As you might expect the Bentayga is nicely equipped in its most basic form, featuring 20-inch alloys, an air suspension with continuous damping and four height settings, LED headlights with adaptive cornering and auto high beams, self-synching soft close doors, a powered liftgate, a full-leather interior with a choice of veneers, heated and cooled front seats plus heatable rear seats, an eight-inch touchscreen with a 60-gig hard drive, voice activation, navigation, a backup camera, text-to-speech, SD card slots, 4G Wi-Fi connectivity, a panoramic tilt
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The fact is, on-road performance aside, which is truly breathtaking, the Bentayga isn’t $294,941.50 better than that Range Rover Autobiography, as just noted when comparing the rear cargo floor handle. Even the quality of some of Bentley’s plastic switchgear doesn’t quite measure up to its exceptionally good competitor and some other premium SUVs. Don’t get me wrong as the
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
It is exclusive, mind you, that price making sure of it, and along with that tourbillon dash clock it’s the only SUV available with a $33,000 picnic set. The price paid for prestige has always been difficult to comprehend for the working class, but the fact that the Bentayga was already mostly sold out by the time I got to drive one is clear indication that plenty of folks think it delivers good value.
When you factor in how it’s built the Bentayga’s character begins to sink in. Like all Bentleys, most everything is handcrafted which means a Bentayga takes roughly eight times the labour to produce than the average vehicle, or 130 hours in total.
It’s
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Until then we can expect a turbocharged V8-powered Bentayga with a more approachable price point next year, plus a plug-in hybrid variant that improves on the current W12 model’s 18.8 L/100km city and 12.2 highway rating sometime thereafter.
These are exciting times for Bentley and its many ardent fans, and while the brand will never be seen in quite the same light after introducing an SUV, most will define this as a positive.
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