Bentley Bentayga review

The pinnacle of Bentley luxury, since the demise of the wonderful old Mulsanne a few years back. Yes, that’s right, the most sumptuous Bentley you can buy is no longer a majestic saloon, but an SUV. With a tailgate. The kind that encourages you to put luggage into the car yourself, god forbid. It arrived back in 2015 and was facelifted in 2020, which helped tone down the awkward looks of the first gen car. More than that, there were 1,000 new components.

What are the highlights?

At the facelift a 20mm increase in the rear track improved the Bentayga’s stance while neatening its handling, there were new alloy wheel designs and spangly new headlights that use cut-crystal to make them sparkle even when they’re not lit. When they are, their intensity changes with the speed you’re driving to avoid dazzling other road users while still illuminating secluded country lanes.

In 2022 Bentley released the EWB – Extended Wheelbase – version, stretched by 180mm and boasting four wheel-steering to at least attempt to make its 5.3-metre long body wieldy in urban areas. The space was all added to the rear compartment, putting the focus on passenger comfort.

More recently, and in keeping with the Bentayga’s status as Bentley’s flagship, a Mulliner version has landed. Mulliner is Bentley’s special commission department, tracing its coachbuilding origins back hundreds of years. Normally you go to them with whatever desires you have, but here they’ve curated (hate that word) a whole model with everything from self-levelling wheel badges, a unique double diamond grille, LEDs that shine through the perforated leather that’s been treated with organic olive oil tanning and the Airline Seats. Check it out for yourself in the gallery above. Much wellness on offer here for your £254,000.

Quarter of a million quid?! At least you get a 12 cylinder engine…

Not necessarily a quarter of a million quid – we’ll deal with the price lower down. But unfortunately definitely not 12 cylinders anymore. The W12 has now disappeared from Bentley’s entire model range, so all Bentaygas make do with a 4.0-litre 542bhp twin turbo V8, or a six cylinder 456bhp hybrid. V8 only for the EWB.

In time we’d expect the Bentayga to gain the new 771bhp V8 hybrid as fitted to the latest Conti GT. It’s a much better powerplant than the existing hybrid which is a bit of a lame duck (find out more in the Driving tab). Sad to bid farewell to the W12, but global CO2 issues aren’t going anywhere. And it isn’t the first engine to have a short life in the Bentayga… remember the V8 diesel?!

Why is the Bentayga such a big deal?

The Bentayga is a deeply important car, and not just for the couple of thousand people its manufacture employs in northwest England. It makes up half of Bentley’s sales, while 70 per cent of Bentayga buyers are new to the marque. And, we’d imagine, a lot younger than the Bentley norm.

In fact, it accounts for over a third of the ‘luxury SUV’ sector that also includes the Aston Martin DBX, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and of course the Range Rover.  The ‘luxury’ half of its equation is more pertinent than ever now the Bentley Mulsanne is dead, too. Suddenly the Bentayga SUV and Flying Spur saloon have an extra job on their hands, together attempting to fill the literally vast void the venerable old limo leaves behind.

Can I have it with seven seats?

You can have the regular Bentayga as a seven-seater (rugby practice one-upmanship gets no bolder), but the EWB is focused on luggs-ury, so no boot-based chairs there. Instead you’ll want it with four seats (an extra three grand over the standard five seats) and ideally the Airline Seat Specification: footrests, extended lounging capability, picnic tables and the rest for £8,645. Bentley expects most EWB models – which start at £211,300 – to be specced close to £300,000.

What does a regular Bentayga cost?

About £50,000 less, starting at £169,000. Although with the EWB you’re not merely paying more for the extra legroom, but a lift in standard equipment, too. Pricey to buy, pricey to run. Bear this in mind when they hit the second hand market, where the old adage ‘if you can’t afford to buy it new, you can’t afford to run it used’ has probably never rung truer. More on that in the Buying tab.

Nevertheless, tumbling residuals haven’t prevented Bentley selling more topline options than ever before. Mulliner’s luxury work saw 43 per cent growth from 2022-2023, with 75 per cent of Bentleys now leaving the factory with some sort of Mulliner personalisation.

What’s it like to drive?

We shouldn’t have to point this out, but the Bentayga is not a sports SUV. Instead it’s a big, luxurious, very nicely upholstered and trimmed heavyweight SUV. Although it’s come in for criticism, the Bentayga feels a natural brand extension of a firm that’s always built big, heavyweight, sturdy cars.

Roll-control technology has made it very capable around corners, but this is still not an SUV that likes to be hustled. The big lad will put his hands on his knees and wheeze at the end of a good road. But cosseting, hushed, smooth riding and cushioned, it makes you feel safe and secure in a way not much else can match.

This or a Rolls Cullinan?

Wrong question. Well depending on your standpoint. The Cullinan has disappeared even further down the Get Someone Else To Drive path than the Bentayga. In the market to be chauffeured? The Cullinan is for you. Want to really drive? Newly facelifted Aston DBX 707. Accept no substitute. Want to waft about in peerless comfort? It’s this or a Range Rover. Buy this for craftsmanship, material excellence and build quality, but the Range Rover… well, that’s a genuinely brilliant all-rounder.

One more thing. It used to be a truism that if you drove a stretched saloon yourself, you looked like the chauffeur. Not in a stretched SUV you don’t. An EWB Bentayga doesn’t look ungainly, it actually looks better than the regular one.

The Bentayga covers a huge amount of ground for Bentley. As well as being the perceived flagship, it’s also, oddly, the entry-level model thanks to a cheaper starting price than either the Conti GT or Flying Spur. No matter which version you go for, you get incredible build quality, engineering depth and a sense of unburstable robustness and solidity. The luxury is just built on top of those foundations.

And what luxury. You buy a Bentley for the way it makes you feel, for the pleasure you get from its more old fashioned elements: the wood, metal, leather, paint, knurling, stitching. The craftsmanship, in other words. Ultimately we don’t think it’s quite as bespoke and beautifully finished as a Continental GT coupe or Flying Spur saloon – the more generic SUV bodywork, the fact it has a boot automatically means it’s a less special-feeling car.

But Bentley’s brand values are well matched to the SUV. Bentleys have always been heavy, stately, solid cars. This one follows the theme. And besides it’s not trying to be sporty or defy physics, just be a high-rise luxury car. It does that very well. Whether you’re experiencing it from the front or back seats.