Bentley Bentayga EWB review

Bentley also says the car is so changed relative to the standard Bentayga that it deserves to be considered a new model line in its own right. It doesn’t: it’s a long wheelbase Bentayga, no more or less, but it does nevertheless allow Bentley’s SUV to do something the company has not been able to manage ever since it canned the Mulsanne, namely provide Rolls-Royce with something to think about. Because for the first time, the Bentayga now has a rear cabin of approximately similar dimensions to those of the Cullinan.

And its importance to Bentley is clear, because from now on it estimates that 45 per cent of all Bentayga sales will be long wheelbase cars. And as the Bentayga already accounts for 40 per cent of all Bentley sales, that means nearly one in every five Bentleys sold from now on will be these EWB models.

The disappointment to me is that they didn’t give this treatment to the Flying Spur. Bentley’s saloon is the best car it makes, the one that feels most true to the brand’s values and I think a limousine version could actually have made a credible replacement for the much missed Mulsanne. There are those at Bentley who’d have liked to have done it too, but the Spur is Bentley’s slowest selling model and it lives in a sector that is shrinking, so the Bentayga got the nod and you can’t blame any car manufacturer for building the cars its customers want.

Bentley says that over 2500 component changes were required to turn the Bentayga into the Bentayga EWB, but the one that most immediately grabs the eye is the price: UK pricing has not yet been confirmed, but if there’s much change from £25,000 on top of the £162,500 price of the standard Bentayga V8, I’d be surprised. It’s a lot to pay for some additional rear leg room even if four-wheel steering is included as standard with the package.

There are three rear seat configurations, a standard three-seat bench, a 2+1 arrangement relegating the centre seat to an occasional role and, for those wanting the ultimate experience – and you almost certainly will – those ‘airline’ seats, costing an additional £8000. For that not only will they move in no fewer than 22 directions, but also monitor your body temperature and apply heating or cooling as required to keep you within your preferred thermal window, while gently prodding you across six distinct body zones to help keep you fresh.

And while it’s not nearly as exciting as an Aston Martin DBX707, nor so fine riding as the aforementioned Cullinan, nor close to as cool as the new Range Rover, Bentley’s claim that it is the most broadly capable car at least in this category is hard to refute. It’s fast enough, sounds suitably stirring with V8 power – a V6 hybrid will be added soon – and handles its additional 100kg heft so well I’d defy anyone to tell the difference, and you can thank the four-wheel steering for that.

The interior quality remains outstanding and even the car’s appearance, which the stretch to the wheelbase visually lowers, imparts a grace and sleekness that’s as hard to see in photographs as it is easy to see in the flesh.

Cynics would call it a Jack of all Trades but is that not surely the point of all ‘lifestyle’ SUVs? None is as quiet, comfortable, fast, deft or attractive as if realised in saloon form. The Bentayga EWB is not the fastest, best handling or most stylish of its competitor set but, yes, it is the most broadly capable and in this category, that is a powerful argument. Seven years post launch, Bentley’s once ugly and flawed SUV just keeps getting better.

And once the massively powerful V8 hybrid Bentley won’t talk about comes along to replace the old W12, I expect it’s going to get better still.