Luxury brand finds holy grail with refined first diesel engine
INTERVIEW
At the end of 2016, we were offered the opportunity to drive the Bentley Bentayga diesel, the first diesel model in the company’s almost 100-year history.
It is an impressive first attempt for the brand and many manufacturers can take a leaf from this model’s engine refinement book.
To get some insight into the Bentayga, we had a chat with the man behind the model’s existence, Peter Guest, product line director for the range.
REFINEMENT
According to Guest, one of the provisos for the diesel model was that it had to meet all the refinement and performance requirements of the company and, to that end, they have done a superb job. The engine is the holy grail of what diesel engines can achieve — it is super smooth and decidedly responsive.
To ensure the engine and its ancillaries can withstand the most demanding driving conditions, Guest says the test mule was driven off-road in China’s most treacherous terrain, then on to the Arctic circle where temperatures dipped to -40°C.
For hot-weather testing, the crew, using the same vehicle, took it to the Red Dune in Dubai where ambient temperatures can easily reach 50°C in the height of summer.
The gradient and angle of the dune requires the vehicle to be driven in first gear, under full power, says Guest, a good barometer for the effectiveness of engine and componentry cooling under such conditions.
He says the brief was that the model had to meet on-road and off-road performance, while providing the luxury and comfort of a GT car, which he says they have achieved with the Bentayga.
We took the model on an offroad section along the launch route in Spain, which included scaling some muddy and rocky sections, and the vehicle simply took it in its stride. “We have done a considerable job of making the vehicle capable on any terrain as there is simply no compromise with this vehicle,” says Guest.
“We have a vehicle that is equally capable on and off-road all the while boasting all the comfort and luxury that our GT customers have come to appreciate of our vehicles,” he says.
Having driven the model on and off-road at the launch, there was little in the way of criticism. It is easy to use with everything clearly laid out and the finishes should be truly appealing to the most discerning of buyers. I spent quite some time in this vehicle, front and rear, and I was impressed with the exacting finishes, the plush materials and the sense of special occasion it imparts to the lucky occupants.
Guest says a great deal of attention was paid in the way the vehicle rides over any surface, and this is where the 48V antiroll bar comes in, which happens to be standard in the W12 and optional on the diesel variant. It allows each wheel to move independently and react to impending road surface changes. This gives the vehicle a cosseting ride quality that even belies the 21-inch alloy wheels shod onto the launch cars.
Flipping the drive mode to sport not only lowers the vehicle, but also stiffens the anti-roll bar to give the vehicle an almost flat cornering ability that should not be possible in a model weighing more than 2.2 tonnes.
Thankfully, it is also extensively constructed using aluminium, which Guest says was crucial in reducing as much of the weight as possible to make the car one of, if not the, lightest model in its segment.
DYNAMIC HANDLING
We have driven the Audi Q7, which shares the MLB platform with Bentayga, and it left us impressed with its dynamic handling. The Bentayga feels even better planted to the tarmac, something Guest is proud of and attributes to the anti-roll bar, which sets the benchmark among its peers.
“We have managed to create a vehicle that has few, if any, drawbacks and we are proud of what we have achieved with the Bentayga,” says Guest. Having driven the vehicle, I don’t think it’s good — it’s exceptional.
FLIPPING THE DRIVE MODE TO SPORT NOT ONLY LOWERS THE VEHICLE, BUT ALSO STIFFENS THE ANTI-ROLL BAR