DIESEL BENTAYGA

FIRST UK DRIVE Is this diesel SUV the most contentious Bentley ever built?

Can diesel power do justice to the Bentley driving experience?

A Two-and-a-half tonne Bentley with a V8 engine that’s capable of over 35mpg? That’s from the land of fantasy, right? In fact that’s reality, as we’ve driven Bentley’s first diesel model in the UK – the Bentayga Diesel.

While the idea of an oil-burning Bentley may raise eyebrows, there are good reasons for buying one. Customers who chose the petrol W12 are unlikely to worry that it barely musters 20mpg, nor are many likely to be interested in the diesel’s lower emissions. No, this car’s real selling point is that it’ll manage nearly 600 miles on a tank of fuel.

Compare that to the W12, which might scrape 350 miles, and you can see the allure. It means you’ll only have to deal with the undignified affair of refuelling twice on a journey to and from your ski chalet in the Alps, rather than four times in the W12.

For those who are still sceptical, take a look at the car’s figures. It uses a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a 48V electric compressor to deliver 429bhp. More importantly, there’s a whopping 900Nm of torque on tap from just 1,000rpm, and the engine is mated to an eight-speed auto with four-wheel drive.

If that sounds like the same engine found in the Audi SQ7, that’s because it is. However, Bentley’s engineers claim it has been heavily reworked for the Bentayga, with more emphasis placed on refinement. It’s easily the smoothest diesel we’ve ever encountered, staying fantastically hushed almost all of the time, and only emitting a distant V8 burble under hard acceleration.

Don’t think the quest for quietness has dampened the car’s performance, though. The 0-62mph sprint takes 4.6 seconds and top speed is 168mph, so the Bentayga stakes a claim as the fastest production diesel SUV on sale. However, it’s the uncannily relaxed way in which power is delivered that impresses most. The car rears up and fires you towards the horizon with only a touch of wind noise to inform you of your speed.

Once you’ve become used to the effortless pace, you’ll find the Bentayga is impressively economical when cruising. We managed an indicated 36mpg on our journey from Crewe to London, and the engine rarely revved past 1,500rpm – even at the speed limit.

The new V8 appears to have had little effect on the way the Bentayga rides and handles. For a near-2.5-tonne behemoth, it’s impressively agile, with the Dynamic Ride electric anti-roll bars keeping the SUV remarkably level. It’s no sports car, but is as engaging as a Bentley 4x4 needs to be.

The ride is slightly disappointing, though. It’s far from uncomfortable, but even in its softest setting it doesn’t smother surface intrusions quite as well as a Bentley should. Head off road, and the car’s ride height can be raised and a variety of terrain control systems tailor the suspension to suit. It’s not quite as all-conquering as a Range Rover in the rough, but the Bentayga has more offroad ability than any owner will ever need.

Of course, you still get the same divisive exterior look as the W12. You can decide whether you want a diesel badge or not, while the only other changes are new exhaust tips and specific wheel designs. The interior is identical to the W12’s, with sumptuous, hand-finished leather and wood, and vast potential for customisation. Our car had £70,000 worth of options, but you could spend even more than that if you tried hard enough.

The only major flaw with the Bentayga is its infotainment. It’s an older system than Audi uses in the Q7, so it looks dated, and isn’t particularly intuitive to use.

“Bentley has reworked the 4.0-litre V8 diesel with more emphasis placed on refinement”