GREEN LIGHT FOR BENTLEY
Electric dreams come true for luxury car fans as Bentayga plug-in hybrid charges ahead of rivals
Maggie Barry If governments were at all concerned that the motoring industry was ignoring their machinations to push it in the direction of electric and electrified cars, they can now rest easy.
Bentley has come to the party with the fabulous Bentayga – in hybrid plug- in form. Yep, that’s right, a fully fledged Bentayga but with both a petrol engine and an electric motor.
The internal combustion engine, mind you, is the smallest in the Bentley range, a mere 3.0-litre V6 job. But before purists get too hot under the collar, it is paired with an electric motor offering 128PS which, added together, give a rather hefty 449PS
And wh i le we a r e still concentrating on the electrification, this Bentayga has three e-modes – EV, hybrid and hold.
Hold allows you to save the charge for city driving, in hybrid it automatically moves between the petrol and electric motor for optimum performance and EV will give you pure electric driving. It is not a huge range in pure electric mode – 24 miles, according to the off icial figures – although the man from Bentley who spent several months in Arizona test-driving this new car told me he could get nearer 30 miles in the climate there. Ah well, it’s a bit wetter and colder here in Blighty.
The battery is a doughty 17.3kWh, which means it will take about seven hours to charge it on a domestic socket but much less on one of those rapid chargers – about two-and-a-half hours – but basically you get a Bentley car alongside a score of green brownie points. The hybrid looks just l ike its traditionally powered sibling too, with the big bold grille front, powerful alloys and strong kerbside stance. Inside, the luxury that is Bentley continues, especially in this trim level Mulliner Edition with quilted Linen and Brunel leather – grey and cream – with a Liquid Amber veneer and contrasting stitching.
It is a thing of beauty with wonderfully comfortable seats with a massage function and slightly retro touches such as the circular air vents which give it that heritage and expensive feeling. Even the foot mats are deep pile and the steering wheel is hand stitched.
The tech is 20th century, though, with a top-view camera, park assist, adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, night vision and traffic assist.
There is even a sunshine package, which has electrically operated blinds for the rear side windows.
The whole lot is roomy, plush and everything you would expect in a Bentley – even a hybrid.
And there’s the thing. It takes off in EV mode by default, which offers the deeply enjoyable sensation of rolling along but completely silently. This is what luxury driving should feel like.
But Bentley is not just the ultimate big smoothie. I took it on the hill loops at Mi l lbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire and nothing fazed it – hairpins, stiff gradients, blind corners.
This is also a car for driving and for enjoying the drive, helped by the driving modes – Sport, Comfort, Custom and the default, Bentley.
That Bentley now has a plug-in hybrid speaks volumes about where the industry is going. And hush – there will be a fully fledged electric version soon.