Diesel do nicely for Bentley
TALK about bad timing. Bentley takes the momentous step of introducing its first-ever diesel-powered car in the form of this new Bentayga off-roader, at the very moment that the world and British Government seems to welcome diesel cars with all the warmth of the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
While actual legislation penalising modern diesels (which are cleaner than most despite what many politicians might think) is still thankfully some way off yet, there’s no doubt that public opinion is swinging generally against them.
The fact that this new diesel version of the Bentayga will boost global sales and help to secure the 4,000-odd jobs of those hard-working production line staff at Bentley’s factory in Crewe, Cheshire, is a matter that is less easy for them to ignore.
Likely to account for about half of all Bentley sales this year, there’s no doubting the huge success and popularity of the Bentayga. With more than 4,500 delivered last year and a plug-in hybrid model due before long, Bentley is capitalising on being first to the market with an uber-4x4 that the likes of Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce will be joining in due course.
While this latest diesel may seem an odd addition, for Bentley it makes a lot of sense. Yes, the chances are that anyone who can afford the £135,800 list price before options (more of which later) can afford the current Bentayga’s unleaded bill, but this diesel model’s appeal goes beyond that.
While it won’t be offered globally, some of Bentley’s markets such as the UK, Europe and Russia have a high concentration of diesel-engined cars.
Furthermore, the extra range that the diesel will be able to offer is also reckoned to be a large part of its appeal for customers.
Not that the diesel is exactly a short straw mind you. The 4.0-litre diesel engine under the bonnet borrowed from the Audi SQ7 doesn’t just boast two turbos, but a supercharger as well, giving it a healthy 429bhp.
That might be considerably lower than the petrol’s 600 horses, but the diesel actually matches it for outright grunt.
Despite it tipping the scales at two and a half tonnes, it will still race from 0 to 60mph in just 4.6 seconds and on to a 168mph top speed. Think about the physics of something this big accelerating quite that fast and it is enough to scramble your grey matter.
For the record, it will also return 35.8mpg average fuel economy at the pumps and produces 210g/km emissions. Both substantial improvements on the 21.6mpg and 296g/km emissions of the 6.0-litre petrol.
However, for all those impressive numbers there’s still a slight