[Auto] Test of the Bentley Bentayga Hybrid: 'echo elegance' in superlative degree

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The silent hybrid version of the Bentayga delivers a combined 449 hp and can reach 40 km in 100% electric mode.

There are several 'layers of the sky' when it comes to cars. Perhaps for the biggest car collectors in the world, the dream would consist of hoarding a Ferrari 250 GTO, more thinking about the 60 million they can pay for it than for the enjoyment of driving it. For the rest of the mortals, heaven is closer. And Bentley, with the Bentayga, inhabits that space unattainable for most in which SUV fashion is combined with luxury worthy of kings.

 

The Bentley Bentayga reached the first customers in 2016. Imposing for the volume it occupies (measuring 5.14 m long, 1.99 m wide and 1.72 m high); elegant for its line and its chrome; intimidating due to the benefits that it allows to suspect; Respecting once we discover the power outlet, a sign of the hybrid nature of this unit..., in a certain way it reminds us of a sculpture by Botero in movement.

If someone keeps in mind the shapes of the original model, they will guess the aesthetic changes that it premiered last year. There are very evident novelties behind, where the rectangular pilots left their space for other oval ones in tune with those that the Continental GT wears. And this change has required modifying the tailgate, which is now so wide that it is undisguisedly introduced into the rear wings.

 

The fact of being more discreet does not prevent the frontal changes from being even greater. In fact, everything on this flank is new: the front grille, which now gains more presence due to its larger dimensions; the bumpers, with new ventilation intakes; and the optical groups themselves. Each of the latter has 82 LEDs and looking at them one has the feeling of being in front of a luxurious piece of glass.

The key, heavy due to its chromed metal parts, opens the doors of a cabin where you have to arrive prepared to appreciate every detail. If we were to focus on touch, we would begin by noting that we find the comfort of the seats masterful, which also have a cast of massages in the first row that works our body quite effectively. Even through the shoes, the thickness and comfort of the mats are also very noticeable, perhaps an inopportune white color in our case due to the ease of getting dirty and the difficulty in cleaning them.

 

And throwing the greatest here and there we appreciate that elements such as the gear shift paddles or even the chrome speaker covers look metallic and really are. The same does not happen with the change selector, whose ornaments reveal once we touch them that they are actually plastic.

Behind a steering wheel of adequate thickness appears a box of clocks that reveals the DNA of the Volkswagen Group. Specifically, the graphics will be familiar to those with an Audi. Even the turn signal and windshield wiper controls are from Audi, although Bentley have had the delicacy of toning down their black appearance by incorporating some chrome buttons.

The central air vents were modified in the latest redesign, as was the central clock (analog, of course) and the 10.9-inch infotainment screen, very well placed and with very readable graphics.

 

Four or five seats
For the rear seats, you can choose between two independent seats or a bench with three seats, as the car we tested had. Seeing the external dimensions of the car, the feeling of spaciousness behind here is not surprising. And it is also very much appreciated that the central seat is not as comfortable as the side ones, but it is much more comfortable than what we are used to seeing both in SUVs and in any sedan model.

In front of the legs of this central occupant we have a 5-inch screen from which you can see data from the trip computer, regulate the air conditioning in the rear seats, activate the heating of the seats, close the roof curtains... little low, but this is not a problem because the screen itself is removable and we can hold it in our hands to handle it, as we would with a mobile phone.

 

But to stay in the luxury that is obvious would be to detract from the technological section when talking about the Bentayga Hybrid. For starters, everything in it is built on the Volkswagen Group's MLB Evo platform. In other words, it has the same 'backbone' as other large SUVs, such as the Audi Q7, the Lamborghini Urus, the Porsche Cayenne or the Volkswagen Touareg, which incidentally has made its electrification possible.

Bearing in mind that luxury and size always translate into weight, it is good for the Bentley Bentayga that the lithium-ion battery housed under the plane of the trunk (being a hybrid reduces its size to 480 liters) has 17.3 kWh of net capacity and no more. More than anything because the car as a whole already weighs 2.6 tons, and increasing the mass would increase the work that the electronics will have to do when many curves appear.

 

40 kilometers of autonomy
With this battery, the Bentayga has an official autonomy in 0 Emissions mode of 40 km. It can be even less if we are not very sensitive on the accelerator, but in the British firm they assure that it is enough for the route that its driver usually does on average per day.

This battery feeds a motor with only 128 hp (the electric power-to-weight ratio is fair, but sufficient: 20kg/hp). But it is always ready to accompany the 3.0-liter V6 block with 340 hp and 450 Nm of torque, with which it offers, together, a total of 449 hp. It is clear that the figure is clearly lower than the 550 hp of the V8 version and especially the 635 of the Bentayga Speed. But if we forget about comparisons and analyze the feeling of push that we give when going from 0 to 100 in 5.5 seconds and recovering at any speed, it is easy to forget about its hybrid approach and its ecological aspect.

 

In these circumstances, and with the battery depleted, consumption can shoot up to figures around 18 litres/100 km. If, on the other hand, we drive calmly but without a battery, this figure can be around 13l/100 km. And you will have to always have a well-charged battery (it takes 2.5 hours to recharge in a 7.2 kW outlet) and pull a lot from the electric motor to get close to the 3.3 l/100 km that the brand announces as an official figure. .

The change is not double clutch, but by torque converter and with eight speeds. Something slow, by the way, but with great pleasure thanks to the aforementioned metal paddles that we find behind the wheel.

active stabilizers
And among its ingredients we have not yet mentioned a main one, and that is its pneumatic suspensions and active stabilizers. As much as we have some extraordinary seats with a great relaxing massage and that the sound insulation of the cabin is magnificent, the comfort would fade in twisty sections if we did not have, above all, these stabilizers mentioned. We must clarify that the Bentayga continues to feel heavy and leans somewhat in supports with some force, but it is much less than what physics would force it to do.

 

By the way, it is surprising to see that the electronics have not been fully focused towards an ecological use in this Bentayga Hybrid. The driving modes are Sport, Bentley (in which it starts by default, and somewhat less sporty than Sport) and Comfort, as well as another configurable. That is, there is no Eco mode as such. And it is also surprising that in terms of battery treatment there is an Electric mode, another Hybrid and a third 'Reserve', the latter to keep the battery charge intact for later, but not a 'Charge' in which the engine of gasoline already contributes to charging the lithium battery.

The price of the hybrid Bentayga with taxes is 201,000 euros in our country. But that is not the rate for this First Edition version, which with a finish that is even more to the taste of gourmets raises its rate to almost 250,000 euros.

 

Link: https://www.marca.com/coches-y-motos/coches/bentley/2022/01/30/61f41723ca4741323d8b457b.html