This is the Bentley Bentayga Diesel, maybe the most controversial Bentley ever made.
With the Bentayga being the first Bentley SUV, there already was quite the culture shock,
but now, for the first time ever; it can be fitted with a diesel engine as well.
You might think, this is Bentley's Cayenne Diesel.
However, it's a lot less paradoxal...
Whenever I think of a Porsche, I think of the 911, or the Boxster.
Sports cars. Relatively light, agile, an engine with a high specific power output which revs a lot.
That's the essence when I think of a Porsche. So the Cayenne Diesel is the complete opposite.
But for Bentley, it's a different story.
Last year, I visited the factory in Crewe, where I was shown around by Nigel,
an elderly British gentleman, who has been working longer for Bentley than I've been around at all.
He really knows a lot about Bentley, and he has seen some things.
For example, when the Volkswagen Group took over in the nineties.
The Continental-range, which arose because of that takeover,
might have been the salvation which kept Bentley from going bankrupt, he admits.
However, it isn't the essence and spirit Bentley is about, according to Nigel.
No, that's the Mulsanne.
A car which produces massive amounts of power, which gives you a little bit of driving dynamics,
how stupid that may sound... But a car which grosses in endless amounts of leather and wood
which is entirely made by hand. That's the Mulsanne.
For example: Bentley brings in wood from all corners of the world, the most exclusive kinds,
then, it will be cut by a laser. So thin, it's just like paper.
The leather comes from cows which are in mountain meadows.
Why? There are less insects in the mountains,
so the cows won't be bitten as much. That means the leather is of higher quality.
That's why the cows are in meadows which don't have barbed wire around them.
Is that obsessive? A bit, but also guarantees a quality which almost can't be surpassed.
When it comes to quality, this Bentayga really is a real Bentley.
Everything you see, touch and feel in here, it's made to such high standards.
The amount of custom stitching and such might be down on the Mulsanne,
but the leather is incredibly smooth, the wood looks amazing, the aluminium really feels like it's handmade.
That gives the inside of this car an ambiance, you just won't find in any other car.
It even smells like a Bentley in here.
That means the bar is quite high up there.
The only little point of criticism, if you want to make a fuss about that,
is the quality of the graphics in the satnav. They strongly look like the graphics you find in the Volkswagen Golf.
The little numbers from the aircon and the levers behind the steering wheel,
are borrowed from the Audi A4.
If you don't consider the little flaws, the mood in the interior is quite impressive.
But, Bentley has to be more than that. It must be able to perform without any effort.
And that isn't really a problem here, because under the hood we find the same engine as in the Audi SQ7.
That means, it's got a 4,0-litre V8 TDI-diesel engine,
fitted with two normal turbo's and an electrical compressor.
That combination produces 900 Nm of torque at 1,000 RPM.
That means it produces the same amount of torques as the 6,0-litre W12 petrol engine, which is also available in the Bentayga,
but those torques are already available at 1,000 RPM, instead of 1,350 in the petrol engine.
It's just always there for you, so if you want to overtake you'd expect the automatic gearbox to change back
before it accelerates. That isn't the case though.
You just instantly accelerate because you've got 900 Nm. Almost from when you're running stationary.
So you put your foot down, and without any effort 2400 kg of Bentley shoots forward.
That's a very comfortable experience.
Bentley has waited quite a long time before they introduced a diesel engine in their cars.
That's because the refinement, the speed, the souplesse and how easy the engine produces its power,
have to be of very high standards for Bentley-customers. Luckily, this 4,0-litre V8 TDI is a very good engine for the job.
It's very quiet, you won't hear anything when you're doing something that isn't racing.
When you're going full throttle, it's ridiculously quick, but it stays quiet.
Even when you're at 5,000 RPM, it's more like it's going to make noise than real noise.
If you can eventually hear it, it's like a V8-rumble;
never annoying or anything. The automatic gearbox changes gear very smoothly,
it's just... If you want a car which performs more easily,
you'll have to divert to an electric car.
So, the refinement and the performance really are on Bentley-level.
Then, the drive. Like I've said before, it's got to have a little bit of driving dynamic.
Weirdly enough, a Bentley Mulsanne does have driving dynamic.
That might be a surprise to you, considering it's 2500 kg and is more than 5 metres long,
but it's the truth. And in this Bentayga, how paradoxal it may be,
because it's 2400 kg and almost 2 metres high, there's some driving pleasure hiding in here.
It's not like a Porsche Cayenne, which sometimes seems to be smaller and lower than it really is,
but it's a strange satisfaction to drive this car quickly. I don't mean racing with it, not throwing it in a corner,
but when you're coming off a driveway or something, and you're driving a little bit faster than the normal driver would do,
you'll notice how brilliant this suspension actually is. It's got active anti-roll bars, also from the Audi SQ7,
which make sure it's very floaty when you're driving straight ahead. Almost like it's heaving.
There's a speed hump coming up. When you drive over it, you go up,
you come down again, you wave about a little bit and then the car evens out again.
It's very comfortable. Whenever you start putting weight on one side of the car,
you might think it will start to lean, but because of those active anti-roll bars that doesn't happen.
The car just stays level. That way, you can comfortably corner pretty quickly.
It's just like a GT, only quite a bit higher.
It's very impressive.
The only thing you might be critical about, is the damping at low speeds.
It's a little bit harder than you might expect. You should be critical of course,
the starting price of the Bentayga Diesel is almost €230.000. And that's without those fancy anti-roll bars.
If you want this beautiful leather, the wood trim or these little gadgets,
or for short: if you want this incredible atmosphere in your Bentayga,
it will cost you €309.000.
Rationally speaking, more than 300k for a car is very hard to justify.
Let's be honest. It isn't twice as good as a S-class with some nice accessoires.
Also, you can ask yourself if you think it's a good looking car. Or if it's socially acceptable to drive a V8 diesel producing 435 horsepower.
That doesn't do anything to the specialty of this car though. It's very imposing and impressive.
The atmosphere you get when you open the car and get in, it's just like entering another world.
And when you think of it that way, this Bentayga is Bentley at its best.