Today, I'm driving a Bentley. And it's a Bentley that says 'Hybrid' on it. Must be a shock, right? Well, get ready for another one.
It's not only a hybrid, it's a plug-in hybrid. That means you'll have to roll up the dirty charging cable every cold morning.
And one hour later, when you're at the office, you'll suddenly realize that the wet stuff covering the cable wasn't rain, but something else.
That's when you start thinking about the neighbours dog.
Anyway, when I think of Bentley, I think of the mighty 12-cylinder engines, or the violent 8-cylinder engines.
When I think of Bentley, I think of the Bentley Blowers that won Le Mans in the 1930's with clouds of dust and petrol fumes.
But Brussels doesn't care about dust and petrol fumes. In Brussels, they don't count Le Mans-victories, they count grams of CO2.
And if you come around with a 12- or an 8-cylinder? You're done.
So let's move ourselves into the average Bentley-buyer. Do you think he or she has the engine as prioritiy number one?
I don't think so. On the contrary, I don't even think it's in the top three. No, if you ask me, an average Bentley-buyers values the...
appearance even more. The statement that it makes. Personally, I think it's just a very big SUV, but I seem to be the only one who thinks like that.
I've been driving it for two days now, and people are still looking in awe when I drive by. Children get out their phones to make photo's and when...
I put it in front of my house, my neighbours come out to touch it and sit in it. Everybody seems to love it.
I'll admit, the headlights must be the biggest diamonds the world has ever seen, because they really are works of art.
And then there's the color. My god. When I picked it up yesterday, the color immediately reminded me of the shiny chestnuts I used to pick...
up in the forest as a child. And you could say, don't be ridiculous, because if you take the color code to a home department store,
they'll mix it for you in five minutes. But that's not the point. The point is that the color is on a Bentley and it's called Cricket Bowl.
That's right. The color is called Cricket Bowl.
And I absolutely love that. It doesn't get any more English, it doesn't get any more Bentley.
And except for showing the world that he is doing well, the average Bentley-driver likes to show himself he's doing well too.
Every single time when he gets in the car. And that's why the Cricket Bowl-color is found on the inside as well.
On this version that is. The leather is absolutely beautiful, and like I said, colored in Cricket Bowl.
It's combined with crème-colored stitching. Which is a nice detail, because the seats are crème-colored with Cricket Bowl-stitching.
Also, there are big panels of carbon fibre incorporated in the dashboard, as if it doesn't cost anything. Or take the immaculate quality of the chrome.
That makes this car just look stunning on the inside. It's not modest in any way, but I absolutely love it.
Just look at the details. These pulling knobs for the vents. They remind me of the controls for an old pipe organ.
The last time I saw things like this in a car, I was driving a Rolls-Royce. Or look at this clock. This puts the Big Ben to shame, really.
It all looks great and sublime.
Right, that's the way it looks, but how does it work? Let's have a look at the drivetrain.
It's a plug-in hybrid with a battery pack of 14,1 kWh, so when you start smelling the dog of the neighbours on your hands,
you've got 14,1 kWh worth of energy in your car. Bentley says you can drive up to 30 miles fully electrically.
That's around 40 kilometres in the metric system. However, that's according to the NEDC measuring system, which is hopelessly...
inreliable and outdated. So let's say it has an electric range of about 25 kilometres according to WLTP.
Anyway, you're able to drive around 20 kilometres fully electrically. And the funny thing is, I mentioned the mighty 12-cylinders earlier,
and the way they run so smoothly. But what runs even smoother than 12-cylinders? Zero cylinders. It feels so incredibly nice to float...
around the city electrically. Especially combined with the comfort this car has to offer. It's really fitting the Bentley-feeling.
Only when the battery runs flat or if you need a lot of power all of a sudden, that's when the combustion engine kicks in.
And they've done a very good job with that. It seemlessly takes over the power from the electric motor, you can barely notice when it does.
What you do notice is the engine, which has started running. It's a 3.0-litre V6 with direct injection and a single twin-scroll turbo.
And for my small car, it would be a fantastic engine. But this isn't my small car. This is a Bentley.
And even though it's a good engine, it sounds a little too small for a Bentley. It sounds a little too skinny, you know what I mean?
Luckily, the sound isolation is very good. It's been mounted in the in a way that it remains very silent, so it won't become annoying.
It will still feel like a Bentley, unless you start throwing the car around. That's when you start hearing the engine, and that makes it feel...
a little less Bentley. So take it easy.
Then there's the chassis, which is absolutely amazing. It's got air suspension and you're able to set it to your own liking,
However, you will never forget it weighs 2.650 kg. That's a lot of weight, and if you corner in a rapid manner, there's a lot of mass moving around.
Despite all that, the chassis is good enough that it always retains balance. Even when you drive over imperfect surfaces, it will always keep...
four wheels on the ground. There are huge amounts of grip. Even when you encounter a bump, the car won't ever jump.
It'll always be in control, and that's a very good feature.
So you're driving a Bentley which feels like a proper Bentley, but only emits 82 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
That's a lot less than the maximum of 95 grams across the whole model range. So is it a real Bentley?
If you ask me, it is. The seating is absolutely wonderful and I would love to take it home with me.
And if this has to be my concession for a better world and a cleaner future, my answer to you would be 'you're welcome'. Without a doubt.