Yahoo Autos Tested: 2021 Bentley Bentayga V-8 Looks Sharper, Accelerates Harder
There seems little doubt that luxury SUVs with big, thirsty engines are on borrowed time. Nobody needs the combination of a driving position with a six-foot-high eye line and a 542-hp V-8, but that doesn't stop it from being compelling, particularly when you're the one driving it.
Bentley Bentayga sales have grown steadily throughout its lifespan, and last year it made up 45 percent of Bentley's global production. But this segment is not just Bentley's anymore. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lamborghini Urus are players, and the Aston Martin DBX is about to launch. To keep up, the Bentayga has been given a substantial visual makeover, although its core mechanical package remains virtually unchanged.
Bentley gave its designers more leeway. There's a broader radiator grille and "cut crystal" LED headlights that look similar to the Continental and Flying Spur's lights. The headlights are positioned an inch higher than before. but the overall effect is intended to—as Bentley's design team put it—lower the front end's visual mass. We can say that it looks much better. The changes haven't transformed it into a classical beauty, but it is now less of a Doric temple and more of a Palladian mansion.
Changes to the rear end are more substantial. Immediately apparent are the new wraparound liftgate and a switch to oval-shaped lights. We had no substantial issue with the previous Range Rover-ish rear end, but the new look is certainly more in keeping with the company's other models. Despite the larger liftgate, the size and shape of the cargo area itself—defined by the structure—remains unchanged. There are options for four seats, five seats, or even a folding third row, should you want your Bentley to double as a minivan.
The few alterations in the cabin have, for the most part, addressed the weaknesses of the old Bentayga. There are more charging ports—up to six USB-C outlets—as rich people's kids don't just throw away their gadgets when the battery dies. There is also an updated infotainment system that has a higher-resolution 10.9-inch central touchscreen, backed by quicker-acting hardware and an easier-to-use interface. Sadly, the screen doesn't revolve around into the instrument panel like the one in the Continental and Flying Spur. The revised dashboard has also brought a new central air outlet that features plastic directional vanes. We preferred the metal and round-shaped vents of the old car. A new front-seat design slightly increases knee room in the second row, which remains a fine place to spend time in either four- or five-seat configurations.
While there are plenty of software changes, there aren't many mechanical changes. The most significant physical difference is that the rear track has been widened by 0.8 inches. Both the 542-hp V-8 and the 626-hp W-12 Speed will carry over unchanged in the United States market. We're fortunate, as the 12 has been quietly dropped in most territories. A V-6 plug-in hybrid will be launched later as well.
We drove the V-8 version in England over a mix of highway, urban grind, and on some of the Welsh mountain roads used by many of the United Kingdom's chassis development engineers. The Bentayga puts on a good show in all of those environments. It'll cruise with unerring stability and in silence, even at a rapid pace. We measured a hushed 65 decibels at 70 mph, and it doesn't seem much louder at triple digits. At slower speeds, it takes on the feel of an oversized luxury limousine, pliant and unfazed by Blighty's oversized "traffic calming" bumps.
On twisting, cresty Welsh asphalt, the Bentley managed to keep its nearly 5500 pounds under tight control. The combination of pillowy air suspension and the optional 48-volt electric anti-roll system do a fine job of providing a Bentley-grade ride while keeping the car flat under hard cornering loads. It's didn't feel as good at defusing a switchback road as the Aston DBX we recently drove in similar conditions, but it is impressively athletic for something so grand and stately.
Although unchanged, the Bentayga's twin-turbo V-8 is also worthy of praise for its combination of lag-free, low-rev muscle and a genuine enthusiasm to stretch all the way to its 6700-rpm limiter. We tested the new V-8 Bentayga in Michigan where it ran to 60 in 3.3 seconds and through the quarter in 11.9 seconds at 114 mph. That's quicker than both the W-12 we tested four years ago and the last Bentayga V-8 we had at the test track. It sounds great while doing all of this, especially when being run hard. Again, it was better than the W-12 and with a more satisfying top-end rasp than the fine-sounding AMG-sourced V-8 in the Aston DBX. The Bentayga V-8 has the same 542 horsepower as the Aston, but Bentley's 4.0-liter makes more torque at lower revs.
The V-8 has more than enough torque to effectively disguise the fact the Bentayga's eight-speed autobox isn't the snappiest shifter. This is especially true when operated in manual mode where it seemed to struggle with requests from the steering-wheel paddle for more than one downshift at a time, something the quicker twin-clutch 'box in the Continental and Flying Spur has no issues with.
Both V-8 and W-12 Speed versions of the revised Bentayga will reach the U.S. by the end of the year, likely with a relatively modest spec-adjusted price increase over the outgoing SUV's roughly $175,000 base price. For that near $200,000 sum, you're going to get a much better-looking Bentayga.
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