The Bentayga goes hybrid with a 'have your cake and eat it' mentality, but can Bentley's first plug-in deliver more?

PROS:

+ Beautiful craftsmanship

+ Highly refined

+ Very little compromise for going hybrid

CONS:

- Gearbox can be hesitant when ratios are selected manually

- EV range could be longer

- No seven-seat option

Verdict: The Bentley Bentayga Hybrid delivers on pretty much all of the virtues of its pure combustion siblings, but with less ecological guilt. In fact, you could argue that it surpasses its hushed stablemates in terms of refinement thanks to its 25 miles of silent EV range. It’s like a guilt-free slice of chocolate cake – all be it an expensive one.

2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid review: the five-minute read

The Bentley Bentayga might be the British marque’s best selling model these days, but this luxurious SUV hasn’t had the best of luck. A much loved W12 option has been dropped from the UK market due to emissions, the brilliant diesel model was sadly launched at the height of the Dieselgate scandal, and the exciting Speed model isn’t destined for our shores. However, this new Bentayga Hybrid might just be the right car for the right time – a machine to silence the tuts at the school gates.

You’d have to look very closely to notice this was indeed the new Hybrid car and not any other Bentayga. Short of a few subtle pieces of chrome script, it’s practically identical to the revised SUV launched last year. This quietly confident approach in design rather suits Bentley’s gentlemanly character at large. Of course, it still features its signature wide grille, jewel-like rounded headlights, and sculpted hips – all items that define this car in a crowded segment.

Short of Rolls-Royce, you’ll be hard pushed to find a more masterful interior space in terms of design and materials. Every stitch and highly polished piece of wood trim feels crafted and not simply manufactured. Our test car, upholstered in a lavish cricket ball shade with dark woods and gleaming brightwork, certainly made for a rich environment. There are a few pieces of recognisably Audi switchgear that we wished could be retconned from existence, but the ergonomics of the parts can’t be faulted. There’s a real attention to detail that culminates in a cabin that feels a cut above the rest.

Rear passengers can enjoy the same plush format, but like all new Bentaygas, there’s 100mm more legroom to stretch out and relax. A really important point to make is that, despite the Hybrid model’s batteries living in the boot, there’s actually no reduction in boot space over a conventional V8 car. You do lose the option for seven seats, but in reality, they were likely occasionally used anyway.

Powering this Bentayga is not the V8 we’ve become familiar with, but a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. This is supplemented by a 126bhp electric motor for an impressive output if 443bhp and 700Nm of torque. In the same way that this hybrid Bentley doesn’t compromise on its traditional interior opulence that customers expect, neither does it in terms of performance. 0-62mph takes just 5.5 seconds, but its 0-30mph ‘traffic light GP’ sprint is identical to the V8 car thanks to that electrified torque.

The Bentayga Hybrid is dictated to via a series of selectable drive modes, but there’s a subset of three that directly relate to its 13.3kWh battery. In its pure EV mode, you blissfully waft in your mobile palace, enjoying the sound of silence and the added air of civility electric motoring brings. Active ‘Hybrid’ and the car will intelligently use battery and combustion in the most efficient way possible – even using GPS to work out where the best use of electricity will be. The transition and union of these power sources is highly impressive, with the pair working so subtly together it’s sometimes hard to figure out when the transition happened. You can also tell this Bentley to save its battery for a time when you know EV power will suit it best. Speaking of electricity, it’ll take two and a half hours to fully charge the battery via a 7.2kW outlet, something that will grant a 25-mile range.

The ride quality is pleasingly cosseting with the suspension ironing out our often crinkled Tarmac. Minor tremors do occasionally enter the cabin at low speed over harsh imperfections, thanks primarily to the 22-inch alloys fitted to our test car, but the overall experience is mature and tranquil. Sadly, the hybrid model does not get the clever 48-volt anti-roll bars, and so body roll is pronounced, even if well controlled.

Driven with a bit of gusto, the Bentayga never leaves you wanting for performance providing you remember this isn't the most sporting model. There is a slight delay between peddle prod and the car leaping into action, but ample power that's boosted by electrified torque, all-wheel drive traction, and a rapid 8-speed ZF gearbox means that this 2.5-tonne lady will happily hitch up her skirt to get a gallop on. There’s a nice secure feeling to the way the car grips the road, and updates to the chassis for this generation makes for a slightly keener response when aiming for an apex. There are more dynamic luxury SUVs out there at six figures, but the Bentayga seems to strike a better balance between sport and luxury than most.

The headline here is ‘Bentley Bentayga Hybrid is still a Bentley Bentayga’ which might not sound all that newsworthy, but it’s a big deal for owners. Here’s a car that existing buyers will love and relish its added green credentials, new buyers only considering a hybrid will be tempted by, and judging parents at the school gates can applaud.

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Extended read…

2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid interior and infotainment

A modern Bentley interior is a beautiful thing to behold with carefully selected materials worn by surfaces like a tailored suit. Rich leathers and quilted stitching invites you to further soak up fine chromed details and crafted wood finishes. Bentaygas offer the same experience found within a Continental or Flying Spur, but with some added practicality and they highly desirable raised seating position. You’ll also be plenty comfortable in said seats thanks to seemingly infinite adjustability.

You can have your Bentley cabin with a host of options to suit your tastes, but should your desires outstrip the average customer, Bentley’s bespoke Mulliner division can help make your dreams a reality.

All new Bentaygas come with a 10.9-inch infotainment system which offers plenty of real estate to aid use on the move. The system is easy to operate and features pleasingly graphical displays, however, it can be a tad laggy at times. You can plug in your smartphone for Apple Car Play or Android Auto should you prefer.

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2021 Bentley Bentayga practicality and boot space

The Bentayga was Bentley’s first step into the world of SUVs, and considering its strong sales, you’d have to call it a success. Part of its allure is that those who love their Continental but need something more family-oriented, are happily catered for. Amongst all of the luxurious traits you’d expect of any Bentley, there are plenty of cubbies for life’s flotsam and charging ports feeding child-pacifying electronic gizmos.

This being the hybrid, its 13.3kWh batter lives under the boot floor, so sadly there’s no seven-seater option in this guise. However, the sacrifice of a potential third row means the battery doesn’t really impede practicality. A total of 479-litres means you’ve only lost 5-litres – negligible in the real world. The wide boot opening makes loading easy, and the generous space will happily accommodate dogs or the horde of support items a toddler needs.

Having children no longer results in you surrendering your Bentley keys, and for the vast majority, neither does a move to hybrid power.

2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid engine

We’ve experienced Bentaygas with twelve cylinders and eight, but this is the first to have six. The turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine is the bedfellow of a 126bhp electric motor that combined delivers on 443bhp and 700Nm of torque. It might be a hybrid, but it still delivers on performance thanks to a 0-62mph sprint of 5.5 seconds that’s boosted by rapidly requested electrical torque. In fact, a 0-30mph run is completed in an identical time to the V8 model.

Being a hybrid allows for 25 miles of silent EV driving, or often enough to cover the daily urban running of the car. That’s not to say you can’t go zero emissions on the motorway as the Bentayga is capable of running on battery alone up to speeds of 84mph.

The real beauty of the Bentayga Hybrid is just how seamlessly the combustion engine and electric motor works together. Without looking at the graphic that dances and flits showing what is powering where during normal driving, you’d be pushed to notice the transitions. Its buttery operation contributes to the Bentayga’s wonderfully regal way of whisking you to a destination. However, suddenly demanding power by clogging the accelerator does reveal a slight pause as the car works out how to best deploy its performance. It's not a dealbreaker, but it is a little surprising given the virtues of typically instant electrified torque.

All cars come with an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, complete with slick cog swapping abilities. It can be momentarily hesitant when commanded via the wheel-mounted paddles, but left to its own devices it delivers on a smooth experience.

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2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid driving

Unlike a Rolls-Royce, there’s a sporting expectation for cars wearing a Bentley badge as well as a luxury one. Setting the car to ‘Comfort’ and touring through the countryside on pure electricity arguably makes this hybrid the best for the latter trait. With engine and battery working together, it does a good job at the former, too. 

It’s fair to say that other six-figure SUVs such as an Aston Martin DBX deliver a bit more verve behind the wheel, but the Bentley is precise, stable and easy to exploit when the opportunity arises. The steering in ‘Sport’ offers a nice progressive weighting, although the Bentley’s luxurious demeanour purposely keeps the driver somewhat detached from the action. There’s a real confidence to the way this SUV goes down the road, a solidity and competence that’s greatly appreciated when attempting to hustle a 2.5-tonne car. You can feel its heft through fast bends, something not helped by the lack of 48-volt anti-roll bars in Hybrid models, but the somewhat inevitable body roll is far from wayward.

Around town, this SUV does a very good job of not feeling like the sizeable machine that it is. Light steering makes manoeuvring at low speeds effortless, and an array of cameras affords you some added visibility. Trundling around on electricity alone is not only good for the environment, but it’s also a peaceful means of travelling to Waitrose. The ride strikes a good balance between cosseting and sporty, with the larger alloy wheels of our test car being the main contributor to the occasional cabin thud over particularly punctuated potholes.

There’s a neat trick engineered into the Bentayga’s throttle pedal that makes it more restive when using the battery and then softens up as combustion takes over. Why? It gives you something of a tactile biting point that allows you to be more precise should you want to avoid firing the engine. It sounds a bit ‘extra’, but you’ll cover more miles using the electric motor as a result.

On the motorway, you’ll find the Bentayga Hybrid to be a wonderful cruiser. Wind and road noise is well suppressed, and the engine even under load is muted. With the clever GPS-based computer doing the maths for optimum efficiency and the cruise control running, all you need to do is sink into your seat a little deeper and relax.

On the surface, the Bentayga Hybrid is just another powertrain option, but its wider context is much more significant. Like the Bentayga itself, it has the opportunity to tap into a new group of buyers, but better than that, it’ll do a fine job of retaining existing ones with a growing environmental conscience.

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