The first Bentley Bentayga V8 Diesel Review - is it a good chauffeur vehicle?

I’m driving Bentley’s first four wheel drive SUV, The Bentayga, but this one has a little secret.

So, what’s this secret I hear you ask. Well, it’s a diesel, this is Bentley’s first V8 Diesel engine - and that’s not a bad thing at all.

Already been described as a marmite car, the Bentley Bentayga has been designed as a go-anywhere, practical, versatile 4x4 luxury vehicle.

At 5.2 metres long, it’s slightly longer and wider than an Audi Q7 and Range Rover, but at two and half tonnes - its a fair bit heavier than its competitors - therefore what’s under the bonnet is very important…

So, what’s under the bonnet of this Bentayga? It’s a 4.0 litre triple charged V8 producing 425bhp and 900nm of torque.

In fact, you’ll expect to get around 35mpg on a long run which is unheard of from any other Bentley, and there’s certainly no compromise when it comes to power and performance.

The V8 diesel is incredible strong and well suited to the job in hand. In my opinion, the diesel also sounds fantastic without making it obvious to passengers.

As you can expect, the rear seats of the Bentayga is a nice place to be. This model is fitted with retractable rear trays which aren’t useful for many things but they do give you a bit more working space. Also, rear passengers have a nicely designed remote control which allows them to use the side blinds, climate control, see vehicle information and much more stuff.

However, all this aside the bench like seat for rear passengers is hard and needs to be far more contoured to be chauffeur car worthy.

The Bentayga starts from £135,000. So what does this mean when you put it next to its closest competitors? There’s the long-wheelbase Range Rover for example which is roughly the same price, but I’d be hesitant to spend the extra money to bring the Bentayga up to the high standard specification of the Range Rover.

Coupled with a tiny 430 litre boot space, I feel it would be hard to justify the Bentayga as traditional hire/reward chauffeur car - but would have its place for private chauffeur work especially if the work requires some off-road usage.

So, if you’re in the market for a luxury 4x4 vehicle, the Bentayga is certainly worth a look, but then do consider a Range Rover, Q7, or indeed the Mercedes GLS for much less money.

#chauffeur #bentley #bentayga