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The Bentayga Hybrid outside the new Maybourne Riviera Hotel
HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT WITH THE BENTLEY BENTAYGA HYBRID. by Richard McCreery Bentley was once famously accused of building the world’s fastest trucks, by Ettore Bugatti of all people who, at times, was also a manufacturer of large and fast cars like the 6.4 metre, 12.7 litre Bugatti Royale. That seems rather unfair. Bentleys may be large (the Bentayga SUV is over 5 metres long and 1.7 metres high), but that is where the resemblance ends. Ask any truck driver! Or almost, because Bentley does indeed produce the world’s fastest SUV - the Bentley Bentayga Speed which has a declared top speed of 306 km/hr. However, this is not that car. This is something far more impressive. The Bentayga Hybrid is not really about going fast. Of course, it is hardly slow, making the sprint to 100 km/hr in 5.5 seconds and topping out at 254 km/ hr, which is faster than Maserati’s Levante Hybrid SUV, but the essence of this car is less about speed than it is about being smooth. You don’t buy this car because you need to go places as quickly as possible
but because you have other more demanding travel requirements. In fact, the addition of a plug-in electric motor means the hybrid model brings a whole new dimension to Bentley ownership. The car’s party trick becomes apparent right from the off, when it starts by default in full electric mode and you begin to glide forward without a single sound. It at once feels eery and at the same time perfectly suited to such a cossetting luxury vehicle. Whilst I couldn’t hear the ticking of the clock, as an old Rolls Royce advert once used to claim, it is certainly quiet enough to hear the sound of your own breathing. The muted growl of the 3.0 litre V6 turbo engine only breaks the silence when it cuts in automatically, and
