Competes with: Lamborghini Urus, Land Rover Range Rover Long Wheelbase, BMW X7
Looks like: The latest Bentley Continental GT more than the Bentley Flying Spur
Drivetrain: A 542-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8; eight-speed automatic; full-time all-wheel drive
Hits dealers: Late summer or early fall
Luxury automaker Bentley is in the midst of refreshing all of its products, and next in line is the big Bentayga SUV. The update of the Bentayga, Bentley’s best-selling model with more than 20,000 produced of the original design to date, becomes especially important now that the previous flagship Mulsanne super-luxury sedan has been discontinued. This puts the mantle of top-dog Bentley on both the new Bentayga and the Flying Spur sedan. The updates to the new 2021 Bentayga are subtle but thorough, bringing the new model into a closer vibe with the rest of the styling and amenities seen in the lineup.
Related: 2020 Bentley Flying Spur First Edition: A Welcome Refuge in a Trying Time
Exterior
The overall shape of the new Bentayga is the same, but the details are much more closely related to another Bentley product — and it isn’t the Flying Spur; it’s the Continental GT two-door. The LED matrix headlights retain the familiar four separate housings and the cut-crystal design, and now feature three different driving modes that tailor the beam to the situation: Town mode, which casts a low, wide beam for speeds under 30 mph; Country mode, which operates from 30-60 mph and raises and narrows the beam for further reach; and Motorway mode, which lifts it further and brightens it for long-range emphasis.
The side view receives some new vents and lower sills with unique new 22-inch wheels, but the back-end refresh is by far the most extensive redo on the SUV. A new full-width tailgate has been installed, and the overall look is flatter and wider, thanks to the new ovoid taillights that look similar to those found on the Continental GT, not the Flying Spur. A new bumper has the license plate relocated down into it and is finished off with wide, split tailpipes.
Interior
Inside, the new Bentayga receives a lot of the updates that have made the Flying Spur so dramatically nicer than the outgoing model. A new dark-tint diamond-pattern brushed aluminum trim is available that creates a 3D effect, while the Mulliner Driving Specification Package gets new quilting patterns for the seats and two new wood veneer choices, for a total of eight different veneers. A new center console and door trim have been fitted, as well as a new steering wheel and all-new seats — bringing a ventilation feature to the rear seats for the first time.
The cabin packaging also has been revised with Bentley somehow finding nearly 4 inches more legroom for backseat passengers if you order the four-seat configuration; the five-seat model gets no improvement in space. Up front, the new dash features the same fully digital gauge cluster that we’ve seen in the Flying Spur, and the latest Bentley 10.9-inch touchscreen multimedia unit in the center console.
Wireless Apple CarPlay will be standard, but you’ll have to plug your phone in to use the newly featured Android Auto, which appears for the first time in any Bentley. That shouldn’t be a problem, as new USB-C connectors are now plentiful throughout the interior — and if you’re sitting in the backseats, you can control the various functions through a new, larger touchscreen remote-control tablet similar to the one found in the Flying Spur’s backseat.
As befits a vehicle of this stature, the Bentayga is loaded with luxury features, state-of-the-art electronics and all manner of gadgetry. Two different audio systems are available: the standard 12-speaker Signature Audio system with 590 watts of power or the optional Naim for Bentley system with 20 speakers and 1,780 watts, including two subwoofers under the front seats, supertweeters in the A- and B-pillars, eight listening modes and illuminated speaker grille badges.
A new onboard air ionizer charges pollution particles in the air so that they stick to an interior surface instead of remaining suspended in the cabin air. Meanwhile, an optional bottle cooler chiller is still available for backseat passengers’ beverages.
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Engine and Transmission
Powering the Bentayga is the familiar twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine making 542 horsepower and 568 pounds-feet of torque. It’s connected to a standard ZF eight-speed transmission driving all four wheels through a full-time all-wheel-drive system.
When you want it to, the new Bentayga will deliver a 0-60-mph time of 4.4 seconds, according to Bentley, with a top speed of 180 mph. And when you don’t, it will shut off four of the cylinders to deliver a 21.2 mpg combined city/highway figure, with an overall estimated range of 397 miles on a tank of gas. Not exactly hybrid efficiency numbers, but respectable when you consider that the massive SUV is delivering supercarlike performance numbers.
Later on in the year, we’ll see two other Bentayga models introduced: a hybrid and the Speed variant, the former a continuation of the current plug-in hybrid electric Bentayga, and the latter equipped with a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 engine.
The Bentley Dynamic Ride electronic adjustable suspension remains, but it’s retuned for the new 0.78-inch wider rear track of the ’21 Bentayga for better handling and control. Eight different drive modes are available: four on-road, four off-road (not that anyone actually takes a Bentayga off-road).
The new 2021 Bentley Bentayga will officially go on sale later this summer or in early fall, with deliveries to follow later in the year.
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