Feel a little conspicuous in a V8 or W12 Bentayga? Welcome the V6 hybrid…
It’s been more than 18 months since Bentley revealed plans for a plug-in hybrid Bentayga, but the model has finally arrived on the market, and not a moment too soon. The hybrid plugs the gap left by the withdrawal of diesel-powered variant from the European market last year, giving economy-minded Bentayga buyers (if indeed, such a thing exists) an alternative to the current V8 and W12 petrol variants.
Bentley claims it to be the firm’s most efficient product ever, with WLTP-rated economy of 80.7mpg and combined CO2 emissions of 79g/km, along with an electric-only range of 24.2 miles. Its pairing of 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 and E motor, a setup borrowed from Porsche’s Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, produces 462hp and 516lb ft – compared to the V8 petrol’s 550hp and 568lb ft. This leaves the Hybrid languishing over a second behind its conventionally powered sibling; despite the promise of a battery-powered “instantaneous response”, 0-62 takes 5.5 seconds with top speed standing at 158mph.
Already on sale in North America, the Bentayga Hybrid is now available to order across Europe too, and is said to represent Bentley’s first step towards electrification – which will see the marque roll out an electrified version of every model by 2023. To that end it previews a number of technologies already available elsewhere on the market, but seen on a Crewe product for the first time here.
These include an Intelligent Satellite Navigation feature, which automatically calculates the optimum combination of electric motor and engine power when plotting a route, and an electric-only drive mode. Hybrid and Hold modes are also present, which aim for the best balance of petrol/electric propulsion or store electric energy for future use – when arriving in a city, for example – respectively.
The Bentayga Hybrid is available from £133,100 in the UK (before taxes), with customer deliveries set to begin by the end of the year. While there’s surely going to be demand, especially with the Hybrid’s electric-only range, our preference would probably still be for the W12 Speed though – thanks very much.
Source: Read Full Article