Bentley Bentaga V8 - Flash Drive

Recently, at a media day, Muddy Madam and I were fortunate enough to spend a short time driving the Bentley Bentayga around Wetherby.

The car that Bentley brought was their Black edition which, after a comprehensive option list ticking spree, came to a whopping £176,000. Leaving the money aspect aside (always a vulgar topic darhhhling), let's focus on what it’s like to drive.

My short route around Wetherby has a variety of road surfaces, from lovely and smooth, to twisty and undulating, with a couple of off-camber corners thrown in for good measure.

As you can see from the photos, the weather had turned quite nasty leaving many roads submerged, but that didn’t matter as the 2.4-tonne carriage acquitted itself rather well along the potholed strewn flooded roads.

The air suspension, and accompanying electronic wizardry, performed as they should, keeping us in a state of serenity. When the need arose to pass slower beings, the 550ps, 4.0ltr V8, with its enormous 770nm of torque, left them a distant memory with a gentle prod of the accelerator.

Although the Bentayga can be eerily quiet when cruising, there’s always a distinct V8 rumble in the background which turns into a muted growl when your right foot is firmly planted into the carpet.

Ah yes, the wine coloured carpet, which perfectly matched the wine coloured interior in the one we drove. How shall I put this....the colour was 'distinct' and takes a bit of getting used to, especially when combined with the dull choice of exterior paint, but this is a Bentley, so I'm sure you can have whatever strange combination of colours that will tickle your fancy.

Despite its 2.4 tonne mass, the Bentayga is quite easy drive, and with a 0-60mph time of 4.4 seconds which carries on to reach a top speed of 187mph, it's very tempting to drive like a hooligan, but why would you? It's a Bentley!

The Bentayga is very much a touring car, one that is able to handle a host of challenging conditions, from mud, snow and flood water, to simply letting you relax after a hard day in the boardroom.

Muddy Madam and I have a couple of long trips to Scotland planned soon, and I think I know just the SUV to take us there…