Car review: Bentley Bentayga EWB a stretch of a limo

SINGAPORE – The Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase’s (EWB) motorised sun shade takes almost 20 seconds to open or close – equivalent to the duration of a two-storey escalator ride. That gives you an idea of how expansive the car is.

At 5,305mm bumper to bumper, the car is 1,800mm longer than the standard wheelbase Bentayga. The extension goes entirely to the wheelbase, which is now 3,175mm long.

But to really appreciate how big the vehicle is, you have to get to the second row. You sink into what Bentley calls an Airline Seat (which can recline to 40 degrees), put your feet up on a footrest deployed from under the front seat (only the left seat has this feature) and look up at its high ceiling.

In this position, the door is out of reach. Which is why the car has a button on either side of a rear centre console which activates a motorised closing.

This brings back memories of the new BMW 7 (reviewed in The Straits Times in January), which comes with not just two, but four motorised doors – which can be opened and closed in a variety of ways.

While the BMW limousine is longer than the Bentayga EWB – at 5,391mm tip to tip, with an even more generous wheelbase of 3,215mm (complete with reclining seats and footrests) – it falls a tad short of the Bentley sport utility vehicle’s (SUV) width (1,950mm v 1,998mm) and height (1,544mm v 1,739mm).

So, in terms of overall volume, the Bentley’s cabin is bigger.

The upsized Bentayga weighs some 100kg more than the standard Bentayga at 2,514kg. Despite this, its declared century sprint is merely 0.1 of a second higher at 4.6 seconds – still very brisk for a huge SUV.

At the wheel, the Bentayga EWB certainly conveys an addictive effortlessness. Most times, all you do is caress the throttle to get the behemoth to do what you want it to do. But it still does not quite feel like a 4.6-second carriage. Then again, you can be sure of something like this only on a drag strip.

What is more convincing is the car’s relatively tight turning circle. A 5.3m vehicle will not be able to negotiate U-turns on some of the smaller roads here. But the long-wheelbase SUV does so with comparable ease. This is because it is equipped with electronic all-wheel steering.

Its turning circle of 11.8m is, in fact, slightly shorter than that of the regular Bentayga. All-wheel steering also makes the stretched car easier to drive all round. And its all-wheel-drive system (with two differentials) ensures its huge wheels retain superior traction across a variety of surface and weather conditions – a trait which cannot be over-emphasised in such a big and powerful machine.

The car gets 542hp and 770Nm of torque from its 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The enormous output goes to the wheels via an eight-speed autobox. There are steering-mounted paddle shifters, but manual changes do not have the same effect you find in sportier cars.

There is no electric hybrid assistance, which explains why the test car averages 15.6 litres/100km – 20 per cent higher than Bentley’s stated figure and double that of the Bentley Flying Spur plug-in hybrid.

Bentley applies a 48-volt system to the car’s active anti-roll system, though. Which explains why the Bentayga EWB is admirably well-mannered for a massive, overweight and tall SUV. In fact, it approaches the ride and handling of a proper limo.

Aside from the long wheelbase, the seats contribute to ride comfort. All seats except the rear middle one come with massage functions and their own automatic climate control. The automatic climate control monitors temperature and surface humidity, and switches on ventilation whenever necessary.

On long-haul drives, the seats also make micro-adjustments to keep fatigue at bay. In all, they can apply 177 changes across six pressure zones over a three-hour period.

In terms of furnishing and finishing, the car is closer to the Range Rover than it is to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan (although its price is the reverse of that).

Niggles include a Park button on the transmission lever which you are likely to activate whenever you move to Reverse; an infotainment system which is not the most intuitive in town; and rear doors which are hard to close from the outside because of resistance within its motorised mechanism.

In terms of amenities, it comes with newer driving aids such as adaptive cruise control, night vision and traffic sign recognition. As for its V8, it is not particularly sonorous. Its extended wheelbase does not change the fact that it is not the most handsome model in Bentley’s stable.

Ignore that, and you have an immensely roomy Bentley, which is surprisingly drivable and superbly comfortable. And when the sun is not too scorching, roll back the shade to reveal one of the largest glass roofs in a car.

christan@sph.com.sg

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Bentley Bentayga EWB Azure 

Price: From $1,519,000 before COE
Engine: 3,996cc 32-valve twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic with paddle shift
Power: 542hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 770Nm at 2,000-4,500rpm
0-100KMH: 4.6 seconds
Top speed: 290kmh
Fuel consumption: 13 litres/100km
Agent: Wearnes Automotive