Bentley Bentayga 2023 review: S

There are, of course, cheaper ways into an SUV. The Bentley Bentayga S starts at $450,200. The one we drove? That's more like $535,000. Because options.

Yes, the thought of cost options on a half-million-dollar car is tricky one to wrap your head around. But you're entering a world where bespoke personalisation is very much the norm, and so Bentley (largely through its Mulliner division) provides.

Standard equipment includes big 22-inch wheels, clever air suspension that can lower or raise the vehicle height at will, high-tech electrified anti-roll technology, powerful Matrix LED headlights and plenty of in-cabin tech (like a central 10.9-inch touchscreen, a digital driver's binnacle, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a wi-fi hotspot).

Leather and carbon-fibre interior trimmings are par for the course, as is a sports exhaust and a sportier feeling exterior treatment.

The Bentayga is a big and handsome SUV. And that's really the best word for it. There is a well-dressed masculinity to its dimensions and appearance, like a muscular James Bond in a well-tailored suit.

Big, powerful-looking and with a big alloy positioned at each corner, the Bentley looks equal-parts polished and intimidating. It doesn't, however, look particularly athletic, despite Bentley's best efforts with red brake calipers and miles of mesh.

Inside, you'll find a high-quality interior space, but one that doesn't feel overdone. The materials are all fine under the touch, and the largely black-on-black interior treatment never feels like it's trying to hard.

Alongside the leather and carbon-fibre interior trimmings is a central 10.9-inch touchscreen.

Plenty of options here, with the Bentayga available with four, five or seven seats, depending on how many people you need to bring with you.

At 5125mm in length and 2222mm in width, there's no shortage of interior space in the first or second rows, and, in standard five-seat guise, you'll find 484 litres of luggage room in the boot.

You also get permanent 4WD, and the self-levelling air suspension has four heights, meaning some off-roading (if you’re brave enough) is on the cards, too. 

To be honest, talking about these practicality points in a vehicle like the Bentayga feels a little dull, right? So let's just say this instead – you'll be comfortable inside the big Bentley, no matter where you sit.

The Bentayga S is available as a four, five or seven seater.

Is the V8 engine actually a better option here than the bigger and more powerful W12? You could definitely mount that argument.

This one is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that will fire 404kW and 770Nm to all four tyres – enough to propel the 2.5-tonne Bentayga to 100km/h in a physics-defying 4.5 seconds.

That power is fed through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, and Bentley has included a whole bunch of gadgetry to keep you on the straight and narrow, including a 48-volt anti-roll system, a Torsen centre differential, and a rear differential with an electronic diff lock. 

The Bentayga can reach speeds of 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

Does any SUV really need a hard-charging V8 engine that feels like it produces enough power top spin the Earth off its axis? Probably not. But equally, why the hell not?

The engine at work here is a thing of beauty. Perhaps not as potent as the W12 engine fitted to the angriest Bentayga Speed, but it also feels somehow more usable, more engaging, and less like you’re carrying a big sack of heavy gold bullions over the front tyres. 

Acceleration is rapid and rewarding, and despite our Bentley having not been fitted with the usually standard (and presumably very loud) sports exhaust system, there’s still a spine-tingling soundtrack when you bury your right foot when Sport mode is engaged.

The engine at work here is a thing of beauty.

The Bentley doesn’t so much shrink around you as you it does noticeably bristle when you turn up the sportiness. Like the Continental GT Speed, much has been done here too give this big Bentley a dual-personality — soft and cosseting most of the time, harder and faster when you want it to be — and cycling through the settings produces a genuine change in the Bentayga’s character.

In Bentley mode (in which the Bentayga does the thinking for you), you can happily waft around, with only that nuclear power source to remind you that you’re driving something with sporting aspirations. But in Sport mode everything firms, the automatic ‘box clings to its lower gears for longer, and the Bentayga feels faster and more responsive right across the board.

But technology can only take us so far, and the reality is that there are more agile vehicles than the Bentayga on race circuit or super-tight twisting road. We’re talking a lot of excess baggage here, and Bentley can’t hide it completely. As a result, early braking is your friend, as there is a lot of vehicle to stop, and you want to have washed off plenty of speed before you commence turning in.

In Sport mode, the Bentayga feels faster and more responsive.

You probably also don't want to push it too hard for too long, because everything is working pretty hard to get you stopped.

But while not the fastest cornering SUV we’ve driven, there are few better at shrinking the distance between bends, with that thumping V8 really the headline story here.

And when the red mist fades, you can sink back into your plush leather seat, safe behind windows so thick they honestly look like they’ve been bullet-proofed, wait for the next flowing road to appear.

Bentley reckons the 85-litre tank will deliver 13.0 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle, but I suspect you'll have to be mighty gentle with the throttle to achieve it.

No ANCAP rating to speak of, and there's a surprising amount of safety stuff you'll have to choose for yourself here.

You'll need to select the Touring Specification to unlock things like Adaptive Cruise Control, a Head-Up Display, a Night Vision Camera and Lane Assist. Ticking City Specification gives you low-speed AEB with pedestrian detection, park assist, rear cross-traffic alert and a top-down camera.

Weird, right?

Safety features of the Ticking City Specification includes park assist, a top-down camera and more.

Bentley only offers a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with service intervals pegged at 12 months or 16,000kms. 

In a world filled with five-, seven- and 10-year warranties, we'd want to see a little longer for a vehicle in this class.

The Bentayga S has a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.