Bentley Bentayga review

You’ve a choice of four, five or seven seats. You’ll likely have the ultra-plush four-seater if you’re being chauffeured around, in which case you’ll be enjoying an extra 10cm of legroom compared to the old Bentayga. But then someone pulls up next to you in a new EWB with an extra 18cm of rear space. Awks. Try to shrug it off. By the way, you can’t have seven seats in the Hybrid because the batteries get in the way.

If you’re sat up front, though, things have improved even more markedly, even if the changes are all – once again – largely in the details. Bentaygas have never felt quite as special as a Continental or Flying Spur inside, with more VW Group-familiar displays and switchgear, even if the materials and presentation have generally been befitting of a £150,000-plus purchase. There’s less awareness of the inevitable part-sharing here, even if the ‘rotating Toblerone’ entertainment screen of lither Bentleys is missing.

What about the tech?

The tech’s all taken a step up. Apple CarPlay is now wireless, Android Auto makes its debut, and there seems to be a USB-C port embedded in every surface you look at. Which means updating your charging cable if you use a slightly older phone, but then you’re a Bentley owner. You probably don’t.

Oh, and if you stick your phone on the inductive charging plinth, it’s surrounded by a signal booster. The Conti GT that formerly lived in the Top Gear Garage had an interior so well cocooned it occasionally prompted an involuntary digital detox each time you drove it. One we might actually miss when all our WhatsApp groups are pinging away with endless GIFs inside one of these.

Any other tweaks?

Fully digital dials with classier map displays than an equivalent Audi, a newly smooth steering wheel with the stitching moved from the outside of the rim (so as not to irritate your finely moisturised fingers), a more artistic central air vent (which ionises the air it pumps out) and a new remote control for rear passengers to control their own seats and climate, possessing as much processing power as a home PC of a decade ago.

You’ll lose days perusing all the wood, leather, trim and stitching options inside, while you’ve a choice of two stereos: the standard, 590W, 12-speaker set-up, or the optional Naim system with 1,780W and 20 speakers. Have that. You’ll realise why as soon as you listen to it.