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Bentley Bentayga Hybrid First Drive Review | Mass without substance

The new Bentley Bentayga Plug-In Hybrid is the venerable British brand's cheapest vehicle. Certainly, with a base price of $158,000, it is not inexpensive by any stretch. In fact, it costs more than four times the average price of a new vehicle purchased in America this year. But after driving an advance version of the marque's first plug-in through the horror-scape that is Silicon Valley, we were reminded of the old saying: You get what you pay for. We will preface this review by stating something that should be obvious: The Bentley Bentayga is our least favorite Bentley. Its proportions are inelegant, its shape nondescript. Though we know it is hand-built in Crewe alongside the rest of the marque's wondrous new lineup, it lacks the specialness, a sense of occasion that should be endemic. This isn't just because it's a sport utility vehicle, and thus ostensibly utilitarian. The contemporary Range Rover, the Mercedes G-Class, and even the Rolls-Royce Cullinan all have the kind of gracious charisma that the Bentayga lacks, even if they deliver it in a manner that is louche and imperious. The Bentayga looks like a Bentley knockoff, a crossover tarted up with all of the relevant if superficial brand cues, but without the necessary substance. The plug-in hybrid only enhances this perception. Whereas other Bentaygas at least arrive with potent twin-turbocharged motors in V8 (542 horsepower ) and W12 (600 or 626 hp) configurations, the Bentayga Hybrid is granted only a 335-horsepower VW parts bin 3.0-liter, single-turbo V6, paired with 13 kWh of batteries in the trunk and a 126-hp electric motor. It accelerates to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, well off the pace of its non-hybrid siblings and in the realm of its lesser platform-mate, the $70,000 Audi Q8 V6. This is not special. Even less special is the way in which the Bentayga Hybrid comports itself when accomplishing its tasks. A Bentley, by definition, is meant to be extraordinary, and this extraordinariness is meant to be effortless. Being in a Bentley should make everyday events special, and special events grand or even grandiose. Driving the Bentayga Hybrid feels like engaging with functional transportation. This is not because we are hostile to electric vehicles. We love electric vehicles, and their intrinsic and luxurious benefits in terms of silent operation and instant-on torque.

Bentley debating production of either Speed 6 or smaller SUV

A fifth model is coming to the Bentley range, and after the EXP10 Speed 6 concept dropped jaws and a whole lot more at this year's Geneva Motor Show, observers expected the luscious green coupe to get the go-ahead. Yet, since January, Bentley has publicly mulled a new SUV smaller than the coming Bentayga that would "to attract more women and younger buyers to the brand." Now, the firm's marketing director is in the midst of a global research to work up a business case for each model that will decide the matter. The growth of the SUV market and the success of more affordable models forces Bentley to consider the potential money stacks provided by an even more price-friendly entry. The SUV is helped by the fact that it could be built on the same MSB platform that would support a production version of the EXP10 Speed 6. It looks like this is another cage match between heart and incontrovertible business case, yet a nod to the SUV wouldn't necessarily kill the Speed 6, only delay it. The investment for a fifth model begins after the Bentayga goes on sale at the end of this year, with 2020 or 2021 suggested as the production date for whichever new model comes next. There's no reason the Speed 6 couldn't come after that, even though we - and a bunch of potential customers - know the model we'd choose to build right now. According to Autocar, it might take up to two years for a decision. And either model will be draining enough of the company's time, talent, and resources as to mitigate a super-high-performance Continental variant, as we reported earlier. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept: Geneva 2015 View 9 Photos News Source: AutocarImage Credit: Drew Phillips / AOL Bentley Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Luxury Performance bentley bentayga bentley exp 10 speed 6

Bentley putting Mulsanne-based Azure, Brooklands back on the table [w/poll]

Big plans are afoot at Bentley. The quintessentially British automaker has just about signed off on the final version of its new SUV, and will surely roll out more versions of the Continental in the coming years, but that's not all. It's said to be considering a new sports coupe smaller than the Continental GT, but the latest reports coming in from the UK suggest that it also has plans for the Mulsanne's platform.
Currently, the Mulsanne is only available in one configuration, but Bentley is widely expected to be bringing a new, more powerful Mulsanne Speed to the Paris Motor Show this fall with around 550 horsepower. That's not all, however, as word comes in that the Flying B marque is planning to re-introduce both the Azure and the Brooklands as competitors to the Rolls-Royce Phantom DHC and Phantom Coupe, respectively.
For those who don't remember, the Azure and Brooklands were a pair of two-doors based on the Arnage that preceded the Mulsanne at the top of Bentley's range. The Azure was a convertible and the Brooklands a fixed-roof coupe, both of them larger than the Continental GT and powered by the company's evergreen (yet decidedly un-green) 6.75-liter V8.