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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 Continental GT Mulliner Convertible turns thread into bling

Bentley spent 18 months developing the technique for its double diamond stitching, which uses 712 stitches to sew a diamond pattern inside a larger diamond pattern. Created for the new-generation Continental GT, the English automaker said in December 2019 that three-quarters of Continental GT customers order the feature. When a little is good, more is better, so Bentley's Mulliner division has worked up the Continental GT Mulliner Convertible, putting more of the double diamond motif all around the car. It starts with the new double diamond grille, the pattern placing a small silver diamonds inside black, diamond-shaped mesh. The black and silver theme repeats in the custom side vents, the new, 22-inch, 10-spoke Mulliner wheels picking up on the two colorways. The cabin's been laid out with double diamond all over — nearly 400,000 stitches worth of it, from the seats to the doors and, for the first time, on the tonneau cover. The diamonds can be specced in two colors that contrast against the primary leather color, a design line across the instrument panel and the doors adding a third accent. Mulliner has laid out eight different three-color combinations to get potential customers started, because Mulliner is thoughtful like that. But of course, any hue is fair game, wallet depending. Further flourishes inside include a diamond-milled finish for the center console, and a Breitling clock set inside four chrome rings. It's no wonder Mulliner chose the droptop for this showcase, intent on showing the world what the craftspeople in Crewe can do.  Upon delivery, buyers receive their two keys inside Mulliner-branded presentation boxes that match the three-way color scheme inside the convertible, the keys themselves ensconced in color-matched cases with contrast stitching. Details, details.  We'll get a closer look at the Continental GT Mulliner Convertible at the Geneva Motor Show next month, where it will share the stage with an even more intense work of Mulliner, the Bacalar, responsible for demonstrating "the future of coachbuilding." Related Video:

2022 Bentley Flying Spur First Drive Review | Purple reign, purple reign

MALIBU, Calif. – When I first moved to New York City in the early 1990s, two careers before I became an automotive writer, I worked as a preschool teacher in Brooklyn. I rode my bike to work from Manhattan each day, over the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most bountiful opportunities for car-spotting in a city with the nationÂ’s lowest rates of automobile ownership. The most notable vehicle I saw regularly was a stately and very violet Bentley sedan. The only thing more outrageous than its Azure Purple exterior color, and the distinctive rumbling of its signature 6.75-liter V8, was its vanity license plate. Seeming to signify that its owner was a proctologist or gastroenterologist, it read, MD TUSH. As I drove that car's descendant, an excessively purple Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid, I couldnÂ’t stop thinking of MD TUSH, whomever they were. Their flash. Their panache. Their dedication to being seen – even from the elevated bike path of New York's original suspension bridge. One could argue that this is part of the job of an occasion car like this, a $204,000 (base price) sedan that is as long as a Chevrolet Tahoe. It is supposed to make an impact. So it's counterintuitive that the Flying Spur Hybrid always starts off in EV Drive mode, which prioritizes the sole use of the rechargeable 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It decidedly does not make an impact. I suppose that one cannot discount the element of surprise. But in that mode – one of three accessed through a metal button on the center consoleÂ’s button-resplendent surface – the big four-door skulks off with eerie silence, and will continue to do so for about 25 miles on the European WLTP cycle (EPA certification has not yet been completed, but it will likely be lower than the EU number), whereupon it needs 2.5 hours to charge with a fast charger of unspecified voltage via a conspicuous port on the left rear fender. As a preview of BentleyÂ’s promised all-electric future – which will begin with its first fully battery powered-vehicle in 2025, en route to a full-line voltaic conversion by 2030 – the Flying Spur has some allure. With its silence, thrust, and uncanny eeriness, electric power suits ultra-luxury limousines.