For the first time, Crewe’s most extravagant offering is an SUV. Does it stack up?
The Bentley Bentayga EWB – all 5.3m, 2.6 tonnes and, in top-billing Mulliner specification tested here, almost £260,000 of it – represents not only a good deal of steel, leather and knurled aluminium, but also a car that’s a good deal more significant for the brand than the somewhat prosaic Extended Wheelbase denomination might suggest.
Outwardly, this is little more than an elongated version of Bentley’s best-seller. It features back doors that are 18cm longer than those on the normal Bentayga, as well as comfort-enhancing additions such as ‘postural adjustment technology’ and push-button door closures, à la Rolls-Royce. There are also some meaningful dynamic evolutions to a luxury SUV that first appeared almost a decade ago but, in the main, there’s nothing you would label transformative.
However, in dialling up the opulence and expansiveness of the rear portion of the Bentayga’s cabin, the EWB also becomes the spiritual successor to the 6.75-litre Mulsanne. The limousine, whose cabin famously required 16 hides to upholster, was retired in 2020, but it was the definitive modern Bentley flagship. Its absence hasn’t adversely affected the bottom line but the range has perhaps lacked the aura of a truly talismanic model.
The EWB plugs that hole and, in doing so, seeks to cater for the interested driver and the demanding VIP passenger alike. Factor in off-road ability and, on paper, we have here arguably one of the most complete cars money can buy. But in reality? Let’s find out.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
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Though notionally an SUV, the EWB’s unusual proportions give it a silhouette that is more ‘propped-up super-estate’ in appearance. At 5305mm, the biggest Bentley is roughly the length of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, yet the roofline is nearly 100mm lower. Most testers felt that the car looks less awkward at a glance than long-wheelbase versions of other luxury cars, though study the body and you will quickly discern the distended scope of the rear doors, which are the visible trace of a wheelbase that has grown from 2995mm to 3175mm. Opened wide on both sides, they give the EWB a wingspan of 4400mm, making it second only to the 4600mm of the albatross-esque Rolls-Royce Spectre.
Otherwise, the EWB is almost identical to the regular Bentayga in aesthetic terms, barring a new grille and unique alloy wheel designs. The work that goes i
