Bentley has introduced a newer larger variant of the Bentayga. As if one of the most imperious luxury SUVs you can buy wasn’t spacious enough, the Extended Wheel Base is here for those with an “if you have to ask, it isn’t enough” philosophy on rear seat legroom and luxury.
Of course, Bentley is in the unique position where such a vehicle would in fact be filling a gap in its range, rather than extending it. Alongside the Flying Spur the Bentayga EWB will help to soak up demand previously served by the now discontinued Mulsanne flagship.
The EWB Bentayga adds a total of 180mm of cabin space, with the wheelbase extended to 3,175mm. That doesn’t sound like a huge increase, but it’s how that space is used that makes the difference. All of that extension is seen visually in the rear door – now available with a power-close function – and of course, once you open it. Rear seat passengers will be enjoying, so Bentley says, class-leading cabin space in terms of size, besting rivals by over 40mm.
Being a Bentley, luxury is near peerless and in the EWB, thoroughly informed by innovation, with the introduction of optional Bentley Airline Specification seats, the world’s first with auto climate and advanced postural adjustment, in an all-new 4+1 layout.
Yes, it knows how hot or cold you are and how humid it is, and heats or cools you as appropriate for ‘optimal thermal wellbeing’. The advanced postural adjustment works similarly to the auto climate, in that you don’t have to push buttons to make your seat move. Rather, micro adjustments are made automatically by measuring pressure across the seat. It’s capable of a full 177 individual pressure changes across six zones inside a three-hour period. Does new technology get more ‘Bentley’ than that?
More conventionally speaking, there are also 22 ways of manual adjustment and a maximum 40-degree recline in Relax Mode. In so doing, the front passenger seat then moves forward, as a foot rest deploys from the back of it. Business Mode on the other hand puts the seat in its most upright position.
Four-seat and five-seat specifications are available, though Bentley customers weren’t fussed about a seven-seat option for the EWB, in spite of it being an option on the standard car. Luxury, space and opulence are the order of the day here. The four-seat comfort spec also gets a centre console with an optional integrated 750ml drinks cooler, with its own Cumbria Crystal flutes.
Other luxurious enhancements for the EWB include high-tech leather trimming and even in-leather lighting. Known as Bentley Diamond Illumination, 22 LEDs sit in the rear doors lighting the cabin through perforated leather, working in tandem with the ambient mood lighting and ‘waterfall illumination’ lamps. High-tech stitching tech for finer, softer threads, first introduced in the EXP 100 GT concept, make production here too. The centre console leading into the rear has also been enhanced, with a wireless charging cradle and new vents, while the panoramic sunroof is moved back by 125mm to better accommodate rear-seated passengers.
On the outside, besides the changes to the doors, it’s a facelifted Bentayga as we know and fear it. Stately yet sporty, imperious yet athletic. It’s actually aged quite well, and by our count, the proportions are improved with the extended wheelbase. There’s new 22-inch 10-spoke wheels, the repositioned sunroof and most obviously from the front at least, a new vertical vane grille first seen on the new Flying Spur. There’s more headroom than in a Mulsanne, but with a lower roofline than SUV rivals to retain something of a sporty stance.
Customisation is as you’d imagine: near limitless, with 24 billion different trim combinations. Two enhanced specifications will be available from launch – Azure and First Editions, with lots of added options, trimmings luxuries and of course, status.
In terms of mechanicals, your chauffeur will be thankful for the new four-wheel-steering system, providing a turning circle that’s seven per cent tighter than that of the standard car. The EWB will be available initially with the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, producing 550PS (404kW) and 770Nm (568lb ft), which will make it good for 180mph flat-out and 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. We expect a hybrid will be arriving before long.
High performance is part of the package but certainly not front and centre, with talk of how the Bentayga isolates its occupants from road noise – which its research has found increases the likelihood of depression – much more prominent and explained in much greater detail. The Bentayga bests its rivals on cabin noise by between four and 26 per cent depending on frequencies and where you are in the car, in part thanks to its Bentley Dynamic Ride and 48-volt anti-roll system.
It’s easy to think of these kinds of models to a simple stretch version but the Bentayga EWB uses over 2,500 new parts compared with the standard car. A larger car with more space and amped-up luxury but with better manoeuvrability? Sounds like the best Bentayga yet. The sad news? You probably guessed, this is a car very much geared toward eastern markets and as such, isn’t conventionally available to order in the UK. What Bentley buyers want, however, they do usually get. Pop into your Bentley dealer and see what sharp Ps and Qs and a cheque for over £300,000 gets you.
Keyword: Bentley reveals Bentayga Extended Wheel Base