Bentley Bentayga EWB: Redefining luxury in the world of SUVs

Not so long ago, the pinnacle of luxury was primarily offered by large saloons. An elegant limousine was the quintessence of a prestigious vehicle. Getting out of the back seat of this several-metre-long sleek body in front of a theatre, restaurant, or other meeting place was a status symbol. Someone important had arrived, with a capital S.

Meanwhile, getting out of the back seat of an SUV usually means that mum brought you to football practice. These gigantic cars have become family favourites, pushing estate cars and vans out of the market. Over time, as a status symbol, they also began to push out limousines. They became favourites of accountants in premium brands – high margins, long waiting lists – what more could you want?

Thus, we have reached the point where almost every brand (excluding low-volume ones) has an SUV in its lineup, even if it pretends not to, let's not kid ourselves – they do (looking significantly in the direction of Maranello). Because it's a large, very malleable body – easy to shape both outside and inside, among others, Bentley ventured to create a luxurious interpretation of this car. This is how the Bentayga was born. But the recipe for the car that now stands before me didn't stop there.

In 2020, Bentley's phenomenal Mulsanne model disappeared from the lineup. This flagship limousine was everything mentioned above. It was a manifestation of both financial capabilities and the impeccable taste of its owner. Anyone who had a chance to see this car in person knows it was in a class of its own. The ship-sized saloon didn't get a direct successor, but Bentley still wanted to have something in its offering that answers the client's question about maximum luxury.

Therefore, the British created the Bentayga EWB. This abbreviation stands for Extended WheelBase. The EWB variant is longer than the standard model by 18 centimetres. All of this was inserted between the B and C pillars, clearly indicating that the goal was to provide maximum space for the rear seats.

Bentley thus changed the dimensions of this car to give it yacht-like proportions. Since the debut of the standard Bentayga, I have considered it one of the best transfers of the brand's stylistic language from sports models to SUVs. In the EWB version, this design has been taken to an even higher level as the car has gained more sleekness.

However, there is no doubt – it's still a Bentley. From whichever side you look, the shapes of this car bear the same, perfectly known signature. The contour on the side, running from the front wing to the muscle carved on the rear door leading over the rear wheels – this is a formula perfected by the stylists from Crewe.

By coincidence, the Bentayga EWB reached me in two specifications – Azure being a pearl-painted Ghost White specimen (about £216,000 for the tested configuration). Meanwhile, Mulliner is a spectacular machine in Grey Violet paint (about £252,000 for the test specimen). From the outside, you can most easily distinguish them by the grille – the Azure Bentayga has vertical slats, and the Mulliner features a fine, trapezoidal pattern that glitters like evenly arranged gemstones. Both variants perfectly match the crystal inserts of the characteristic round headlights.

However, the essence of the Bentayga EWB is not its monumental body but the luxurious interior crafted with incredible attention to detail. The rear seats are, of course, key. The car has a 4+1 layout. Despite the extensive centre console between the two rear aviation seats, housing a refrigerator and holders for stylish champagne flutes, a third seat fits, allowing one more person to be transported if necessary.

Most often, however, these seats will serve in a version with the armrest open. Equipped with multi-directional adjustments and the possibility of nearly reclining the backrests, they feature, among others, functions like Seat Auto Climate, which ensures that the seat is ventilated and heated in a manner ideally suited to the passenger's body temperature, and Postural Adjust, which makes micro-adjustments over long journeys to reduce travel fatigue.

To improve the comfort of passengers getting into the back, Bentley has also equipped the Bentayga EWB with electrically closing doors. This can be done manually or with the support of a drive during manual operation. It's a really handy feature if you're getting into the back alone because the extended wheelbase has resulted in really heavy doors for passengers to handle.

To ensure comfort extends beyond the seats, the British have equipped the extended Bentayga with the Bentley Dynamic Ride system, consisting of two electrically-controlled stabilisers that automatically stiffen during cornering. Meanwhile, on straight sections, the system relaxes to reduce the impact of all bumps.

So, the rear passengers in the Bentayga get maximum comfort. But does the driver get what's equally strong in Bentley's DNA, meaning a touch of sporty driving sensations? I had this doubt initially. It is already a huge car, and it's hard to defy physics to such an extent.

And yet – Bentley did it. Of course, it is not a strictly sports car, but the suspension works at an unprecedented level, keeping the monumental body in check even in situations where the driver has miscalculated the speed of the upcoming sequence of turns. The mighty Bentayga bends into arcs surprisingly nimbly and pushes out of them even more efficiently.

Under the long bonnet of the British SUV works a 4-litre V8 engine, inflated by two turbochargers to a power level of 542 hp and torque of 770 Nm. Although you might expect some brutality with this power, Bentley dispenses sensations in a very measured way. The response to the right foot commands is immediate, but there's not a gram of vulgarity in it. You can feel and hear the V8 setting the pace of the world outside the windows, but everything happens here without any abruptness.

In Sport mode, the 8-speed ZF transmission perfectly handles this immense torque, distributing it to four wheels through Torsen. When the knob is simply in mode B, signed with a round letter borrowed from the Bentley logo (yes, nothing in this car is normal, so why should the mode be called Normal?), everything happens with silky smoothness. The V8 works even more calmly and slowly but consistently pushes the car forward without disturbing the peace inside the vehicle.

In this phenomenon, I only have one “but.” The execution of the entire car is top-notch. The leathers are finished with craftsman-like precision. An exquisite analogue clock, framed by gleaming metal flowing around the air vents, dominates the top of the dashboard. Alongside this amazing palette of materials that can embellish this interior, as perfectly exemplified by both "my" specimens, Bentley shows that it plays in the top league when it comes to luxury. Even the closures of the seat guides are hidden under beautiful, chrome-plated covers. And yet, in one place, the team of experts from Crewe took the easy way out.

The paddles behind the steering wheel are simply plastic elements taken straight from Audi. It's incomprehensible to me, because Bentley had a set in the outgoing Continental GT that looked like handcrafted jewellery. The knurled surrounds of the paddles in Bentley's gran turismo show that this one detail could also be done better.

Many criticise this model because the steering wheel also comes from corporate relatives in Ingolstadt, but in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with that – yes, the shape is familiar, but it's finished to a high standard, feels great to touch, and everything on it works flawlessly. However, the plastic paddles behind it are a level below the rest of this British masterpiece.

This small flaw is, however, something unnoticeable on a daily basis. The Bentayga EWB represents the pinnacle of what a luxurious SUV can be. It provides everything we used to expect from limousines. It's the maximum luxury dressed in new, spectacular attire.