Bentley Bentayga Hybrid 2019 first drive

A very important and, indeed, significant car. It is the first step on the road towards Bentley’s stated goal of having a hybrid version of every car it sells by the end of 2023. It looks just like a normal Bentley Bentayga to such an extent that you need to go ferreting around to find a hybrid badge on the body and a new mode button in the interior before its true identity is revealed.

Or you could just look under the bonnet where instead of the 4.0-litre V8 and 6.0-litre W12 motors that have resided therein to date, you’ll find a little 3.0-litre V6, an engine that by one single cubic centimetre is the smallest ever to be fitted to a Bentley. It’s an Audi motor but you’ll find related versions in hybrid versions of the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne. The engine produces a very understressed 335bhp while the electric motor adds a further 126bhp – though, in the way of such things, they are not able both to produce peak power at the same time, so its maximum system output is 443bhp.

Not only is that a lot less power than we’re used to Bentleys wielding of late, it’s in a car that’s even heavier than those to which we’ve become accustomed. At 2626kg, if you want to find a Bentley that weighs more than that, you’ll need to look at the Mulsanne, and that not by much. Perhaps surprisingly, then, the stats are actually quite impressive: 0-62mph in 5.2sec may not scare a Lamborghini Urus off the road but, for most people, that and its 158mph top speed should more than suffice.

It offers a claimed all-electric range of 16 miles – though, in reality and decent weather, it’s likely to go further than that. You can also maintain battery levels while driving for when you encounter a low- or zero-emission zone in future. Unlike some cars and for certification reasons, you cannot actually charge the battery from the engine.

The hard truth is that this is not a very Bentley engine. The V6 is quiet enough at modest efforts but, if you work it hard, there is little enjoyment to be had: it sounds rather strained in the upper reaches of its rev range. It’s been 60 years since Bentley last launched a car with fewer than eight cylinders and that thunder to which we have become so acclimatised by successive generations of eights and 12s is notable only for its absence.

In outright terms, the performance available is actually entirely and even unexpectedly convincing for such a car, but it’s hard to see owners using it for any reason other than necessity.