Bentley’s new Bentayga V8 first test: Tunan is unpredictable, changes are Kunpeng

The first time I test drove a Bentley Bentayga was exactly four years ago. In the article after the test drive, the sentence I used most when commenting on that car was: "This is a Bentley that inherits historical heritage, and at the same time, it is also a Bentley that dares to innovate." Yes, this rating is obviously high. It can be said that the Bentayga is not the most expensive among the top luxury cars that I have tried, but it is the one that I personally like and give higher evaluations among the top luxury cars.

Although I rated the Bentayga very highly and gave it a high recommendation rating at the time, I did not expect it to sell well. The reason is simple: it is very expensive, and it has broken away from the category of "luxury cars" that we generally recognize. This kind of car is destined to only belong to a very small number of people. However, data released by Bentley in the middle of this year showed that the cumulative sales of Bentayga since its launch in 2016 have exceeded 20,000 units. Seeing this number, I was really shocked: the average annual sales volume of a car at this price is 5,000 units. This is too exaggerated. How much money can this make for Bentley...

What was even more unexpected was that not long after seeing this sales figure, a friend from Bentley contacted me and said that the new Bentayga test drive had arrived in Beijing and asked me if I wanted to try it. Because the old model left such a deep impression on me, I was naturally unwilling to give up this opportunity, so I boarded the flight to Beijing...

New Bentayga Dynamic: Heritage History

After arriving at the test drive venue for the new Bentayga, I found that there are two main test drive subjects: track test drive and field test drive. After discovering this, I was quite happy, because four years ago, although I had a relatively in-depth experience with the Bentayga, I did not have the opportunity to experience that car on a closed track or off-road venue. This time, It can be considered as a supplement.

I won’t talk much about the off-road experience, because people who buy a Bentayga are unlikely to drive such an expensive car off-road. But the Bentayga itself has good hardware foundation: air suspension that can greatly adjust the height of the car, four off-road modes, Torsen differential, strong power... so general off-road projects are not difficult for it. In the off-road field, I basically drove the Bentayga steadily and completed the entire process without having too deep experience.

The most exciting thing is the track test drive. Although Bentley's logo is now hung on an SUV with a height of more than 1.7 meters, this brand was originally famous for motor sports. Bentley's founder W.O. Bentley himself was a racing expert, and Bentley cars have been regular participants in the famous Le Mans endurance race since its first inception. In the first 20 years of Bentley's founding, the brand has been famous for selling the fastest cars in the world. It was not until the acquisition of Rolls-Royce that Bentley slowly embarked on the road of luxury.

But because Bentley’s luxury image has been too deeply rooted in people’s hearts, I didn’t expect this Bentayga to be so powerful on the track. Driving it through the first corner at high speed, I was surprised: this dynamic sense of agility is nothing like an SUV with a wheelbase of nearly 3 meters and a weight of more than 2 tons. Its wheel tracking is excellent, you can clearly feel the status of the wheels in corners, and it makes you feel that the car is very flexible; at the same time, its body roll is extremely small, even on a track test drive, you feel The car doesn't have any noticeable roll. My mind immediately recalled the feeling I had when driving this car on the highway four years ago - this car drove very leisurely on the highway. Why did it become so "wild" as soon as I got off the road?

Indeed, the Bentayga feels obviously different when driving than its brothers Q7 and Cayenne on the same platform. The Q7 is Audi's typical approachable style. Whether you drive slowly or fiercely, it always looks like a good old guy and won't particularly irritate you. The Cayenne is the complete opposite. Even if you drive slowly, it will always drive you. It is very restless, and it always wants you to speed up and not waste all its sports equipment.

As for the Bentayga, when driving slowly in daily life, it is closer to the style of the Q7, stable and smooth, and because it is more powerful, it is more confident. It feels like a car in the ancient army. The commander with the highest combat power will never go into battle easily. But as soon as it goes into battle, it will definitely make fatal moves and instantly challenge the enemy. In this state, the Bentayga transforms into a bloodthirsty species closer to the Cayenne, and when driven intensely, its dynamic feedback and actual performance are no worse than those of the Porsche.

To achieve the Bentayga's effect of strolling around in slow times and moving like a rabbit at fast times, it must have good software and hardware support at the same time. In terms of hardware, the 48V electronic anti-roll bar, which is only available in high-end cars on the MLB-evo platform, is currently the most powerful tool on the planet to suppress vehicle roll. You really don’t know its effect until you try it; in terms of software, as mentioned before Said that although the Bentayga was born in MLB-evo, its chassis tuning is the responsibility of Bentley, including the huge differences between the 8 driving modes (4 off-road modes and 4 on-road modes). This is not a tuning experience. An extremely rich team is absolutely impossible to achieve.

Finally, let’s talk about motivation. The new Bentayga has canceled the W12 power (the SPEED high-performance version is still retained, but that version is not yet considered for sale in China), and has switched to V8? 4.0T as the main product. Compared with the W12 version I drove four years ago, the V8 model is actually more fun, or more "warm". Because the W12 version is too powerful, when you drive it normally, the engine speed will be at a very low position for a long time; while the V8 model has more active power and a more existential climb in speed. Moreover, this engine has been tuned to sound great in the Bentayga, so when driving this new Bentayga this time, I still found some new feelings that I didn't find four years ago.

The quietness of the new Bentayga: Brave to innovate

For actual buyers, the performance of the new Bentayga may not be as important as its appearance and interior changes. . So let’s talk about what’s new in the new Bentayga static aspect. According to Bentley, although this Bentayga is only a mid-term facelift, 70% of its body parts are new, which is extremely rare among mid-term facelift models.

If we look back at the old models, we will find that: Facing the new species in the SUV brand at that time, Bentley was still relatively careful in its design, reflecting more of a conservative and stable attitude. mentality. But with this new model, Bentley has obviously become a lot bolder. Many design elements of the entire car have become more like the elevated and family-like design of Bentley sports cars such as the Continental GT.

Especially at the rear of the car, in order to put Bentley’s new double elliptical taillights in, the designers and engineering department did not hesitate to drastically change the shape of the Bentayga’s tailgate. The new clamshell all-inclusive tailgate feels more integrated. Well, the integration with the twin oval taillights is better too. Although this change requires a major overhaul of the rear fender, the amount of work and cost are huge, but Bentley believes it is worth it.

As for the cabin, in addition to sticking to Bentley's usual luxurious cabin materials, the new Bentayga has also made improvements in many details. For example, the rear seats have been redesigned to expand some legroom; the screen on the front center console has been expanded to 10.9 inches, and a new system interface has been updated, including the latest trendy features such as wireless CarPlay; even the The optional Breitling watches have been replaced with richer mother-of-pearl dials with eight diamonds, which brings the style of the entire carriage to a higher level...

Although it may not be accurate and a bit vulgar. , but I really want to use "getting younger" to describe the design changes of the new Bentayga. Previous Bentayga, including most previous Bentleys, seemed to be more suitable for older people. But if a young car owner appears next to the new Bentayga, the scene will become much more harmonious.

Summary: Tunan is unpredictable, and the changes are Kunpeng

After test driving the new Bentayga and boarding the plane back to Guangzhou, I don’t know why, I thought of "Tunan" I am familiar with this line from Du Fu's poem "Unexpected, change has Kunpeng". Perhaps, because the Bentayga itself is larger, it reminds me of Kunpeng, a huge mythical beast in ancient Chinese legends.

But speaking of it, "The Story of Yueyang Tower" is a famous inspirational poem by Du Fu in his later years. As an important car series for Bentley in the new century, the Bentayga also has an extremely important "inspirational" role for the entire Bentley brand. . During these two experiences spanning four years from the old model to the new model, I have definitely felt the new ideas, new gameplay, and new changes that the Bentayga car has brought to the Bentley brand. As mentioned in the article, in the new vehicle of SUV, Bentley not only retains the excellent traditions that have been relied upon for success in history, but also boldly tries new designs and new technologies, allowing the Bentley brand to shine in the new century. unprecedented vitality (of course, the company's profitability should also go up). Therefore, although there are many masterpieces in the history of Bentley, the Bentayga "Kunpeng" will definitely leave a colorful page in the history of Bentley.

As for purchase recommendations, since I gave such a high rating to the W12 version that sold for nearly 4 million four years ago, today I am faced with a new model that is more affordable and has a more flavorful design. Bentayga, how can I be more harsh?

First test impression of Bentley's new Bentayga V8

Outstanding advantages: Although it is only a mid-term facelift rather than a replacement, the design has many new ideas; the dynamic performance is very excellent; the materials used in the cabin are of extremely high quality high.

Main shortcomings: The space performance is still not very spacious; the W12 totem model has been cancelled.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.