Our @salaontop is driving the new glorious @bentleysouthafrica Bentayga Diesel. A first for Bentley. Interestingly the powerful all-new 4.0 litre V8 engine with 320kW of 900 Nm of torque has a claimed fuel consumption of only 8.0 l/100km. This will see you achieve a range of over 1000 km from the 85 litre tank. #bentayga #bentleybentayga #bentley #bentleybentaygadiesel #capetown #westerncape #luxury #premium #bentleyMzansi 📸 @thamzn

A post shared by The Car People (@khulekani_on_wheels) on Jul 4, 2018 at 5:09am PDT

By Sala Masindane

The Bentley Bentayga diesel is the first of its kind. The premium manufacturer recently launched its first ever SUV, the Bentayga W12, which caused some disruption in the South African market. Now, the diesel version of the Bentayga has landed and it promises to ruffle some feathers. The Bentayga diesel is exclusively intended for the European, South African and Australian market. This is probably due to the fact that the Americans are moving away from diesel and plan on having diesel free cars by the year 2030.

Exterior

The Bentley Bentayga diesel is distinctive by the gloss black radiator matrix grille with a chrome surround and centre bar that meets you in the front view, while the tailpipes are slightly altered and the “V8-diesel” badge is on the front wing which apparently most Bentley owners prefer. The Bentayga Diesel retains the similar styling as any Bentayga W12, that includes the typical round front LED headlights, black ‘B’ badging on radiator shell, boot lid and the signature sharp lines and flowing curves. What is also noticeable in the Bentayga Diesel is the rounded rear, where the rear lights are imbedded with a “B” insignia. We are not fans of the automatic opening boot but found that this one does work relatively well when you place your foot to open it up. Once open, an air-suspension control can be used to lower the Bentayga to be able to load heavier items easier.

Interior

The classical Bentley look and feel greets you when you step inside. This is evident by the two-hoop dash design which has different colours of the wood veneers as options, the traditional centre dash mounted clock, luxury hand-stitched embroidered Bentley leather seats and the organ-stops that control the typical Bentley air vents. The attention to detail in the interior of the Bentayga Diesel is carried through to the two-tone steering multifunctional steering wheel with metal scrollers, one for volume control and one for the 8-inch infotainment system. Rear passengers will enjoy ride just as well, as there’s enough legroom and headroom, and the technology is just as impressive. These include a mini digital controller that controls the rear climate, seats and keep tabs on the driver’s current speed. Impressive! You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a Bentley Mulsanne.

The powerful diesel engine and drive

Under the hood of the R2.95-million Bentayga Diesel is a 4.0-litre V8 tri-turbodiesel which produces 320Kw and Nm of torque, with the 0-100 km/h sprint at 4.8 seconds (making the Bentayga the fastest SUV available at the time of writing this piece). The tri-turbodiesel consists two mechanical, twin-scroll turbochargers boosted by 48V electrical system. The motor is surprisingly silent and does not sound like a conventional diesel. Driving through the mountainous Cape, the Bentayga handled the twists with relative ease for a big SUV. It also very responsive when putting your foot down. We also liked the Active Cruise Control with lane keep assist. This took the load from us as this assisted in the driving. Unfortunately, we did not test the Bentayga’s off-roading capabilities but with drive modes such as muddy rocks and sand dune, it is surely a good sport off road. However, let’s be honest only 1% of the Bentayga Diesel owners will take if off-road but its capable. The extended range of 1000km from the claimed fuel consumption of 8.0l/100 km will ensure that the Bentayga does a lot of road trips.