Tested: 2022 Bentley Bentayga S Smells Like Money
From the June 2022 issue of Car and Driver.
Bentleys are memorable, but possibly not for the reason you’re thinking. Open a Bentayga’s door and, at about the same time you finish marveling at how the weight of the door glides through its detents, out pours the smell. Scent is the sense our brains connect most to memory, and when you take a hit of a Bentayga S, with its leather seats, headliner, and instrument panel, your hippocampus sends you back to that birthday when you got a new wallet.
If that wallet is now overstuffed with money, you might be able to afford a Bentayga S like our $269,865 test car. The S denotes the sporty version that comes with gloss-black exterior trim and a Sport mode that drops the air springs down to their second-lowest setting. Imagine André the Giant crouching down, and then congratulate yourself for having a vivid imagination.
Andi HedrickCar and Driver
HIGHS: A whiff of the leather-lined interior, listening to the audio system, on-demand silence or thunder.
Bentley is happy to remind anyone who’ll listen that the brand won Le Mans a bunch of times nearly 100 years ago, so adding sportiness to its 5439-pound SUV is both a novel approach and an age-old tradition. In its dropped stance, the S irons out curves. Riding on 22-inch wheels fitted with Pirelli P Zero summer tires, it serves up 0.88 g of skidpad grip without much body roll.
The S’s twin-turbocharged V-8 gets the same 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque as it does in the regular Bentayga. That power moves this very special episode of Downton Abbey to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The Sport exhaust, standard on the S, gives the driver their own private thunderstorm.
Andi HedrickCar and Driver
LOWS: Ride harshness, rear-seat legroom, close relatives cost half as much.
Lay off the thunder pedal and the cabin keeps the outside world far away. Disturbing the peace are the tires smacking in protest as they face Rust Belt roads. Switching to Comfort mode softens the suspension and takes the edge off but leaves the Bentley wallowing. The Bentley mode is a good compromise, though the ride isn’t as plush as the rest of the experience. Rear-seat space is also a bit lacking for something in this league.
Andi HedrickCar and Driver
Built on the same corporate architecture as the Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne, and Lamborghini Urus, the Bentayga distinguishes itself with its impeccably applied paint and redolent interior—even the carpet feels special. There’s also what is likely the best factory audio system, an $8970 20-speaker, 1920-watt setup from Naim. It inspired an impromptu office party in the parking lot, where we savored an uncompressed version of “In the Air Tonight.”
Except for a few Volkswagen parts-bin switches, the Bentley’s materials and features create a very special experience. But it’s the smell that gets you.
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