How to be cool without trying too hard? Be like Bentley. It’s pretty impressive for a 100-year-old company to be at the forefront of innovation. Welcome in the hybrid Bentley Bentayga, a plug-in luxury car that comes to play. It’s the kind of car that was made for a road trip, whether you’re driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, out to the Hamptons, or through Europe.
Since our travel habits will be modified for the next six months or so, how we road trip — and what we road trip in — matter even more. If you’re an eco-minded baller, the Bentayga is right up your alley.
First thing’s first — this is a hybrid vehicle, which is incredibly en vogue right now, so bonus points right out of the gate. But it doesn’t stop there. One of the biggest problems with most hybrids is that you’re forced to choose between style and ecofriendliness. Not a great dilemma for luxury cars. That’s why the Bentayga hybrid takes a different, more aggressive approach. It just straight up gives you both. Working with a V6 engine and a combined system horsepower of 443, this baby can move. Sure, it’s a little less raw power than you’d find in Bentley’s typical V8, but unless you plan on street racing Fast & Furious-style, you’ll have more power (and attention) than you’ll know what to do with. We drove it through California last summer, and the only tell was how quiet the car was, so much so that we kept checking whether the engine was really on. We dug it. We actually dug it a lot.
But if you’re really worried about sacrificing an ounce of speed, just remember: when you’ve hit the point that you’re riding around in a Bentley, people wait for you. So relax, you’ve got plenty of time.
Moving inside, the interior has all the comforts you’d expect from Bentley. Because the lithium-ion battery is stored in the floor, no space is wasted. The interior is nearly identical to that of its all-fuel relatives, made with the Bentley standards of craftsmanship and comfort. That said, thanks to the electric engine, you’re looking at a near-silent driving experience, creating a kind of peaceful sensation not found in other luxury vehicles.
Finally, the price tag serves as a surprising twist. Where most hybrids end up being more expensive than traditional vehicles, Bentley’s Bentayga hybrid comes in as their most affordable model starting at just $156,000 (with plenty of options for customizations, of course). Not to mention all the money you’ll be saving with the combined city and highway 50 mpg. Two things we never thought would be in the same sentence: Buy a Bentley, save money. And as for the environment, Bentley is the UK’s first carbon-neutral plant, where 100% of their energy comes from sustainable resources. We like it when we can have it all.