CAR OF THE WEEK

Why The 2018 Bentley Bentayga W12 Is The Best SUV In The World

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There is a persuasive argument that the 2018 Bentley Bentayga 6.0 W12 represents the moment when the SUV stopped being merely a practical vehicle and became a genuine British luxury grand tourer. It takes everything Bentley had learned from more than a century of building exceptional cars—and places it in a high-riding, four-wheel-drive body capable of astonishing performance.

Bentley’s history is inseparable from British craftsmanship and coachbuilding. The company’s early cars were famously associated with speed, endurance and hand-finished luxury, while Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke division, can trace its origins to saddlery and carriage building in the sixteenth century. By the early twentieth century, coachbuilders such as H.J. Mulliner were creating bespoke bodies for Britain’s wealthy elite. That tradition survives in the Bentayga: hand-stitched leather, real wood veneers, metal detailing and an extraordinary range of personalisation options.

But the Bentayga is more than craftsmanship on wheels. Its defining feature is the magnificent 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12. In the 2018 car, that engine produces around 600bhp and 664lb-ft of torque, driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Bentley claimed 0–60mph in 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 187mph. Those figures are remarkable for any vehicle, let alone one weighing roughly 2.4 tonnes.

Contemporary testing demonstrated just how extraordinary this was. Car and Driver recorded a 3.6-second 0–60mph time, 12.0 seconds through the quarter-mile and 0.85g on the skidpad. In other words, this enormous luxury SUV could accelerate like a serious sports car while carrying the refinement of a Bentley limousine.

The cleverness extends beyond straight-line speed. The Bentayga employed adaptive air suspension and a sophisticated 48-volt active anti-roll system, allowing it to remain remarkably composed through corners without sacrificing its limousine-like ride. Top Gear marvelled that a vehicle approaching two-and-a-half tonnes could be both comfortable and genuinely entertaining on a British B-road.

And that is ultimately why the 2018 W12 deserves the title of best SUV in the world. A Range Rover may arguably have greater off-road heritage; a Lamborghini Urus is more overtly sporting; a Rolls-Royce Cullinan is even more extravagant. Yet the Bentayga combines elements of all three while retaining something uniquely British: restraint, craftsmanship and grand-touring character.

It is simultaneously a continent-crossing express, a luxury lounge, a family SUV and a 187mph technological statement. Contemporary Autocar called the W12 “one of the most complete and compelling luxury products in the world.”

For an SUV, that is an extraordinary achievement. For a Bentley, it is exactly what you would expect.

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