We drove a Bentley Bentayga SUV to see if it's worth the $246,000 asking price — here's the verdict

• The Bentley Bentayga arrived in 2016.
• Upon its debut, the Bentayga helped usher in the era of the ultra-premium SUV.
• Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini both followed Bentley into the segment.
• The Bentayga is powered by a 600 horsepower, twin-turbocharged W12 engine.
• The Bentley SUV can hit 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 187 mph.
• The 2018 Bentley Bentayga starts at $195,000. 

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The Bentley Bentayga is one of the most talked-about cars in recent memory that doesn't carry Ferrari's prancing stallion or one of Tesla's battery packs.

With global demand for SUVs unyielding, it was only a matter of time before the world's most exclusive automakers joined in on the action.  

High-end luxury SUVs have been on the market for as longs there's been luxury cars and SUVs. These days, Range Rover is an unstoppable sales juggernaut, while the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has long shed its utilitarian upbringing to become a status symbol for world's well-heeled elite. 

But it wasn't until the Bentayga's debut in 2016 that the era of the ultra-luxury SUV began. This year, the Bentley SUV was joined by both the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the Lamborghini Urus.

In late 2016, Bentley dropped off a white Bentayga for Business Insider to check out.  Even though we were able to shoot photos, scheduling restraints did not afford us enough driving time to properly evaluate the vehicle. So Bentley gave us another bite at the apple a couple of months ago when it loaned us another Bentayga — a 2018 model in Rubino Red.

But this time around, we were able to spend nearly a week with the Bentayga. The 2018 Bentley Bentayga starts at $195,000 but $48,120 in options and a $2,725 destination fee pushed the as-tested price to $245,845. 

Here's a closer look at the Bentley Bentayga:

SEE ALSO: We drove a $31,000 Honda Accord and a $39,000 Toyota Camry to see which one is the better family sedan — here's the verdict

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Here it is! Our 2018 Bentley Bentayga test car. A freak snow storm the night before left the roads and our Rubino Red Bentayga covered in a thick layer of salt residue.

For an unobstructed view of the Bentayga, here's the test car we checked out in late 2016. And it's obvious this thing is a Bentley, You couldn't possibly confuse it with anything else. The front fascia is punctuated by Bentley's corporate mesh grille and spherical headlights.

The production Bentayga's styling is the work of former Bentley design boss Luc Donckerwolke and head of exterior design SangYup Lee. Both have since been poached by Hyundai's new Genesis luxury brand.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Contributer : Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2F2yAqx

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