Drive or be driven? When you are faced with a Bentley Bentayga EWB, it is difficult to choose. In fact, the British manufacturer decided to make an Extended Wheel Base version of its best-selling model to satisfy those who want to fully enjoy a trip in the rear seats and at the same time do not want to give up the spaciousness of an SUV. “We have lengthened the Bentayga by 18 centimetres and despite the fact that they are all in the rear doors we have managed to preserve the vehicle’s excellent proportions,” says Darren Day, Bentley Head of Interior Architecture, who we meet in Vancouver on the occasion of the new model presentation and test drive.
“We did several tests before reaching the ideal length that would not dirty the line of this model, trying to replicate and increase the space that our customers would find in a classic flagship. Lengthening the rear of the cabin allowed us to install the best feature of the Bentayga EWB: the Airline Seats,” continues Day, who has been part of Bentley’s design team for more than 28 years and who also worked as Exterior Designer and Interior Design Manager for EXP 9F, the concept car that debuted in 2012 at the Geneva Motor Show and anticipated the lines of the first-generation Bentayga.
Available exclusively for the long-wheelbase version of the Bentley SUV, the Airline Seats are reportedly the most advanced seats ever fitted to a vehicle. It consists of two large, comfortable, beautifully finished seats with 22 different types of settings that can automatically identify the best postural configuration depending on the passenger occupying them. Temperature adjustment of the seats can be automatic thanks to sensors that measure body temperature. “There are two possible configurations for the Airline Seats: in Relax mode the seat reclines almost completely and a footrest comes out of the front seat, in Business mode the configuration is free and you can use the table to work comfortably at your PC,” continues Day.
The Bentayga EWB is also available in a traditional five-seat configuration, thus only increasing legroom, or in a 4+1 version where the centre armrest converts into a console with several convenient compartments or an extra seat. “For all versions we have redesigned the front console which now contains a tablet to control certain functions and buttons for automatic door closing. A new set of stitching and wood and materials is available for this version.”
For the rear of the cabin the change has been rather radical, but for the exterior the differences with the traditional Bentayga are limited to a few details. Given the increase in length, to maintain the proportions the design team decided to lengthen the rib starting at the base of the C-pillar, while the panoramic sunroof has also been repositioned. The Bentayga EWB also benefits from a model-specific vertical strip grille and ten-spoke 22-inch chrome wheels.
Driving on the great Canadian roads around Vancouver, the Bentayga EWB masks its large dimensions well (5.32 metres long, 2.22 metres wide, 1.73 metres high and an impressive 3.17 metres in wheelbase). The credit for this goes to the brilliance of the 542 horsepower 4.0 V8 petrol engine, the roll reduction system and the four-wheel steering that allows the EWB a smaller turning radius than the short-wheelbase Bentayga.
