2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB First Look: More Than a Stretch Job

When Bentley in 2016 launched the Bentayga, its first-ever SUV, the company's flagship vehicle was the Mulsanne sedan. Imposing and charismatic, the $300,000-plus Mulsanne was German-engineered but a quintessentially British ultra-luxury car. Its interior was redolent with the rich tang of leather, the warm glow of wood, bright splashes of chrome, and a rumbling torque monster of an engine under its long hood.

The last Mulsanne rolled off the assembly line in Crewe, England, in 2020. And stepping up to replace it as Bentley's new flagship model is the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB, a stretched version of the SUV that was just a gleam in a Bentley product planner's eye when the Mulsanne made its world debut at Pebble Beach in 2009.

A stretched SUV is, at first glance, an oddly prosaic choice for a marque steeped in the romance of the road and the legend of Le Mans. But it's a necessarily pragmatic one.

Bentley's decision to go all-electric by 2030, first discussed internally in 2018 and signed off by the VW Group in 2021, meant there was little point in developing a conventional Mulsanne replacement, particularly as demand for large luxury sedans has shrunk steadily in recent years. What's more, Bentley's research showed global demand for luxury SUVs was set to grow by 35 percent by the end of this decade.

Indeed, the Bentayga has been Bentley's bestselling model almost from its debut, and customers, particularly in the U.S. and China, have long asked for one with limo-like room in the rear. The extended-wheelbase Bentayga EWB was therefore a no-brainer; development work began on the SUV variant at the end of 2018.

The 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB is basically a Bentayga V8 with an extra 7 inches spliced between the B-pillar and the rear axle, though Bentley says it's more than just a simple stretch job, having spent in excess of $100 million on designing and engineering more than 2,500 new parts. The Bentayga EWB benefits from a new floorpan and bodysides, new power-closing rear doors, and a new roof with a sunroof repositioned further rearward, though all other exterior panels are shared with the refreshed Bentayga launched in 2020.

Apart from the longer rear doors, the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB is distinguished by a new vertical-vane grille similar to the one found on the Flying Spur sedan, and unique 22-inch, 10-spoke wheels. Long-wheelbase sedans or SUVs invariably look more awkward than their standard-wheelbase counterparts, but the Bentayga EWB is the exception. Even though the B-pillar has not moved, which means the front doors look quite short, the EWB appears more gracefully proportioned than the dumpy standard-wheelbase Bentayga.

The EWB's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 punches out 542 hp at 6,000 rpm and 568 lb-ft of torque from 1,960 rpm to 4,500 rpm, just as it does in the standard-wheelbase Bentayga V8. It drives all four wheels through the same eight-speed automatic transmission. The EWB's extra metal adds about 220 pounds to the Bentayga V8's already considerable mass, but Bentley says the EWB is only a tenth of a second slower to 60 mph and will still hit 180 mph.

Chassis changes are minor. The 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB's biggest upgrade is the adoption of rear-wheel steering, the first time the technology has been available on Bentley's SUV. This reduces the EWB's turning circle to less than that of the regular Bentayga V8, which is useful given Bentley says 74 percent of luxury SUV buyers use their vehicles in cities.

Why no W-12 engine under the hood if the EWB is meant to be the new flagship Bentley? "It's a strategic decision," product-line director Chris Cole said. "We want to keep the W-12 for the Bentayga Speed as the halo sports model. The EWB is meant to be a luxury vehicle, emphasizing well-being and comfort."

The EWB's rear space certainly does emphasize well-being and comfort. There's not so much legroom behind the front seats as lounge room; Bentley says the EWB's rear passenger area is more spacious than that of the old Mulsanne and its Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Range Rover LWB rivals. The EWB can be configured three different ways: as a five-seater, a four-seater, or a new four-plus-one seater, with a fold-down center seat at the rear for those times when you need to carry an extra passenger. However, despite its extra length, the EWB is not available with a third row. In fact, the load space behind the rear seats is no bigger than in the regular Bentayga.

The optional "Airline Seat" available with the four-seat specification is the most advanced seat ever fitted to an automobile, claimed Bentley's head of color and trim, Maria Mulder. The seat will automatically react to passenger body temperature and humidity to independently heat and cool different areas to ensure maximum comfort. Additionally, a "postural adjustment" system uses 177 pressure points across six pressure zones to provide a slow, almost imperceptible three-hour massage.

Other detail changes compared to the regular Bentayga V8 include new precision metal inlays and asymmetric quilting on the leather, with an optional lighting package that shines through the holes in the leather trim on the doors in up to 30 different colors. If a fully loaded 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB still isn't luxurious enough for you, Bentley's in-house bespoke coachbuilding shop, Mulliner, will be happy to build you one just the way you like it.

Bentley expects the EWB will account for about 45 percent of global Bentayga sales, and the company shrugs off suggestions it will steal sales from the standard-wheelbase model. It's hard to see how it won't, however, especially in those U.S. and China markets where consumers prefer long-wheelbase luxury sedans over their standard counterparts. Indeed, Bentley insiders suggested the EWB could account for as much as 60 percent of Bentayga volume when it arrives in the U.S. at the end of the third quarter of this year.

If the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB does steal sales from the regular Bentayga here in the U.S., Bentley won't mind too much. The entry-level Bentayga V8 retails for about $196,000, and the EWB will likely start at just more than $260,000. Bentley also expects some customers to spend another $40,000 or more on options. Yep, that's Mulsanne money for a Bentley SUV. Hail the new flagship.