Video: The Bentley Bentayga Show its Soft-Roading Side

2017 Bentley Bentayga (Credit: © Bentley)

The words “Bentley” and “off-road” don’t exactly go together like peas and carrots, but with the Bentayga SUV set to debut in 2016, we need to start getting used to the two appearing in the same sentence. To help prep us for this sudden change, Bentley has released a video that shows the Bentayga doing its best impression of every other soft-roading crossover on the market today.

This video (below) shows the Bentayga trekking up a mountain on a pretty well-kept trail, running into a few semi-tricky obstacles along the way. Basically, this video displays that the upcoming crossover can handle some of-the-beaten-path travelling that includes small rocks, uneven paths, and loose dirt. What this doesn’t show is the Bentayga doing anything that the Subaru Forrester can’t.

Then again, I have to keep in mind that this is a Bentley, not some rock-crawling Jeep. What’s great about this video is that it shows that the new SUV isn’t too far off and will cater to soccer families who will occasionally hit some conditions that are not quite ideal.

The Bentayga should debut in 2016 with a W-12 engine, but look for other engines to roll in, including a 4.0-liter V-8, a diesel option, and a plug-in hybrid. All-wheel drive will, of course, be standard fair, but this will be set up more for slippery conditions and performance than heavy off-road use.

Whether or not the Bentayga will be a hit is up for debate, but we do know that its first model year should be a relative success, as there are more than 4,000 preorders for the new SUV. Given this success continues, don’t be surprised to see a smaller SUV make its way to the luxury automaker’s lineup.