2016 Bentley Bentayga Diesel first drive

The paragraph above is pertinent because, even if you try to provoke it by holding the revs as long as you can, or even by giving the throttle a bootful in neutral, there’s really very little to tell you that there’s a diesel under the bonnet. Standing next to the Bentayga as it ticks over at rest, you might guess the powertrain; on the move, what thrum there is is actually quite appealing.

What all that technology and deep engineering skill has done is pretty much disguise the potential negatives of a diesel and leave the way clear for you to get on with enjoying the benefits: chiefly a silky torque delivery that should be celebrated for how it pulls such a large car along so effortlessly. It's a marked contrast to the manner in which the aforementioned SQ7 drives, too: the Bentley makes the Audi feel like a rather blunt - if appealingly sporty - instrument in comparison, which is a credit to the work of Bentley's engineers on and around the powertrain's settings and ancillaries.

Really, for most owners most of the time, all that is required is to engage the smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox and let it make light work of hauling along this 2.5-tonne car. The revs rarely build beyond peak delivery at just over 3000rpm, and progress is both swift and refined. If you must, you can engage Sport mode and stretch the revs to close to 5000rpm, but the extra thrust hardly seems necessary - although it remains appealingly smooth and progressive - and the impact on the cabin acoustics is both slight and inoffensive. As befits a Bentley, impressive performance is delivered in a very civil, discreet manner.

That the Bentayga is a hugely accomplished car wasn’t in doubt - and now nor is the fact that a diesel engine can be entirely appropriate for it. Versatile, luxurious and oh so effortlessly grown-up, this is a special car that is close to being complete and which misses the full five stars by only a whisker on this first acquaintance.

Unless you need the W12’s blistering pace beyond 100mph, live in a country where diesel is hard to find, or have long-term concerns with diesel emissions and their impact, this is the Bentayga for you.

Matters such as a lower list price - by £24,400, no less - and lower (if not actually low) running costs will seem like trivialities to the many buyers who have already kept the order books full for many months ahead. But many of the super-rich are also super-rational, to the extent that Bentley is even expecting to attract buyers via lease deals that will be underpinned by demand-led residuals that make monthly payments rather lower than you would otherwise expect.

It’s a rarified atmosphere in which to be buying, of course, but then here is a car that more than justifies its place up there.

Bentley Bentayga Diesel

Location Spain; On sale Now; Price From £135,800; Engine V8, 3956cc, twin-turbo diesel with electric compressor; Power 429bhp at 3750rpm; Torque 664lb ft at 1000rpm; Gearbox 8-spd auto; Kerb weight 2390kg; 0-62mph 4.8sec; Top speed 168mph; Economy 35.8mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 210g/km, 37%; Rivals Range Rover, Audi SQ7.