Bentley Bentayga Speed 2025 Review

The 2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed has not been priced for Australia just yet… and it's not scheduled to arrive until later in 2026.

And don’t expect much change from $600K once you add a few options, customisations, and on-road costs.

That's because the lusty 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12-powered Bentley Bentayga Speed – the new SUV’s predecessor – was a $531,500 proposition, and new models don't tend to drop in price these days.

Despite downsizing its force-fed 12-cylinder engine and adopting a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, the new 2025 Bentayga Speed is more powerful, more advanced and considerably bolder.

Generating a gob-smacking 478kW and 850Nm, the bluff-nosed 2.5-tonne Bentayga Speed covers the 0-100km/h dash in 3.6 seconds, making it faster than its 12-cylinder predecessor’s 3.9-second sprint.

Part of its extra pace is also down to the inclusion of launch control, the first time a Bentayga has had access to such an un-Bentley (but fun) system.

The optional quad-pipe titanium exhaust system from Akrapovic (shaving 12.5kg from the vehicle’s weight) manufactures a basso-profundo battle cry that adds acoustic drama that’s been missing from the Bentayga range – and is a must-have accessory.

The best part of the whole shebang is that the updated Bentley Bentayga Speed can transform from snarling wolf to placid labrador at the twist of a dial.

Top speed? A mere 310km/h, which when you think about it is quite preposterous for something that looks like a brick on wheels. Tweaks to the eight-speed ZF conventional automatic transmission result in faster gearshift speeds and more responsive shift behaviour.

At the other end of the motion spectrum? The world’s biggest carbon-ceramic brakes (says Bentley), because when your 2466kg luxury missile hits warp speed, you’ll want something substantial to haul it back down to reality.

Measuring 440mm in diameter up front and clamped by whopping 10-piston calipers, the massive anchors truly are showstoppers. Six different caliper colours are offered: red is standard while orange, green, grey, yellow and blue are optional.

You’ll need to choose 23-inch alloy wheels (also the biggest fitted to a Bentayga) if you want the super-duper brakes. They simply won’t fit behind the standard 22-inch rims.

Other upgrades include four-wheel steering, 15 per cent stiffer (but also adaptive) dampers, adjustable air suspension and a new torque vectoring system that, when set to Sport mode, allows for a hint of fish-tailing, power-sliding, drifting – whatever you want to call it.

Bentley execs say its new hooligan machine is not just a cyclical update to the Speed sub-brand but the result of customer demand.

The interior of the Bentayga Speed comes standard with plenty of sporty bits, including acres of leather and chrome, ‘Speed’ badging on the passenger side of the dashboard, logos embroidered on the seats, branded scuff plates and a new performance mode on the digital driver’s display located behind the steering wheel.

The seats are diamond-quilted two-tone cowhide but, as with any Bentley, there is a profusion of customisation options. In fact, Bentley execs reckon there are more than a billion different permutations for the Bentayga alone, manifesting in everything from two-tone exterior paint jobs to timber parquetry and even stone veneer inlays inside the vehicle.

Bentley reckons around 70 per cent of buyers enlist its magicians of customisation, Mulliner, to personalise their vehicles, which is an astonishingly high percentage. Because clearly nothing says “I’m a peasant” than a stock-standard Bentley.

In-car technology is modern but certainly not cutting edge and the smallish 10.9-inch central touchscreen lags the many and varied jumbo-tron screens found in rival vehicles.

The safety tech is decent but hardly groundbreaking – which makes sense when you realise this thing is built on VW Group’s aging MLB Evo platform. At over 10 years old, it’s the same bones underneath the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.

You get eight airbags (but no central head airbag), anti-dazzle Matrix LED headlights, a head-up display and traffic-sign recognition for real-time speed limit updates, and the expected lane keeping and intelligent cruise control systems to see it go, stop and turn by itself – within reason.

Built to rival super SUVs, the 2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed will square off with the likes of the Aston Martin DBX S, Lamborghini Urus SE, and the Range Rover Sport SV, for the fortunate few who can afford to play in this sandpit.

The best thing about the new 2025 Bentley Bentayga speed? Probably the titanium exhaust system. It sounds sensational!

All evaluation vehicles at launch were equipped with the optional titanium exhaust system crafted by ’zorst wizards Akrapovic, and the noise it generates is like acoustic ambrosia. It reminds me of the W204-series Mercedes C 63 AMG, of mid-2010s vintage.

With echoes of the 6.2-litre AMG-fettled engine, especially the ear-splitting blatting and crackling on the overrun, the exhaust note is a symphony of mechanical aggression that builds to a crescendo every time you plant your foot.

It’s the kind of epic sound that makes you take the long way home just to hear it again, a glorious automotive soundtrack that turns every drive into an event.

What’s even more impressive is the lack of synthetic audio. It’s all mechanical and it’s so much more visceral as a result. There’s something addictive about the V8’s thunderous soundtrack – it pulls you right into the action, syncing your right foot with the engine’s every snarl and surge.

Response from the V8 engine is snappy too, wrought by higher-flow fuel injectors and recalibrated throttle mapping.

Larger turbochargers generate more turbo boost and Bentley says the extra turbo pressure is managed by a lower compression and more direct turbocharger control, which apparently spools up the turbos quicker and reduces turbo lag.

Long story short, there’s still some turbo lag off the line. But to be honest, I don’t think many drivers (or passengers) will be disappointed by the pace of this British battleship.

It’s fast and loud – but only if you want it to be. You can dial everything down to soft and quiet and it’s remarkably docile. And the interior is naturally lush, with more leather and woodgrain trim than a centuries-old country club.

But when set to full attack mode, the changes to the way the car drives are welcome.

It feels about as agile as a 2.5-tonne behemoth really can be, the new four-wheel steering system giving the luxury SUV a positive attitude when diving into corners at reasonably brisk speeds.

The way it tips into corners is progressive but competent and unless you’re really going troppo you won’t really have to worry about (or notice) its corpulent mass. The colossal (but optional) 10-piston brake calipers gnawing carbon ceramic disc brakes are also seriously potent and make the car feel less chubby than it has any right to.

Massive Pirelli P Zero tyres (285/35 ZR23) generate high levels of grip in dry and wet conditions, too.

Blasting around what can essentially be described as an impromptu rally track resulted in a handful of punctures during the launch drive, exposing the high-performance tyres’ fragility.

Fortunately our car was fine. And on the fast and flowing gravel course I had a chance to test the vehicle’s drift mode – although Bentley is loath to officially call it that.

Twist it into sport mode, kill the traction control and this thing will actually play around.

It held a proper slide for a moment – genuinely entertaining stuff with a wide-open throttle. But let's be honest, this new drift mode is more about pub bragging rights than serious sideways action.

Which begs the question – does Bentley really need a high-performance Bentayga? Bentley’s sales and marketing chief and member of the board, Christophe Georges, told carsales the vehicle is a result of customer demand, not just fanciful marketing.

Georges said the high-end luxury SUV market is ‘fragmented’ and made up of two main sectors, “one being luxury SUV, where I would have cars like Range Rover, like Rolls Royce Cullinan, and this is where Bentayga fits quite well in terms of a luxury proposition.

“Then you have a pure sport SUV market, like Lamborghini, Aston Martin and all these products.

“And we have many customers that wanted us to go back a bit more to the sports market, because they wanted too a Bentley proposition in this category of vehicles and this is why we did develop Bentayga Speed,” he explained.

“So all our products are luxurious and do perform. You don’t have a slow Bentley, it does not exist,” he stated.

“It is part of who we are but we can create more edges and this is really developing the sporty edge of the brand in terms of emotions and the power and the performance it is providing,” he said.

My view? The Bentayga Speed is more than just a clever marketing ploy to separate well-heeled customers from their cash. It’s a compelling performance SUV that eats up sealed roads and tackles unsealed ones with equal enthusiasm, all while keeping its luxury credentials firmly intact.

Despite riding on massive 23-inch rims with super sporty tyres, ride quality in comfort mode is surprisingly supple, the cabin almost always a paragon of tranquillity, suggesting Bentley’s chassis engineers are most certainly earning their keep.

The 2025 Bentley Bentayga is hard to fault and while its excessive asking price is an easy criticism to level at the big Brit, for most genuine buyers this won’t be of concern.

Nevertheless, it’s not perfect.

There’s a whiff of turbo lag, something that’s not evident on some PHEV Bentley models, whose electric motors seamlessly fill the low-speed torque gap, delivering instant shove the moment you brush the throttle.

This is probably the sportiest and arguably prettiest Bentayga thus far but that’s not saying much.

The Bentayga will never win an SUV beauty pageant… but maybe that was the point? Tough on the outside, cashmere on the inside – like a champion boxer with a scented candle collection.

The infotainment? It works fine and looks sharp but that 10.9-inch screen feels a bit small at this price – I expected more digital bling and real-estate for our Bentley bucks.

And while the platform’s got pedigree – think Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, Audi Q8 – it’s also starting to show its age in a tech sense. There’s only so much you can do with a platform architecture developed back in 2015.

Lastly, the thunderous 4.0-litre V8 is a thing of beauty in many respects. Yet it doesn’t command the same level of exclusivity as its predecessor’s 12-cylinder 6.0-litre donk. Sure, the V8 sounds better and goes harder, but there’s no replacement for displacement.

Most potential Bentley buyers aren’t reading reviews of the British bruisers or trawling YouTube for analysis – it’s more like: “Ah, there’s a new Bentayga. Have Jeeves order one, and make sure the headrests have the family crest this time.”

But let’s pretend, just for a sec, that someone spending $600K on a super SUV is doing their homework. To them I’d say this: the new Bentayga Speed is seriously worth a look. The switch to V8 power, the sharper suspension tune and that magnificent titanium exhaust system make it the most characterful and engaging Bentayga yet.

And yet, with a twist of a dial, it softens right back into the plush cruiser you’d expect from Crewe, retaining all the comfort and luxury on which Bentley has built its 106-year reputation.

2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed at a glance:
Price: $550,000 approx. (plus on-road costs)
Available: Third quarter 2026
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 turbo-petrol
Output: 478/850Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Not tested

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