BENTLEY BENTAYGA

Our temporary dalliance with luxury motoring is over. Will we miss it?

- RACHEL BURGESS

I'm a long way from a Bentley," joked a guest recently on Radio 2 in a conversation with Sara Cox on his mode of transport to the studio. That quip sums up quite neatly Bentley's positioning: the pinnacle - and a conspicuous badge - of success in a capitalist world.

As I mused in the introduction to this special long-termer, our Bentayga shows the impressive breadth of what Bentley has become in the modern age. If you're a wealthy sexagenarian, you can choose an understated metallic grey Continental GT to enjoy the fruits of your life's hard work, but if you're a super-affluent thirtysomething - and there are many globally - you can specify something slightly more standout, such as this model, complete with a £25k Mulliner paint option.

Having run this Bentayga for a few months, I can confirm that the special feeling of driving a car from the upper echelons of automotive desirability is slow to wear off - although I'm mindful the 'average' owner of one of these will have multiple high-end cars. That would take the shine off a bit, I guess, but I'd wager it would be hard to shake entirely the sense of opulence and singularity in a car like this.

As I've documented regularly through previous reports, the only real downside to this car is other people's reactions to it. Quite a lot of hostility and bad road manners get directed the Bentley's way, but there have been a few friendly encounters too.