So what does the bloke who designed the Bentayga think of the PH comments thread that followed our review?
A rhino hide interior for your
Bentley Bentayga would probably be as uncomfortable as it would be socially unacceptable, no matter how much you'd be willing to pay for the exclusivity value. And, no, better not to even tempt the target audience with ideas like that...
Sir, rhino hide for your Bentley?
Saying that, they do seem to have a good supply of them at Crewe, not least in the design department. You might think they'd need 'em too, given the response to the Bentayga in the 170 comments in the thread following our drive last week. One I was lucky enough to share with Bentley's head of interior design, Darren Day. And, despite what some of the forum commentators might seem to think, he's a man of sound mind and body, not to mention excellent taste and a thorough understanding of what the people who buy 'his' cars want out of them.
To be honest though having swapped cards and cheery farewells after our day in the Bentayga I was slightly bracing myself when I saw an email from him land, especially given the wailing and gnashing of teeth within the forum thread. But no. This was the same cheery Darren I'd shared a car with, happy to acknowledge the response and seemingly unflustered by some of the more charged - and personal - comments therein. I did recall saying to him on the day the worst PH response you could wish for was indifference. But on reflection did wonder about being careful what you wish for.
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As long as it appeals to those who are willing to pay
But for all the image of arty farty wafting about in roll necks and chunky glasses there is a toughness required in his game. He described as an up and coming designer within Bentley - where he's worked nearly all his professional life - how the first Flying Spur exterior design came down to him and one other proposal, literally split down the middle on a full-size clay. And his lost out. But it's all part of the game. You might put your heart, soul and every working hour into a design for months on end. All for it to fail at the (imagined) Dragon's Den board approval stage. He reckoned on a strike rate of one in 10 successes being typical, underlining the need to be thick-skinned and able to shrug and move on.
His ability to flit between the big picture - incorporating the Bentley 'wings' into the dash architecture for instance - and obsession with details like stitching, veneers and millimetric chrome trims around inset switchgear was fascinating too. The design of the Bentayga might not be to all - mine included - tastes. But it doesn't need to be. So long as it satisfies those of people in the market to spend upwards of a quarter of a million quid on an SUV that's all that matters.
The plane home offered an interesting insight into the mindset of those folk too. The woman sat beside me clocked the Bentayga press pack I was reading and - having seen the cars out and about in Malaga the same day - wanted to know all about it. She was an interior designer, accustomed to creating homes for exactly the kind of folk who'd want a Bentayga parked outside it. And to her Darren and his colleagues had absolutely nailed it.
The Bentayga is not, by any stretch, a pretty car. But then nor is the Subaru Forester I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of. It perfectly suits my needs though and, for all its defiant fugliness, I happen to think it's one of the coolest things on four wheels. Like Darren, I'm entirely happy for people to disagree with me on that score, no matter how worked up they get about it.
Whatever your price point, you can't buy taste!
Dan
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