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To my mind, Bentley’s Bentayga SUV — the “most luxurious, hand-built, all-terrain vehicle on Earth” — is an ultimate expression of grandeur. It is opulence gone mobile, and, especially if you’re into showing off, there’s nothing better: not everyone will see your private jet or come over to stroll through your exotic animal petting zoo. To demonstrate the Bentayga lifestyle, Bentley took me from a Lake Tahoe Ritz Carlton ski resort to a surfing excursion at Northern California’s Stinson Beach in the space of a couple days. It was… a good idea. Especially since it drove home that while any car could do the trip, only the Bentayga should. Mostly because your fancy house can’t.
For the following reasons, I recommend you sell your house and buy a Bentayga:
1. It’s made better than your house could ever hope to be.
IKEA furniture does not count as “handbuilt.” It’s unlikely that individual persons stitched together every bit of upholstery in your bedroom by hand with needles and thread, and improbable that a craftsman dedicated hours to grain-matching all the wood veneers in your den.
2. It’s a lot faster than your house.
As we first approached the line of idling Bentaygas, a fellow journalist asked, “You drive one of these before?”
“Not yet,” I said.
“Oh. It’s, uhh, fast.” I was dubious until I climbed in, shifted into drive, hit the go pedal and was scared for my life. Something this big and plush shouldn’t be so quick, but it moves like a sports car off the line, which is a very fun and very good thing.
