2022 Bentley Flying Spur Plug-in Hybrid

But neither of these thirsty powertrains was truly in line with Bentley's recently unveiled Beyond100 strategy — a plan to make all Bentleys plug-in hybrids or fully electric by 2026. With the future of the brand in mind, the 2022 Bentley Flying Spur will be available for the first time as a plug-in hybrid.

The Flying Spur Hybrid is estimated to return 24.9 miles of electric-only range, according to the European WLTP standard. Bentley estimates it will take 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery from empty on a fast charger. With a full charge, our test vehicle showed 31 miles of EV range and in mixed city and highway driving, that estimate seemed accurate. It's important to note that even when we engaged the EV Drive mode, the gasoline-powered V6 engine would occasionally activate when we applied more than a moderate amount of throttle.

When driven conservatively, as is appropriate, the Flying Spur Hybrid silently glides away from a stop. When more aggressive acceleration is commanded, the big sedan responds immediately with the electric motor, followed by the V6 engine springing to life to contribute more power. The two stages of acceleration are heard more than felt, as the transition between them is relatively seamless. Under moderate acceleration, it was difficult to tell when the V6 was activated at all.

As a large premium luxury sedan that tips the scales past 5,500 pounds, the Flying Spur Hybrid isn't the type of vehicle you'd want to drive aggressively on a twisting mountain pass. That said, it handles exceptionally well, instilling confidence though not encouraging sports car-like antics. Body roll is well managed, and the brakes are easy to modulate.

Overall, the Flying Spur Hybrid behaves just as it should. As much as we love the subtle burble of a V8 or W12 engine, we love the silence of electric propulsion even more.

The rear seats are almost as comfortable, though initially you might feel as though you're sitting a bit higher than expected. There's a wealth of legroom to stretch out and recline in the well-cushioned seats. As noted earlier, the hybrid powertrain is effectively silent. As a result, road noise is easier to detect, but it's still well abated on coarse asphalt and cobblestones. Wind noise is absent, even at highway speeds.

Comfort is obviously the Flying Spur's reason for being, and this new Hybrid is as decadently blissful as any ultra-premium vehicle we've experienced. The silence of electric-only propulsion exceeds the already high expectations.

As is the case with its stablemates, clients can configure their Flying Spur Hybrid to their heart's content, choosing from a dizzying array of customization options or ordering "off-the-menu," at a cost, of course. Our particular Hybrid featured glorious engine-turned metal accent panels that shimmer like a silver caviar sturgeon in the sunlight. We're also partial to the numerous open-pore wood options that add visual warmth and richness.

On the other hand, we're generally not fans of piano black or other highly reflective surfaces on the center console, but in the Flying Spur it seems acceptably appropriate. We would love to see different options in the future, though.

All of the typical advanced safety features are standard and we never encountered any false alarms or intrusive actions. These systems operate in the background and only make themselves known when needed, letting you enjoy the drive undisturbed.

The infotainment system is easy to use after only a short while, and there are plenty of physical shortcut buttons to eliminate the hunt for features that are emblematic of rival systems that rely solely on a touchscreen. The Flying Spur's large touchscreen emerges from a rotating panel upon startup. A novelty, yes, but one that brings us joy. A more usable feature is the EV range indicator displayed on the navigation map. An irregular green perimeter (dubbed the "fried egg" by Bentley internally) shows the estimated distance you could travel on electricity alone and adjusts according to how you're driving.