Is the Torcal EV a Proper Bentley? Here's What I Learned While Riding in a Prototype

• What's new: The Torcal is Bentley's first fully electric SUV, set to debut on September 23.
• Why it matters: Borrowing heavily from the electric Porsche Cayenne, the Torcal will set the tone for what we can expect from current and future Bentley EVs.
• Edmunds says: While the Torcal seems to take on a sportier persona, its Porsche-like road manners mean it doesn't instantly feel like a Bentley. 

A Bentley with familiar roots

Peel away its camouflage and the bodywork that lies beneath, and you'll find the Torcal shares its overall structure with the electric Porsche Cayenne. Riding in the camouflaged prototype, it's instantly clear that the Torcal isn't just an electrified Bentayga. It's smaller, with greater attention to front-row space, comfort and features at the cost of Bentley's hallmark rear-seat experience. This is an SUV designed to be driven, not driven in.

The Torcal's cabin remains completely hidden by flaps that drape over the dashboard and center console and by covers on all four seats. It's nonetheless easy to spot similarities between the Torcal and the Cayenne. The rear seats, for example, are supportive but firm. They completely lack the sink-in feeling you get in the back of a Bentayga, even if rear head- and legroom are fairly excellent for my 5-foot, 10-inch frame. Up front, the Torcal's seats retain a fairly sporty feel, with tall thigh and side bolsters.

While Pebble Beach isn't exactly known for its terrible road quality, the Torcal's active air suspension struggles to absorb small road imperfections while easily gliding over larger ones. Bentley's engineers reworked the Cayenne's software and hardware, allowing the Torcal to switch its firmness and feel more quickly between drive modes. From the passenger seat, it goes from kind of stiff to plush enough to be an afterthought with a flick of the central drive mode selector.

Less power than you'd expect

Although official power figures have yet to be revealed, the Torcal's output is said to be over 800 horsepower, very little of which was shown off in my afternoon of sitting in traffic around Pebble Beach. That would mean it's significantly down from the Cayenne Turbo's 1,139 hp, with Bentley saying that a four-figure output isn't necessary. It's the first point we agree on.

If the Cayenne borrowing continues, expect a dual-motor electric setup that gives the Torcal all-wheel drive, while most likely hiding a 108-kWh battery pack and offering an electric range of at least 300 miles. 

But is it a proper Bentley? 

As we pull back around to the hotel, I'm left with mixed feelings. Sporty Bentleys have existed as long as there have been Bentleys, so the Torcal's slightly firmer ride, smaller cabin and stiffer seats aren't uncharacteristic, but hardly distinctive. It's impossible to truly tell without getting behind the wheel or getting a proper look at its cabin, but on first impressions, the Torcal is Porsche-like in character but doesn't seem to have enough magic to be a proper Bentley. Maybe some more Bentley character will come to light when the Torcal is fully revealed on September 23.