Imagine buying an SUV that can not only schmooze you along in the most opulent of surrounds, but can also slingshot you down the road in such a way that the local scenery is reduced to little more than a green smear in your peripheral vision.
That, essentially, is what the Bentley Bentayga Speed offers; the former thanks to the sort of high-end luxury you’ve probably come to expect from a modern Bentley, the latter as a result of the 641bhp twin-turbo V8 engine sitting under the bonnet.
It’s enough to get the Speed from 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds. Which, from behind the wheel, feels like you’re in a small bungalow that can outpace Usain Bolt.
Of course, the £219,000-odd price tag means the Bentayga Speed will be out of reach to most of us. But it’s still possible to get the essence of the Speed in a car that’s much more affordable.
After all, the idea of an SUV that can go fast isn’t one that’s exclusive to Bentley – and with several desirable models now prevalent on the second-hand market there are bargains to be had. And you know how much we love a bargain here at CarGurus.
Our first option, the Volkswagen T-Roc R, is certainly one of those. The recipe here is pretty simple: think of this as a Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch, just with a little bit more height.
Of course, that means you don’t get the palatial surroundings you’d find in the Bentley, but then the T-Roc R comes in at a fraction of the cost; just £26,000 for the example I found, a 2021 model with a meagre 26,000 miles on the clock.
That price put it at a whopping £2,003 less than it should actually be on the market for, according to the CarGurus Instant Market Value (IMV).
Under the bonnet sits a 296bhp 2.0-litre turbo engine and four-wheel drive, and that means it’ll get you to 62mph from a standstill in around four and a half seconds.
That’s a lot of performance for the cash. But the T-Roc R isn’t a one-trick pony, with scintillating handling that means it’ll keep many a hot hatch honest – and should even do an admirable job of holding on to the coat tails of a Bentayga on a twisty road.
But perhaps you need a little more room than that. Well, how about seven seats? That’s something not even Bentley can offer you – but it is something you get with a Skoda Kodiaq vRS.
The Kodiaq may not be known for its sporting prowess – indeed, even in vRS form it isn’t the sharpest-handling tool in the box – but few other SUVs can combine practicality and performance in quite such measure.
Under the bonnet sits a 242bhp petrol turbo engine, which allows the Kodiaq to cover the 0-62mph dash in just 6.4 seconds. Not quite as quick as the Bentley – or even the T-Roc – but it’s acceleration that all seven passengers can enjoy, all at once.
And of course, you get all the versatility and practicality that any other Kodiaq can offer – there’s a tonne of room in the back, and the boot is vast when the rearmost row is folded down and out of the way.
Adaptive dampers keep the ride smooth when you’re just looking to cruise along without any fuss, and stiffen up the suspension when you want to hustle the Kodiaq along.
Our IMV for a 2023 car with just 7,500 miles on the clock is £38,700 – which is why the one I found stickered at £35,450 sounds like such a good deal. Not bad for a two-year-old car that can boast such a brilliant combination of space and pace.
But what if you want something that makes you feel just a little bit more special than the two cars we’ve discussed?
Well, it might sound like a contradiction in terms, but if you’re prepared to pay a little more, the savings get even more remarkable.
How about a 2020 BMW X5 M Competition – the pinnacle of the X5 range, endowed with a 4.4-litre twin-turbo engine shunting out a thunderous 617bhp, and capable of blasting to 62mph in just 4.2 seconds?
You could have such a thing, with a fairly reasonable 40,000 miles on the clock, for £54,995. Clearly, that’s a lot of money, but you do get an awful lot of car in return. Quite apart from that ballistic performance, the X5 M is one of the most exciting SUVs to drive, with a capacity for tail-out hooliganism that you simply wouldn’t expect from a vehicle of its sheer size. Inside, of course, it’s pure performance BMW, with bucket seats, swathes of carbon fibre, and lots of fancy ambient lighting.
But, you might well be thinking, this doesn’t feel very much like a Bentley. Sure, it’s got the pace, but hardly the pedigree. Don’t worry – I get it.
Which is why the last car I’m talking about today is the Range Rover SVAutobiography. Think of this as getting about as close as you can to the feel of a Bentley Bentayga Speed for a fraction of the cost.
And as with the BMW, there really are some serious savings to be had. I unearthed a 2020 example with just 28,000 miles on the clock for £58,950 – around a quarter of the price of the brand-new Bentley.
Inside, this example was replete with quilted leather as far as the eye could see, lashings of rich veneer, TV screens and footrests for rear-seat passengers, and a lustrous metallic burgundy paint finish.
Don’t forget, the Range Rover was already a pretty plutocratic beast – and the SVAutobiography was as lavish as a Range Rover got.
This, then, is high luxury, and with performance to match, thanks to a 557bhp supercharged V8 capable of bringing up 62mph in just 5.4 seconds.
No, not quite as quick as the Bentley – but do you really care? After all, this isn’t a car you’re going to be hurling round a track. It’s still blisteringly quick for a car of this size – and given how much cash it’ll save you, I’d forgive it being a second or two off. Wouldn’t you?