No one, it seems, is immune from the forces of nature.

Car buyers have got a taste for SUVs – whether it’s a soft-roader, crossover or fully-paid-up member of the hardcore 4x4 club – people want them and manufacturers are tripping over themselves to give them exactly what they want.

Even manufacturers at the luxury end of the market are joining the fray with Lamborghini showcasing the Urus and Rolls-Royce revealing the Cullinan but they remain some way from being showroom ready.

Bentley, however, have been bold – as well as fortuitous that they can call upon the resources of parent company VW – and launched the Bentayga into a market where its only serious rival is Range Rover’s £150,000 SV Autobiography.

Although the Bentayga shares its architecture with the Audi Q7 built, as it is, on the group’s MLB platform it is distinctively Bentley. It isn’t, perhaps, the most elegantly coherent design and it looks decidedly better from some angles than others. Trademark twin light clusters and a huge mesh grille dominate the familiar front while squared-off wheel arches mimic those adorning the GT Continental and rear clusters echo those worn by the Mulsanne. Unmistakably a Bentley then.

Though it shares its underpinnings – and a remarkably similar wheelbase that’s just 1mm longer – with the Q7 in every other direction the Bentayga is bigger. Much bigger. It’s 5,130mm long, 1,998mm wide (2,224mm including the mirrors) and 1,742mm tall.

All that space is put to good use.

Under the bonnet is a twin turbo 6.0-litre W12 that produces 600bhp and 900Nm which is enough to propel the Bentayga to 62mph in a quite frankly mind-boggling 4.1 seconds on its way to a blistering top speed of 187mph.

That eye-popping acceleration is not just down to the huge power being churned out by the 12-cylinder power plant, or the jaw-dropping torque that’s available from just 1,250rpm, the slick eight-speed auto is just as crucial as it seamlessly changes gear without any pause for thought as the big SUV rapidly builds momentum.

Like all Bentleys, it’s the way that momentum builds so effortlessly, so gracefully, that really skews your sense of reality. The 12 cylinders pounding energetically and, let’s face it, noisily, away under the bonnet are no more intrusive than a distant choir of angels by the time the sound reaches the cabin. It is, admittedly, a choir with an over-emphasis on the bass section. If you were hoping for an epic soundtrack as a side dish to the visual and emotional feast the Bentayga serves up you’ll be left hungry for more.

The big motor has a bit of a party piece hidden under its cylinder heads. When you’re at cruising speeds six of the 12 cylinders will shut down, improving efficiency and reducing emissions. It’s probably unlikely that anyone who buys an SUV – whatever the price – has either fuel economy or protecting the environment high on their list of priorities but, nonetheless, some credit is due for the feature’s inclusion.

Forty per cent of the power is sent to front wheels and the remainder to the rear and, should your journey necessitate a trip into the wilderness, you’ll find that a combination of variable ride height, the sophisticated four-wheel-drive system and hill descent control ensures that the Bentayga is a seriously capable off-roader.

While the Bentayga’s off-road credentials are unquestionable, it’s likely that most of these big, luxury SUVs will spend their lives on the black stuff and it’s there that they will really earn their keep.

First of all, the cabin is remarkably quiet. Passengers are perfectly isolated from all those irritating noises that can make journeys, especially longer ones, so wearisome. Consequently there’s very little wind noise or tyre roar, even at cruising speeds and, as I touched on earlier, the engine is pleasantly aloof as it silently goes about its business.

Then there’s the adaptive air suspension and active anti-roll systems that work in unison to shrug off low-frequency imperfections and give the Bentayga a degree of composure that you wouldn’t normally associate with a car so tall, so heavy and so geared towards comfort.

The overwhelming sensation when driving the big Bentley sensibly is of splendid isolation, of being separate from the rest of world as it buzzes around your little bubble of luxurious contentment. The steering is light – lighter than you might expect in a car of this size – but in the context of its surrounds it’s perfectly judged. The absence of feedback – at times it’s impossible to fathom out what’s happening beneath the wheels – only serves to further detach the driver from his duties.

You can select your preferred driving mode using a rotary dial on the transmission tunnel – some intended for snow, sand and wet grass, others – Comfort, Sport, Custom and Bentley – provide preset options for everyday driving.

Bentley mode configures the car to the engineers’ specification but, while it takes the effort out of setting up the vehicle yourself, doing just that allows you to dial out most of the compromises that the other modes force you to make. Comfort mode, for example, sacrifices high-speed body control for a smoother ride.

Sport mode would appear to be an unnecessary inclusion given the nonchalance with which the Bentayga conducts itself but should you wish to put its athleticism to the test you’ll find that it responds with a surprising eagerness to steering inputs while remaining remarkably flat as it changes trajectory.

That is in no small part thanks to the active anti roll bars which are 48V resistive units that, when Sport mode is selected, remain relaxed under normal driving but tighten up when required to reduce roll and improve responsiveness.

I don’t want to get too hung up on the intricacies of the system because how it works is less important – to ordinary folk like thee and me at least – than what it feels like in action. And what it feels like is otherworldly. The Bentayga’s handling and poise through corners belies its size, leaving you convinced that somewhere along the production line dark arts must have been invoked because it feels like a car half its size.

Even when you’re extracting every ounce of performance from Bentley’s SUV, it still retains its untroubled, aloof demeanour, and that laid-back, easy ambience is conveyed to the driver – and passengers – thanks to the opulent surroundings in which you’ll reside.

The technical craftsmanship, attention to detail and fit and finish is exemplary. Materials – ranging from leather, wood veneers to textured metals – give the cabin a tactile allure that is difficult to resist. Impossible, in my case.

The asymmetrical leather-bound dash sweeps across the cabin with a bold flourish, rising slightly higher on the driver’s side to accommodate a set of analogue instruments that flank a colour LCD screen which displays navigation guidance and media information as well as trip details and more.

You can opt for a head-up display – colour, of course – as well as night vision which works to alert you to the presence of warm-blooded creatures you might otherwise not have seen.

The seats are beautifully sculpted and luxuriously comfortable. They, and the steering wheel, are electrically adjustable and, once you’ve got everything just so there are few experiences to rival gazing down on the world passing you by in serene silence from the lavish confines of the Bentayga’s cabin.

It isn’t too shabby for passengers in the back either. The standard split-folding rear bench accommodates three but there is the option to go with a strict four-seater with a raised console-equipped transmission tunnel and reclining seats with massage function. It's very tempting but who would sit up front and drive?

Perhaps, most importantly, there’s ample for room for adults, even of larger dimensions, to get comfortable. All that luxury would be wasted otherwise.

You’re provided with an 8in colour touchscreen that’s crisp, clear and easy to use for the most part, at least. One glaring omission is the lack of an alternative method to touch for interacting with the multimedia system. It’s fine when you’re stationary but poking at the screen while on the move can, literally, be a bit hit and miss.

Unless you want to save some cash for a little runaround it’s probably worth splashing out the £6,300 it costs to install the Naim for Bentley audio system. Yes, it’s a lot of money but if you’re looking at buying one of these it’s unlikely that will concern you and, for your cash, you’ll get an ear-popping 2,000 watts of unrivalled audio reproduction, in a can! Albeit a beautifully opulent can.

Let’s wrap this review up by stating the obvious, that the majority of us will never be in a position to buy a Bentyaga and that is a shame – not only as I include myself among that number – because it is an incredible coming together of art and engineering, of love and science, of luxury and practicality.

Okay, so perhaps it could be a bit better-looking, but it certainly looks the part and that, to many, will matter more. The interior, the part owners will see the most, does not disappoint. It is as palatial, as comfortable, as beautifully finished as you’d expect.

Add to that the fact that this behemoth performs like a car half its size – when prompted – and its solid off-road credentials and it all begs the question: If you could afford one, why wouldn’t you?

I would.

Bentley Bentayga

Price: £160,200

As tested: £200,160

Engine: 6.0-litre W12

Transmission: 8-speed auto driving all four wheels

Max power: 600bhp @ 5,200rpm – 6,000rpm

Max torque: 900Nm @ 1,200 – 4,500rpm

Max speed: 187mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 4.1 seconds

Urban: 14.9mpg

Extra urban: 29.4mpg

Combined: 21.6mpg

Emissions: 296g/km

To find out more about the Bentayga or to arrange a test drive visit Bentley Kent, 92 London Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1BA or call 01732 314931.