Fast Facts Option 1 | Balanced and Informative
⚡ Plug-In Hybrid Power: Twin-turbo V8 paired with a 188-hp electric motor
🔋 Battery: 25.9-kWh pack with an EPA-estimated 30 miles of electric range
🌿 EPA Efficiency: 46 MPGe combined | 19 mpg after the electric range is depleted
🏁 Performance: 671 hp, 686 lb-ft, and 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds
🎛️ Drive Modes: EV Drive, Hybrid, Hold, and Recharge
🛣️ Rally Test: More than 500 miles of Northern California roads and track driving
⛽ Observed Economy: Approximately 19 to 20 mpg during the three-day event
💰 As-Tested Price: $360,510
Putting Bentley’s Plug-In Hybrid Through a 500-Mile Rally
Top-tier luxury cars aren't exactly known for fuel efficiency. You’re lucky to get over 15 miles per gallon combined, and many of them have a gas guzzler tax of several thousand dollars added to the bottom line.
One way to make any car more efficient is to give it a hybrid powertrain. Plug-in hybrids have started making inroads in the high-end market, though even then, these systems are used more for performance than efficiency, with small batteries that discharge quickly for rapid power delivery.
Enter the 2026 Bentley Continental GT S. This plug-in hybrid has hit the sweet spot between electric performance and fuel efficiency, and I recently got to test it out at the Trinitē Rally in Northern California.
A High Power PHEV
The Bentley Continental GT S features a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery and a 188-horsepower electric motor paired with a stonking twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 for a total of 771 ponies and 738 pound-feet of torque, all for an as-tested price of $360,510. Yowza.
The EPA says the Bentley can travel for 30 miles on electric power alone, which gives it a rating of 46 MPGe combined. Once the battery's depleted, the EPA gives it a fuel rating of 19 mpg combined just enough to avoid the gas guzzler tax.
But there's a lot more to PHEVs than just driving on battery or gas. You can set the Bentley to Hybrid mode to maximize efficiency, or you can put it in Recharge mode, where the gas engine charges the battery. How does this affect overall efficiency? I got to find out.
Taking on the Trinitē
The Trinitē was held for the first time this year, taking on over 500 miles of gorgeous back roads in Northern California. This unique road rally uses a series of time/speed/distance challenges, where drivers have to maintain a prescribed average speed over a set distance to arrive at a location at a specific time. This meant plenty of steady speeds over long sections of winding roadways, and the results were pretty cool. Get ready, folks, we’re about to get nerdy.
The Conti started day one with a full charge, with the computer reading a range of 40 miles well above the EPA's 30-mile estimate. The car also showed 387 miles of gas-only range. Driving in Hybrid mode, the battery actually ran down to zero in 32 miles, but switching to Recharge mode charged the battery back up. At the fuel stop at the end of the day, 194 miles later, the car took 8.5 gallons of fuel.
Here’s where things can get complicated. Even when the battery reads zero miles of range, there's still juice in the pack to perform as a hybrid, kicking on when electric power is needed or for slow-speed moments like navigating a parking lot. The car's fuel economy display reflects this, accounting for both the battery and the engine. The Bentley’s computer registered 20 mpg combined after filling up at the end of day one.
Now, the electric efficiency display works a bit differently. It only calculates what the electricity was doing when the gas engine was completely off, and the miles-per-kWh figure was high. A similarly sized full EV like the Rolls-Royce Spectre or Cadillac Celestiq can manage two to three miles per kWh. The Bentley’s computer came back with a rating of eight miles per kWh at the end of day one. Why so high? EVs are most efficient at low speeds, and a PHEV in Hybrid mode uses the battery in those moments, without the burden of freeway speeds knocking down their efficiency numbers.
I told you it was complicated.
Day two started similarly, with 29 miles of range in the battery and 363 miles in the tank. After experimenting with driving in Hold, EV-Drive, Hybrid, and Recharge modes for 190 miles of competition, the car took 10 gallons of fuel and had 15 miles of range on the battery. The system calculated 20 mpg combined and 8.2 miles/kWh.
Day three was spent at Sonoma Raceway, taking the circuit at a prescribed average speed of 50 miles per hour. Some hot laps at full speed happened later in the day, as did a few sessions on the autocross course. Still, the Bentley managed a relatively decent 18.9 mpg combined and 6.3 miles/kWh.
Bentley is part of a growing group of premium automakers pairing electric range with serious power, and our roundup of the best luxury plug-in hybrids highlights more high-end models attempting the same balancing act ➜
The Verdict
The EPA gives the Bentley Continental GT S a combined fuel rating of 19 mpg, so the car did pretty well. Gas-only competitors like the Aston-Martin DB12 and Rolls-Royce Ghost fall behind, although the Maserati GranTurismo manages 21 mpg combined. The Mercedes-Benz GT E Performance cars which use their batteries more for performance than efficiency get an EPA rating of 18 mpg combined and less than 20 miles of all-electric range.
Still, it’s tough to call 19 mpg efficient in the grand scheme of the car world, even if the Bentley technically beat the EPA rating. Plus, the previous gas-only Bentley Continental managed an EPA rating of 17 mpg combined with the turbocharged 4.0-liter eight-cylinder engine, no electric assist needed.
Still, is it efficient for a 5,400-pound car that has a top speed of 208 miles per hour and can scoot to 60 miles per hour in just 3.1 seconds? Sure. And when you consider the sub-4,000-pound Maserati only beats the Bentley by two mpg, then the Conti looks pretty efficient indeed.
In a world where mass-market PHEVs can get upwards of 35 mpg heck, the Toyota Prius PHEV manages 52 mpg combined the Bentley Continental seems like a guzzler. However, if you have a taste for luxury and the deep pockets to indulge it, the 2026 Bentley Continental GT S is an efficient way to do it.
⚡When Electrification Meets Excess
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Road Test
Porsche’s 771-hp plug-in hybrid takes a similar approach to the Bentley, using electric power for both short-distance driving and staggering performance.
2025 Mercedes S63 Hybrid Review: 791 HP of Luxury and Performance
The Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance combines full-size luxury, a twin-turbo V8, and plug-in hybrid power in another heavyweight interpretation of electrified speed.
2025 Audi RS e-tron GT Performance Review
Audi’s fully electric grand tourer provides a useful counterpoint for drivers wondering how battery-only performance compares with Bentley’s plug-in hybrid approach.
