Compare the2022 Bentley BentaygaVS 2022 Cadillac Escalade

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Bentley Bentayga have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Cadillac Escalade doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

Both the Bentayga and Escalade have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Bentayga has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Escalade’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Bentayga has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Escalade doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bentayga. But it costs extra on the Escalade.

The Bentayga has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bentayga has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport has a rear cross-path warning system.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Bentayga uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Bentayga and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, around view monitors, available collision warning systems, night vision systems and lane departure warning systems.

The Bentayga comes with a full 3-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Escalade’s 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Bentayga have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

The battery on the Bentayga is under the floor, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Bentayga’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Escalade’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The Bentayga’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 122 more horsepower (542 vs. 420) and 108 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8. The Bentayga SPEED’s standard 6.0 turbo 12-cylinder produces 206 more horsepower (626 vs. 420) and 204 lbs.-ft. more torque (664 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Bentayga SPEED is faster than the Cadillac Escalade with its gasoline engine:

On the EPA test cycle the Bentayga gets better mileage than the Escalade:

Regardless of its engine, the Bentayga’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Cadillac only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Escalade Diesel.

For better stopping power the Bentayga’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Escalade:

The Bentayga offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The Escalade doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Bentayga stops shorter than the Escalade:

For better traction, the Bentayga has larger tires than the Escalade (285/45R21 vs. 275/50R22).

The Bentayga’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escalade’s standard 50 series tires. The Bentayga’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Escalade’s 50 series tires.

The Bentayga offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Escalade doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Bentayga uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Escalade, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Bentayga offers an available active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Cadillac doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Escalade.

The Bentayga SPEED handles at .93 G’s, while the Escalade Sport 4WD pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Bentayga SPEED executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 5.5 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (24.6 seconds @ .79 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Bentayga SPEED’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Escalade’s (39 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bentayga has a 1.7 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Escalade (9.7 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Bentayga to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Bentley Bentayga may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 300 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The Bentayga is 10.1 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Bentayga easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bentayga is 76.7 inches shorter in height than the Escalade, making the Bentayga much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Bentayga’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Escalade uses body-on-frame design instead.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Bentayga to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Escalade doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Bentayga has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Escalade doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Bentayga has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Escalade doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Bentayga to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escalade doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Optional air conditioned the front and second row seats keep the Bentayga’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Escalade doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

Both the Bentayga and the Escalade offer available massaging front seats. The Bentayga also offers optional massaging second row seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging second row seats aren’t available in the Escalade.