Compare the2022 Bentley BentaygaVS 2021 Mercedes GLE

Both the Bentayga and GLE 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 GLE’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 GLE 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 GLE.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Bentayga helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then projects the image on the windshield, near the driver’s line of sight. The GLE doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Bentayga and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available collision warning 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 GLE’s 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Bentayga’s reliability 29 points higher than the GLE.

The Bentayga has more powerful engines than the GLE:

As tested in Motor Trend the Bentayga SPEED 6.0 turbo 12-cylinder is faster than the GLE 450 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Bentayga’s fuel efficiency. The GLE doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

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

The Bentayga’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the GLE 350 are solid, not vented.

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 GLE doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Bentayga stops much shorter than the GLE:

For better traction, the Bentayga has larger tires than the GLE (285/45R21 vs. 255/50R19). The Bentayga’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLE (285/45R21 vs. 275/45R21).

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 GLE’s standard 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Bentayga has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the GLE.

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 GLE 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 GLE, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Bentayga SPEED handles at .93 G’s, while the GLE 350 4MATIC pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Bentayga SPEED executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.6 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (24.6 seconds @ .79 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Bentayga has a 1.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (9.7 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Bentayga to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bentayga’s minimum ground clearance is .5 inch higher than on the GLE Airmatic (9.7 vs. 9.2 inches).

The Bentayga is 70.7 inches shorter in height than the GLE, making the Bentayga much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Both the Bentayga and the GLE have standard second row automatic folding seats. The Bentayga’s third row seats also fold up or down at the press of a button. The GLE doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

The Bentayga’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the GLE’s (7165 vs. 5950 pounds).

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 GLE 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 GLE doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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 GLE doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Bentayga has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the GLE.

Both the Bentayga and the GLE offer optional 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 GLE.