Compare the2023 Bentley BentaygaVS 2023 Cadillac Escalade

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row 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 its second-row 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 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 Hybrid’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 23 more horsepower (443 vs. 420) and 56 lbs.-ft. more torque (516 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8. 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 Car and Driver the Bentley Bentayga turbo V8 is faster than the Cadillac Escalade:

On the EPA test cycle the Bentayga Hybrid running on electricity gets better mileage than the Escalade:

On the EPA test cycle the Bentayga running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Escalade:

The Bentayga Hybrid can travel with zero emissions for 18 miles. The Escalade can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Bentayga Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Escalade doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

The Bentayga SPEED 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 S handles at .88 G’s, while the Escalade Sport Platinum 4WD pulls only .67 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver 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 EWB’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Escalade’s (38.7 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 V8 is 10.1 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Bentayga easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bentayga is 9.4 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 better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Bentayga offers optional dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Escalade doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

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 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.