Compare the2023 Bentley BentaygaVS 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V

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-V doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Bentayga and Escalade-V 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-V’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-V doesn’t offer a whiplash protection 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-V uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Bentayga and the Escalade-V 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, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning, 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-V’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-V.

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-V’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The Bentayga SPEED’s standard 6.0 turbo 12-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (664 vs. 653) than the Escalade-V’s 6.2 supercharged V8.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bentley Bentayga turbo V8 is faster than the Cadillac Escalade-V:

On the EPA test cycle the Bentayga Hybrid running on electricity gets better mileage than the Escalade-V (44 city/51 hwy MPGe vs. 11 city/16 hwy MPG).

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

The Bentayga Hybrid can travel with zero emissions for 18 miles. The Escalade-V 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-V doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Bentayga’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Escalade-V doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

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

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-V doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Bentayga stops much shorter than the Escalade-V:

For better traction, the Bentayga has larger tires than the Escalade-V (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-V’s standard 50 series tires. The Bentayga’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Escalade-V’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-V doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

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-V.

The Bentayga S handles at .88 G’s, while the Escalade-V pulls only .69 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Bentayga SPEED’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Escalade-V’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

The Bentley Bentayga may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 900 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade-V.

The Bentayga V8 is 10.1 inches shorter than the Escalade-V, making the Bentayga easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bentayga is 9.1 inches shorter in height than the Escalade-V, 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-V uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Bentayga’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Escalade-V’s (7165 vs. 7000 pounds).

The Bentayga has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Escalade-V (1510 vs. 1140 lbs.).

The Bentayga has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Escalade-V (1510 vs. 1330 lbs.).

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

Both the Bentayga and the Escalade-V 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-V.