Compare the2023 Bentley BentaygaVS 2023 Lincoln Navigator

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

The Bentayga’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Navigator doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Bentayga and Navigator 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 Navigator’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 Navigator 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 Navigator.

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 Navigator doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Bentayga and Navigator have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Bentayga has Reversing Traffic Warning (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Navigator’s Cross-Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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 Navigator uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Bentayga and the Navigator 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, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and available 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 Navigator’s 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

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 Navigator’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The Bentayga Hybrid’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 3 more horsepower (443 vs. 440) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (516 vs. 510) than the Navigator’s 3.5 turbo V6. The Bentayga’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 102 more horsepower (542 vs. 440) and 58 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 510) than the Navigator’s 3.5 turbo V6. The Bentayga SPEED’s standard 6.0 turbo 12-cylinder produces 186 more horsepower (626 vs. 440) and 154 lbs.-ft. more torque (664 vs. 510) than the Navigator’s 3.5 turbo V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bentley Bentayga turbo V8 is faster than the Lincoln Navigator:

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

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

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

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

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

The Bentayga has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Navigator. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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

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 Navigator doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Bentayga stops much shorter than the Navigator:

For better traction, the Bentayga has larger tires than the Navigator (285/45R21 vs. 275/55R20).

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 Navigator Standard’s standard 55 series tires. The Bentayga’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Navigator’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Bentayga has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 20-inch wheels are standard on the Navigator Standard.

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 Navigator 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 Navigator, 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. Lincoln doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Navigator.

The Bentayga has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Bentayga’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Navigator doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Bentayga S handles at .88 G’s, while the Navigator Black Label 4WD pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Bentayga SPEED executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.8 seconds quicker than the Navigator Black Label 4WD (24.6 seconds @ .79 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Bentayga EWB’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Navigator’s (38.7 feet vs. 40 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bentayga has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Navigator (9.7 vs. 9.6 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 up to about 350 pounds less than the Lincoln Navigator.

The Bentayga V8 is 8.2 inches shorter than the Navigator, making the Bentayga easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bentayga is 9.1 inches shorter in height than the Navigator, 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 Navigator doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The Bentayga’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Navigator’s (7165 vs. 6200 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 Navigator 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 Navigator 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 Navigator 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 Navigator doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Bentayga is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Navigator’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.