Bentley Bentayga vs Polestar 2 Long Range

What's the difference?

The Bentley Bentayga Azure may look a bit awkward and it surely isn't great value for money, but it is a true Bentley and a very good family SUV that not only provides terrific practicality but superb performance and comfort.

This latest update for the Polestar 2 is lovely, but driving the original is a reminder of how solid this car has always been if you overlook the inherent impracticalities of being an EV on a combustion-engine platform.

The fact you still get steady flow of over-the-air software updates bringing new features, plus you can now upgrade to the new Qualcomm processor chip, saving some coin and getting a second-hand model that’s a couple of years old isn’t a bad option at all.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

You'd think of all automotive brands Bentley, with its beautiful swooping and powerful saloons, would be able to floor us with something just exquisite in SUV form. But right from the 2012 concept the Bentayga has struggled to stun the world with its design.

So, while there are Bentley family traits all over the Bentayga, from the intricate headlights and mesh grille, to the oval tail-lights and body which squats over the rear wheels, the overall design looks awkward to my eyes.

To me it appears the boxy design with the tall, flat roofline and elevated ride height favours practicality over the sleekness possessed by a lower, more coupe-like SUV.

I favour dark coloured clothes because it hides my shapes, creases and bulges, but these are the things you want to see in a car and our Bentley's 'Onyx Black' paint, despite being a beautiful colour with a blue hue added, make it a featureless blob in the sunlight.

A lighter shade or something outlandish like a turquoise or yellow would look amazing, and even better, upset your neighbours.

Let's look at the interior design which is lavish with all the quilted leather and Mulliner customisation, but lacks the modern look of many contemporary cabins with its smallish media screen and busy mosaic of buttons.

I like the little chrome plungers for the air vents, the winged styling to the dashboard and the stitched leather upholstery, but it's easy to spot parts that are shared by other members of the Volkswagen Group (which owns Bentley).

For example, there are the indicator and wiper stalks, as well as the steering wheel buttons, all from Audi. Surely Bentley should have its own crafted parts?

The interior colour scheme on our Bentayga is 'Beluga' (black) and 'Camel' (tan) and the Mulliner option split the colours with a cream tone.

From a family perspective the tan and black will hide dirt, although the cream will struggle. It's possibly the best leather on the planet, however, coming from cattle living high enough that their hides are unblemished by insect stings.

I’ve always been a fan of the Polestar 2’s exterior design and unlike many new cars it has aged like fine wine over the years. You need to remember the Polestar 2 dates back to 2016 when it was first revealed as a Volvo concept.

It still has clean lines, iconic lightning signatures, plus a tough stance that evokes just a touch of muscle car.

While it has taken me a while to come around to the new blanked-out grille insert, it suits the character of this car given it’s an EV. It also aligns with the wider Polestar design language.

For 2026 there haven’t been any major changes to the exterior. There’s a new sandy-like ‘Dune’ exterior paint colour replacing the silver ‘Jupiter’, plus a new 20-inch forged alloy wheel design for the Long range Dual motor Performance.

Inside, the Polestar 2 looks fundamentally the same as it did when it first launched, in the best and worst ways.

I appreciate how traditional car-like the layouts of the steering wheel, digital instrument cluster and touchscreen multimedia system are. Sure it doesn’t scream ultra high-tech anymore like some of its rivals, but there’s still an understated premium feel to it.

The same can be said for the rest of the Polestar 2’s interior. Everything feels purposeful in a minimalist way which helps make for a clean design.

Speaking of purposefulness, the optional Bowers and Wilkins sound system features a prominent tweeter on top of the dashboard. It looks stunning and is functional, helping to create an incredibly punchy and full sound stage in the cabin.

One of the few finishes I dislike in the interior is the glossy piano black on the steering wheel buttons. You interact with these frequently and it doesn’t take long for fingerprints to present themselves.

There’s now a new synthetic leather upholstery finish for those who opt for the $4700 Plus package. It’s quilted which helps emulate a premium puffer jacket-like look.

Although it’s expensive, the $4400 ‘Bridge of Weir’ Nappa leather upholstery is beautiful and required if you want ventilated front seats. You can only get black and white finishes, which is fine, but bringing back a tan or caramel option would be delicious.

Being shaped like a bus does nothing for the Bentayga's beauty but makes it spacious for cargo and roomy for people.

With its large doors and elevated ride height (the car can be lowered for easier access) it's great for families.

Our Bentayga is a five-seater, which is fine for my little family of four, but there are four- and seven-seat configurations available, too.

Second row legroom is exceptional, even for me at 189cm tall, and sitting behind my own driving position there's still plenty of room.

Headroom is also outstanding throughout. We could be a family that loves top hats, on our way to the top hat championships, and not have to remove our top hats. That's how good headroom and hat room is.

Sun blinds in the second row are vital in Australia, and the electric ones in the Bentayga raise and lower quickly, not just offering protection but also more privacy.

Storage is good throughout with big door pockets and five cupholders.

It seems the cabin space eats into the cargo area because the boot isn't overly large at 484 litres with all seats in place.

Buttons in the cargo area allow the rear of the car to be raised and lowered to make it easier to hoist items in the boot.

For devices there's a wireless phone charger up front along with USB ports in both rows.

This has always been the downfall of Polestar 2 and it remains true.

While it’s pretty and has a cockpit-like design, the cabin can feel compromised in terms of space and storage. This is primarily due to the centre console which angles upwards sharply, aggressively segmenting the driver and front passenger space.

The only storage spots on the centre console include a shallow shelf under the centre console, a wireless phone charger and another uncovered storage nook under the touchscreen.

It doesn’t help that the cupholder situation doesn’t allow for a proper centre armrest. You either have no cupholders and an armrest, one cupholder and your arm barely reaches the armrest, or two cupholders and the centre armrest flops into the backseat space. It’s not ideal.

Gripes aside, there are still positives to the Polestar 2’s front row. The seats are comfortable on longer drives and allow for a large degree of electric adjustment.

Ahead of the driver the steering wheel thankfully has physical buttons, allowing for easy use on the move. I also love how satisfying the indicator stalk thwack is. It’s the little things that count.

The digital instrument cluster has a minimalist look and can be customised with a few layouts. I particularly like the Google Maps layout which shows your navigation when using the in-built app.

Moving across, the Google Built-in software for the multimedia system is still up there as one of the most usable out there currently. It’s easy to navigate, plus if you get lost there’s a convenient home button at the bottom of the screen.

Both screens are now driven by a more powerful Qualcomm processor chip which allows for better responsiveness, smoother performance and higher download speeds for in-car apps.

Although we didn’t get a huge opportunity to stress test this new chip, it’s definitely an improvement on the old one. You can technically upgrade your old Polestar 2’s chip through a Polestar service centre, though it conveniently doesn’t list how much this costs.

While physical switchgear is limited, there’s still enough to get by. Over the years I’ve grown accustomed to using the touchscreen to change the climate control, though some physical dials and buttons would be nice.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available in wired form only, which is surprising as wireless smartphone mirroring is now commonplace. It does mean however that your phone will charge up reliably.

Moving to the second row, it’s arguably where the Polestar 2 is at its worst. At a leggy 182cm I do fit behind my driving position but headroom is tight.

It doesn’t help that there’s a huge transmission tunnel which technically isn’t needed given this car is fully electric. That’s a downside of using a combustion-engine platform.

Second-row amenities include air vents, two USB-C ports, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders. Heated outboard seats are optional.

At the back the button to pop the boot is down where the number plate is. It’s not overtly obvious unless you know where to look.

As standard the tailgate is manually operated and you need to get the $4700 Plus pack in order to get it electrically operated. It also gets a hands-free function which is handy if you’ve got your hands full with bags.

Boot space is 407L with the rear seats upright, expanding to 1097L with them folded. This includes a 43L underfloor section which is large enough for some cables. The boot size is fairly standard for a vehicle of this size and type.

There’s also a 41L front boot which can be used for further cable storage or other various storage needs.

The 2026 Polestar 2 starts at $62,400, before on-road costs, for the Standard range Single motor and extends all the way to $85,080, before on-road costs, for the Long range Dual motor with the Plus and Performance packages.

This is more expensive than the similarly premium-pushing Tesla Model 3 ($54,990 to $80,900, before on-roads), as well as the more budget-oriented BYD Seal ($46,990 to $61,990, before on-roads).

Despite this, Polestar currently has some major deals and offers on new 2026 Polestar 2 stock to the tune of up to $13,000 off the drive-away price. This can see you drive away in a brand-new model for as little as $55,763, drive-away, in Victoria, which is around $5000 less than a base Model 3 RWD.

There’s a catch though… options. There is a slew of option packages and singular options available and they add up quickly.

Most notable is the new $3500 14-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system that must be bought in conjunction with the 'Plus package' which is $4700 on all trims besides the Long range Dual motor as it’s already standard.

Annoyingly, a heat pump is part of the $1500 'Climate package' which also brings heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel and heated wiper nozzles. So many carmakers now include heat pumps as standard fare in EVs as they help reduce energy consumption during colder months.

Beyond this, there’s a standard base of equipment which is fine for the price point. Highlights include LED headlights, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 11.2-inch touchscreen multimedia system, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charger, dual-zone climate control and heated front seats with electric adjustment.

When Bentley stopped putting its W12 into the Bentayga this year I was unsurprised yet sad. The world is moving toward tighter fuel emissions but the twin-turbo petrol V8 in this Azure is still a beast.

The 4.0-litre turbo-petrol V8 is from the Audi family and I love it as much for its plentiful torque and superb acceleration as the deep rumble of its exhaust.

Making 404kW and 770Nm the V8 can lift and throw the 2.5-tonne Bentayga to 100km/h from a standstill in 4.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 290km/h. I reckon you could get it to 300km/h with the wind behind you.

Drive goes to all four wheels via an eight-speed transmission and a Torsen-type centre differential.

Default drive balance is 40/60 front to rear, with up to 70 per cent of power able to be sent to the front wheels and up to 85 per cent to the rear axle.

I don't think you'll be astounded to hear this powertrain uses a lot of fuel? Let's go there...

No changes have been made to the Polestar 2’s electric motor set-up for 2026.

Both the single-motor versions have been rear-wheel drive now for a few years and produce either 200kW or 220kW, depending on the battery pack.

The Long range Dual motor adds a front-mounted electric motor bringing total system outputs to 310kW and 740Nm. It’s capable of doing the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.5 seconds.

The $8980 Performance pack (available only on the Long range Dual motor) bumps the total system power output to 350kW. It also reduces the 0-100km/h sprint to 4.2 seconds.

Bentley says the Bentayga Azure with the V8 petrol engine will use an average of 11.4L/100km over a combination of open and urban roads.

But what happens if you live in the suburbs not far from the city and drive the Azure every day to do the school drop offs and trips to the shops and then take in some fun country roads? You use an average of 22.8L/100km according to the car's trip computer.

This is still not as high as I was expecting. I've driven V6-powered SUVs which use more than this under the same conditions.

That said, even when using as much fuel as Bentley says you should, an 85-litre fuel tank is only going to deliver an approximate 745km driving range.

Although we didn’t get to drive it at this media launch, the entry-level Polestar 2 Standard range Single motor has arguably received the biggest refresh of the line-up with this MY26 update.

It now has a slightly larger 70kWh lithium-ion battery pack sourced from CATL, replacing the LG Chem-sourced 69kWh lithium-ion battery. As a result there’s 554km of WLTP-claimed range with up to 554km (up from 546km).

Long range versions still have a CATL-sourced 82kWh lithium-ion battery with between 568km and 659km of WLTP-claimed range, depending on the variant. This is good but Tesla has moved the game forward with its Model 3 Long Range RWD which offers up to 750km of range.

We didn’t get a chance to fully test out energy consumption during this media event, but Polestar claims between 14.8kWh/100km and 17.2kWh/100km, depending on the variant. This is much better than when the Polestar 2 first launched.

While the maximum AC charging rate remains at 11kW across the line-up, the Standard range versions can now DC fast-charge at rates up to 180kW (up from 135kW). This means a 10 to 80 per cent charge can now take as little as 26 minutes.

Maximum DC fast-charging for Long range versions is still up to 205kW, allowing a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 28 minutes. Lots of newer rivals offer faster charging now.

The Polestar 2 received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted in 2021.

Standard safety equipment includes eight airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane centering, front and rear parking sensors as well as a surround-view camera system.

This amount of safety tech is pretty standard fare now, but I particularly like how well they are tuned. It’s more noticeable in a world where new cars from new carmakers continually chime at you even though you’re driving normally.

There are ISOFIX child seat anchorages on the two outboard rear seats, plus top-tether points on all three rear seats.

The Bentayga is covered by Bentley's three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 16,000km.

The good news is all new Bentley's have five years regular servicing included in the cost of the vehicle.

The Polestar 2 is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, whereas the high-voltage battery is covered by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty.

While this battery warranty length is standard, a five-year warranty is getting a little short now in the grand scheme of things as many brands are moving to seven-year warranties.

Owners also get five years' of roadside assistance which can be accessed by pressing the ‘Connect’ button on the overhead console. It’s available 24/7 and includes car recovery and alternative transport, if required.

Logbook servicing is required every 24 months or 30,000km, which is standard for EVs. At the time of writing Polestar Australia was finalising service pricing for the MY26 2 and we'll update this review as soon as we receive the details.

There are a total of 23 Polestar service centres around Australia, a number of them shared with Volvo.