Bentley Bentayga vs Volkswagen ID.4

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.

The ID.4 is looking to hit a bit of a sweet spot in the electric car market, priced keenly compared to many of its rivals, but we can now confirm it offers not only the look but the feel of existing Volkswagen products in a tidy electrified package.

It’s not as powerful, and in the lower grades, not as well specified as some of its rivals, but as one of the first mainstream mid-size fully electric SUVs in Australia, it seems as though minor issues like this won’t stop it from being a smash-hit.

If you’re keen we’d suggest getting your order in early. Volkswagen predicts a long waiting list.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer.

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.

The ID.4 has a familiar but forward-thinking design, moving away from the squared-off lines of the current Tiguan to a more curvaceous look and feel.

This is both form and function, with the drag being more important than ever in the electric era, the ID.4 seeming as though it has been formed by water.

The design also has the interesting effect of leaving less room for now-superfluous grilles, with the ID.4’s face characterised by a black strip, the traditional VW logo nose, and eyeball-like main LED light elements which almost give the SUV an anthropomorphic face.

It has an undeniably approachable character, which is an interesting contrast from the more industrial sporty-chic of VW’s current combustion cars. Sporty elements still remain, from the large alloys on the Pro Performance grade, to little spoilers out the rear.

It’s uncanny how the brand has managed to keep its ID range familiar to core VW design tropes, yet clearly defined by moving the brand’s design language in a curvy new direction. I admire the balance.

The interior of the ID.4, though, could be any Volkswagen until you look closer. This is partially because Volkswagen has been preparing for the move to a new pared-back design with all of its most recent combustion vehicle facelifts, so the interior is instantly and intrinsically a VW by look and feel, but also because the primary changes need to be used to be felt.

The multimedia screen, and wheel set-up feel like they’ve been dropped straight out of a current Golf, for example, but have the elevated pose more like a T-Roc or Tiguan, while the wheel and switchgear looks and feels exactly the same.

If you sat in the ID.4 blindfolded, it would be hard to tell apart from its combustion contemporaries.

However, the new elements bring with them necessary changes. The minimalist digital dash, for example, is initially questionable with its simplistic approach, but ultimately shows everything you need to know in easy-to-understand graphics.

Similarly, the big open space and floating armrests help the cabin feel huge despite the dark interior treatment, and the big LED strip which runs the length of the windscreen is a neat element.

It’s far from the leap into the future you might experience when hopping out of a combustion vehicle and into a Tesla Model Y, for example, but more a subtle but significant change, with major functional design changes like the move away from a traditional instrument cluster.

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.

Perhaps one of the most important selling points of the ID.4 is that it’s a relatively traditional mid-size SUV.

There’s nothing electric which offers the same bodystyle at the suggested price point right now, and while that might change in the full year it might take VW to get the ID.4 to the market, it’s still one of the segments with the highest demand in Australia.

In terms of dimensions it is only a handful of millimetres smaller than the current Tiguan, placing it slightly above the Tesla Model Y and BYD Atto 3 in terms of overall size.

The interior space is open courtesy of a flat floor, a benefit of the ID.4’s electrified MEB platform. The result is a configurable storage bay which sits between the front occupants, with removable dividers letting you choose how to use the space.

Do you want one huge tray? A set of cupholders? A blend of both? It’s up to your imagination. In VW’s current combustion cars this area usually hosts the transmission shifter, handbrake and other controls, all of which have been shifted to the configurable driver’s steering column. The handbrake is automatic.

As a result of this low and open space, there is also no raised armrest section, necessitating the inclusion of armrests on the inside of the front seats.

The space is also very adjustable, with the added benefit of the digital instrument cluster on the steering column meaning no matter how high or low you set it, the entire screen is always visible.

The back seat is perhaps one of the ID.4’s most appealing attributes, offering massive space behind my own driving position.

There’s leagues of room for my knees and soft trims in the doors for my elbows. The flat floor is most apparent here leaving plenty of room for loading objects or having room for three sets of feet.

The third climate zone and direction of the air flow can be adjusted via a nearly floor-mounted touch panel between the front seats.

Boot space comes in at 543-litres (VDA) which is massive for a car of this size, and while there’s no spare under the floor (just an inflator kit), there is an under floor area for your charging cables.

Unlike some electric vehicles, though, there is no storage under the ID.4’s bonnet, with the space occupied by cooling equipment for the battery pack, and in the case of the Performance Pro, the heat pump.

To be clear here, we don’t have hard numbers yet on what the ID.4 will cost. It’s still a full year out from a predicted late 2023 launch window but Volkswagen has some aggressive targets which it hopes will make the switch to electric easy for its existing customers.

The brand's representatives tell us this means the ID.4 will start from roughly an equivalent price to a Tiguan R-Line, in the mid-$60,000 bracket.

This will put it in contention with cars like the popular Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 (from $65,500 and $63,900 respectively), while undercutting its more direct rival - the Tesla Model Y (which starts from $72,300).

This already sits the ID.4 in a good place, as the mid-size SUV space is one poorly addressed by the current crop of electric vehicles in Australia, particularly in the mid-$60,000 price bracket.

We also don’t know yet what sort of grades will become available in Australia next year, but Volkswagen informs us the Pro Performance grade (one of two cars we were able to sample) is most indicative of the first examples which will arrive in Australia.

The Pro performance grade is roughly equivalent to R-Line versions of combustion cars when it comes to equipment, and the car we sampled included 19-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry with push-start ignition, a 12-inch ‘Discover Pro’ multimedia touchscreen (running the latest Volkswagen software complete with always-online connectivity and built-in navigation), as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

There's also a 5.3-inch instrument cluster (conveniently attached to the steering rack), ambient interior lighting, 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with heating, microfleece and synthetic leather seat trim, the more advanced ‘progressive steering’ tune, LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, tri-zone climate, and the full active safety suite, which we’ll touch on later.

Another grade, the ‘Pure Performance’ was also available for testing, which Volkswagen said it had brought in to gauge interest from fleet operators more than private customers.

This version of the ID.4 was more European in its specification level, sporting smaller 18-inch alloys, manual-adjust seats, a smaller 10-inch multimedia screen, a manual tailgate, a cropped-down active safety offering, and a less powerful electric motor.

Interestingly, Volkswagen throws in both a standard wall-socket charging cable, as well as a public Type 2 charging cable which is often an optional extra.

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...

Again, we’re not exactly sure which spec of the ID.4 will arrive in Australia, but the UK-specified examples we were able to drive each had their own powertrain.

The more basic Pure Performance grade has an electric motor mounted on the rear axle producing 125kW/310Nm. This is powered by a 55kWh lithium-ion battery pack, providing a claimed 345km driving range on the WLTP cycle.

The higher-spec Pro Performance grade, said to be most representative of the initial cars to arrive in Australia, has a more powerful rear-mounted electric motor, with outputs totalling 150kW/310Nm.

This version is backed by a larger 82kWh battery pack, with a driving range rated at 522km on the WLTP cycle.

It is important to note there are higher performance GTX versions available overseas (which the brand tells us will arrive at a later date in Australia), as well as the Pro 4Motion all-wheel drive variant which launched earlier this year.

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.

The ID.4 Pure Performance, with its less powerful motor and smaller battery, also consumes less energy, rated at 16.7kWh/100km on the WLTP combined cycle.

Meanwhile, the more powerful and heavier Pro Performance consumes 17.2kWh/100km. Our test loop in both vehicles was far too short to extract a fair number, so stay tuned closer to the ID.4’s Australian launch late next year for a more accurate energy consumption test.

For reference, in my testing I have found consumption under 15kWh/100km great performance for EVs, and consumption above 18kWh/100km less than impressive, leaving the ID.4 in the upper part of that band.

When it comes to charging, different ID.4 spec levels have different charging capabilities, it is not uniform across the range. The more basic Pure Performance charges at a rate of 110kW on a DC fast charger, allowing it to charge from a quoted 0-80 per cent in 26 minutes. It can also charge at a rate of 7.2kW on the slower AC standard, for a charge time of 6.5 hours.

The Pro Performance balances its larger battery pack with improved charging specs, able to charge on a DC fast charger at a rate of 125kW allowing an 80 per cent charge in 33 minutes, while on AC it charges at a rate of 11kW for a charge to 80 per cent in 6.5 hours.

These specs are sufficient, but it would be nice to see the 11kW AC charger standard across the range as it would significantly cut down the charge time for the Pure grade.

Specifications are yet to be finalised for the ID.4 but the two grades we tested had different sets of active safety gear. All cars get freeway speed auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, as well as the full adaptive safety suite, but only the Pro Performance scores adaptive lane guidance, rear auto braking, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

These items will definitely be missed if they’re not added to the Pure grade prior to its launch in Australia.

Airbag coverage totals seven, with the standard dual front, side, and curtain, as well as the centre airbag between the front occupants usually required for a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

The ID.4 is yet to be rated by ANCAP, but it achieved a maximum five star rating to the EuroNCAP standard in 2021.

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.

We don’t have details locked in for the ID.4’s ownership promise, but expect the usual five year and unlimited kilometre warranty for the car itself, with a separate eight year, 160,000km warranty (which appears to be the ID range’s battery warranty internationally) for the battery pack, matching industry standards.

Over in the UK, from where our test cars came, ID vehicles only need to be serviced once every 24 months, with an unlimited kilometre interval.