BYD Shark 6 vs Bentley Bentayga

What's the difference?

The Shark 6 breaks new ground with its PHEV technology and impresses with not only its whisper-quiet and rapid acceleration but also engaging chassis dynamics, build quality, fuel economy and generous standard equipment for a compelling price. However, its modest payload and tow ratings may be deal-breakers for some tradies and recreational buyers with bigger loads to haul.

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.

Our test vehicle rides on a 3260mm wheelbase and is 5457mm long, 1971mm wide and 1925mm high, so it’s in the same ballpark as a Ford Ranger 4x4 dual cab ute.

The Shark 6 features traditional body-on-frame truck chassis design, double-wishbone coil-spring front and rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes.

It also has a compact 11.0-metre turning circle and its off-road credentials include 230mm of unladen ground clearance, 700mm wading depth and 31 degrees approach/17 degrees ramp-over/19.3 degrees departure angles. A large metal bash-plate protects the underside.

Looks are subjective of course and even though there’s too much external black plastic for our liking, we reckon it still passes the pub test on styling with its chunky and purposeful appearance.

The bold grille and headlight design appears to draw inspiration from full-size US pick-ups, but with a ‘technical’ look consistent with its high-tech powertrain.

The predominantly grey interior has a high-quality finish and looks good. It also appears to draw inspiration from rivals, in this case the Ranger Raptor with its contrasting bright red air-vent/cupholder surrounds and exposed stitching along numerous seams.

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.

With its hefty 2710kg kerb weight and 3500kg GVM, the Shark 6 has a 790kg payload rating which is less than some turbo-diesel rivals.

It’s also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer which is 1000kg less than the category benchmark. And BYD does not publish a GCM (Gross Combination Mass) rating, so we don’t know how much weight the Shark 6 can legally carry and tow at the same time.

The load tub is almost square with its 1520mm length and 1500mm width. And with 1224mm between the rear-wheel housings, it can carry either Aussie or Euro pallets. Its 517mm depth results in 1.2 cubic metres of total load volume.

There are six load-anchorage points but those located in the sidewalls at the front and centre of the tub are too high for securing low-profile loads. Anchorage points located near floor-level are preferable, as they can secure loads of all heights.

The tub’s internal surfaces are protected by a spray-in liner and there’s bright internal lighting and a hydraulic strut to ease tailgate operation.

Seating for the driver and front passenger is spacious and comfortable. The rear bench seat shares similar qualities, given I’m 186cm tall and when seated behind the driver’s seat in my position I still have ample kneeroom.

Rear seat passengers also enjoy sufficient headroom, even for tall people seated in the least popular central position who also have a nice flat floor given the absence of a transmission tunnel. However, shoulder room for adults sitting three-abreast is tight and best limited to short drives.

Cabin storage for front seat occupants includes a large-bottle holder and bin in each front door, overhead glasses holder plus a dash storage shelf and glove box on the passenger side.

The centre console has two small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and a lidded box at the back.

Rear passengers also get a large-bottle holder and bin in each door, plus pockets on the rear of both front seat backrests and a fold-down centre armrest with two small-bottle/cup-holders.

The bench seat’s base cushion can be raised and stored vertically if more internal luggage space is required, but there’s no under-floor storage.

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.

Reviewing every type of car on the market provides a pretty good perspective, but when it comes to Bentleys we enter a realm where value-for-money often isn't as crucial as it is for more mainstream options.

The same goes for the price. Bentleys are among the most expensive cars in the world. So if, like me, you flinch at the thought of paying more than half a million dollars for an SUV, it may not be the car for us right now.

With that I can tell you the Bentley Bentayga Azure's list price is $475,000 and our car with all of its options comes to $515,000.

That's more money than any SUV from Mercedes-Benz and BMW costs. Even Range Rover can't quite reach that mark.

Only the likes of Aston Martin's DBX 707 and Lamborghini's Urus can match the price.

There are always bigger fish, though, and Rolls Royce's Cullinan swims in at $700,000, making the Bentayga's price seem quite reasonable.

Let's look at the standard features.

Coming standard on the Bentayga Azure are the prettiest LED headlights in the world. There are LED tail-lights, too, as well as a proximity key, roof rails and a panoramic glass roof, plus a hands-free tailgate.

Inside there's the 10.9-inch media screen, sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto.

The diamond quilting to the door trims is also standard and so are the Bentley sports pedals.

Many of these features are standard on lower grades in the Bentayga range, but the point in choosing the Azure is that many of the optional bundles on offer are fitted as standard here.

So, while leather upholstery is of course standard the 'Colour Specification' package gives you a choice of all interior colour combinations and an extended choice of hide colours.

The 'City Specification' brings extra safety tech like rear cross-traffic alert and a top view camera.

The 'Front Seat Comfort' specification adds 20-way power front seats, ventilation and massage as well as comfort headrests.

The 'Touring Specification' brings adaptive cruise control, a head up display, lane keeping assistance and 'Night Vision'.

And then the 'Sunshine Package' adds electric sun blinds, which are great for kids in the back.

Despite the multitude of standard packages there's plenty left to option on the Azure.

Our car was fitted with about a dozen options including piano black veneer ($5884), 22-inch alloy wheels ($4733), rear privacy glass ($2617), LED welcome lights ($2238), self-levelling wheel centre caps ($1208), a heated acoustic windscreen ($1094), luggage management for the boot ($937) and a heated steering wheel ($543).

Then there's Mulliner, Bentley's in-house customisation division which will personalise your Bentley.

The Mulliner custom features on our Bentayga Azure include the addition of an extra colour in the leather upholstery ($13,492), 'Honeycomb' stitching on the steering wheel ($5391) and contrasting stitching on the quilted areas of leather trim ($2688).

Best family features would have to be the privacy glass, temperature control in the second row and the rear sun blinds.

The second row also comes with a removable tablet which can be used to adjust the climate control, sunroof and media settings among other functions.

In the hands of children this is every parent's nightmare and there's a 100 percent chance of the tablet being lost forever, possibly on the motorway between Sydney and Canberra.

The Shark 6’s hybrid drivetrain with permanent all-wheel drive includes two electric motors, with the front motor producing up to 170kW/310Nm driving the front wheels. The rear motor produces up to 150kW/340Nm and drives the rears.

These motors are teamed with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing up to 135kW/260Nm, which serves dual roles as a generator to maintain charge in the 29.58kWh lithium-ion battery (in addition to regenerative braking) and to assist with driving the front wheels as required. It can also perform both roles simultaneously.

The combined output of electric motors/petrol engine is up to 321kW and 650Nm. There are also three selectable drive modes comprising Eco, Normal and Sport, plus different terrain settings to optimise performance in Mud/Sand/Snow/Mountain.

The plug-in battery can be charged using either the AC (7.0kW) or DC (55kW) ports. Cables for both were supplied with our test vehicle and stored in a carry bag behind the rear seat.

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...

BYD claims combined average fuel consumption for the petrol engine as low as 2.0L/100km with 25-100 per cent SoC (State of Charge) which spikes to 7.9L/100km when SoC drops below 25 per cent (see Driving).

BYD also claims an NEDC battery-only driving range of up to 100km (with 25-100 per cent SoC) and up to 800km when combined with the petrol engine in hybrid mode.

We covered 522km during our test which was a mix of city, suburban and regional roads plus some highway driving, of which about one fifth of that distance was hauling a near-maximum payload.

At the completion of our test, the Shark 6’s onboard computer claimed average petrol consumption of 6.6L/100km with 204km of range remaining, which suggests a real-world driving range of at least 700km is credible from its 60-litre petrol tank.

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 Bentley Bentayga doesn't have a safety rating as like many extremely high-end cars it hasn't been assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

That said, the Azure grade comes standard with an armoury of safety tech including AEB (with turn assistance), lane keeping assistance, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, evasive steering assistance, and adaptive cruise control.

Front and rear parking sensors are standard (and the most relied-upon feature I use daily), while exit warning saved my child and myself more than a few times from leaping out into the traffic on the school run.

The Shark 6 is covered by BYD's six-year/150,000km warranty and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/20,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-pricing for the first six scheduled services totals $2945 or an average of $490 per year.

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.