2019 Rolls Royce Cullinan vs. 2019 Bentley Bentayga: Which is Best?

2019 Rolls Royce Cullinan Bentley Bentayga ・ Photo by Rolls-Royce / Bentley

Searching for the ultimate luxury SUV used to involve a whole bunch of vehicles. You could go with a Range Rover or maybe a Mercedes-Benz G550. Even a first-generation Hummer could be your preferred ride. But then Bentley came out with the Bentayga and challenged the world with power, luxury, and features no one else could match.

Well, almost no one. Rolls-Royce always has enjoyed a kind of gentleman’s rivalry with Bentley. When Rolls produced their first-ever SUV, they named it Cullinan after the huge diamond that anchors Britain’s crown jewels. That’s fitting because the Cullinan is the crown jewel of the Rolls-Royce lineup. But how can you tell which is best? That’s the question we asked about the 2019 Bentley Bentayga and the 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Read on to learn the answer.

That One Special Feature

Every vehicle has that one best feature that really makes it unique. For the Cullinan, it’s the GPS-aware transmission. No other automaker does anything like this. The transmission and all-wheel-drive system are tied into the GPS, so the Cullinan knows in advance when you’re coming to a hill. The transmission will downshift as you arrive at the incline so you never experience even a momentary slowdown.

The Bentayga special feature is a secret compartment in the center console. It’s called Mulliner Biometric Secure Stowage, and it’s activated only by the owner’s fingerprint. The compartment is made of metal and includes LED lights, two USB ports, and an auxiliary power socket inside. Maybe we have James Bond fantasies, but that safe in the Bentayga is a winner.

Photo by Bentley

Available Trim Packages

The Cullinan doesn’t really have trim levels. This vehicle is just what it is, and there are a lot of options to customize your ride inside and out. You can pick the wood trim, the leather, 60 colors, and accessories. The Cullinan interior is nicer than anything you’ve ever experienced, unless you’ve been riding around in another Rolls.

The Bentayga offers several different options, and a bespoke luxury trim level. The Bentayga comes with a 6.0-liter V12, but there are diesel, hybrid, and V8 options, as well as a Bentayga Speed V12 with a little more power. The big option package is the Mulliner specification, which includes 22-inch wheels, two-tone paint, bottle cooler, and a highly luxurious interior. It’s a close call, but we’ll give this point to the Bentayga.

Photo by Bentley

Exterior Styling

The Bentayga is big and bold, and the grille only can be described as stalwart. Bentley offers a wide array of colors including nine shades of blue, nine brown and gold options, nine shades of green, nine reds and purples, nine silver tones, nine shades of white, and nine variations of black. That doesn’t even cover the two-tone options.

Rolls-Royce has gone with a heavy, substantial look for the Cullinan. The traditional grille stands like a Greek temple, with the solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament proudly flying above. A highly unique feature is the forward-opening rear doors. The Cullinan doors all open from the center of the vehicle, which will get some attention. We’ll choose the Cullinan on this point, just for those fancy doors.

Photo by Rolls-Royce

Interior Space and Design

The interior of the Cullinan is everything you expect from a Rolls-Royce. It’s whisper quiet inside. The seats are like easy chairs. All the wood trim is hand-fitted, so the grain always goes at a precise angle. Attention to detail is a Rolls trademark, and it shows in the Cullinan.

The Bentayga is just as luxurious as the Cullinan, but in its own way. Bentley has always had a racing heritage that set the company apart from Rolls-Royce. This shows up in the engine sound you can hear in the cabin, and the seats have a little more side bolster. From the moment you get in, you know the Bentayga is built for speed. But when it comes to luxury, there’s nothing like a Cullinan.

Photo by Rolls-Royce

Infotainment Technology

With a vehicle like the Cullinan, the most important person frequently sits in the back seat. While the driver has access to a large touchscreen interface displaying all the Cullinan’s technology, there’s another screen with navigation and infotainment control in the back. This allows the boss to set the destination, choose the music, and just be the boss.

The Bentayga has a nice infotainment system, too, but the assumption is that the owner of the car also will be the driver. Yet the Bentayga offers a pair of 10.2-inch tablets mounted into the back of the front seats. Passengers can take them out and use them to access TV, videos, games, and communications.

We’ll give this point to the Cullinan, because no other vehicle lets you set the navigation from the back seat.

Photo by Rolls-Royce

Engine and Drivetrain

The Cullinan uses a 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine producing 563 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with automatic all-wheel drive. The AWD is automatic because it already knows what kind of surface you’re on. Seriously, this drivetrain is smart enough to get into Harvard.

True to its racing heritage, the standard Bentayga drivetrain is a 6.0-liter V12 engine rated at either 600 or 626 horsepower. There’s also a 4.0-liter V8 gas engine at 542 horsepower, or a 4.0-liter twin-turbo diesel V8 at 429 horsepower. Finally, there’s a 3.0-liter V6 hybrid drivetrain with 443 horsepower. Bentayga uses an eight-speed automatic transmission with permanent all-wheel drive. We have to give this point to Bentayga, just for its variety of great engines.

Photo by Bentley

On and Off the Road

Rolls-Royce built the Cullinan to be “effortless everywhere,” and that’s what it is. On a recent off-road test, we took the Cullinan over unpaved roads and mud. The Cullinan automatically scans the surface just ahead of the car to check road conditions. When things start to look tough, the Cullinan automatically rises up on its suspension.

The Bentayga is just as technical, with an active suspension that adjusts to road conditions at millisecond intervals. The Bentayga gives you four levels of ride height if you go off-pavement. If you get the optional All-Terrain Specification, you get four modes for off-road driving surfaces like sand, rocks, gravel, and mud. This one is tough, but we’ll give it to the Bentayga for being the fastest production SUV in the world.

Photo by Bentley

Safety and Warranty

Bentley covers the Bentayga with a warranty for three years and unlimited mileage from its delivery date. In addition to the usual safety perks, the Bentayga includes advanced features like automatic emergency braking system with pedestrian detection, head-up display, night vision, blind spot monitor, exit warning, and traffic sign recognition.

The Cullinan is covered for four years and unlimited mileage. Safety equipment beyond the basics includes night vision and vision assistance, including daytime and nighttime wildlife and pedestrian warning, a four-camera system with panoramic view, adaptive cruise, collision warning, cross-traffic warning, lane departure and lane change warning, and an extra-large high-resolution head-up display. We’ll award this point to the Cullinan for a better warranty.

Photo by Rolls-Royce

Pricing

The Cullinan starts at $325,000, and it’s easy to get the price up to $400,000 when you start ticking those option boxes. But getting the price nailed down can be tricky. You can configure a Cullinan online, but they don’t tell you the cost. You have to contact the dealer to get an exact price.

The Bentayga starts at $165,000, but you can get that up to nearly $500,000. Bentley offers the most expensive optional upgrade on any production vehicle. A self-winding Breitling Tourbillon clock in the dash costs $170,000. There’s also a $32,000 Mulliner three-box cargo-bay setup for picnics and camping.

It’s tempting to award this point to Bentayga for a lower starting price, but we’ll call it a toss-up, because no one is shopping these SUVs looking for a base model.

Photo by Rolls-Royce

The Bottom Line

At this point, our competition stands at four points each for Cullinan and Bentayga. It’s unusual to have a tie, but we really cannot find fault with either of these ultra-luxury suvs. Both offer a distinctive expression of luxury and performance. Both bring a storied brand heritage to market, and both will have their fans. Honestly, the Cullinan is more comfortable of the two, while the Bentayga is faster.

But we have to pick a winner, and our nod for the ultimate luxury SUV goes to the Bentley, because its performance is simply breathtaking.

Photo by Bentley