The first-ever BMW XM and the Bentley Bentayga ultra-luxury SUV are one-of-a-kind within their own families. Certainly, they stand apart from the crowd in the premium segment. The Bavarian and the Briton both serve a dual purpose: delivering state-of-the-art performance while traveling in exquisite style inside-out. Now let’s see how they stack up against each other. The first major difference stuns the viewers as soon as they see the two competitors side-by-side. The Bentley is the older guy in this game, first exposed in late 2015, with deliveries starting 2016. Its exterior design took time to mature into a beautiful and actually lavishing visual exercise, embodying the quintessential Bentley visual philosophy.
While looking rounded and cohesive, the Bentayga certainly manages to also feel solid and imposing, a characteristic that catered to its very own audience. Throwing the new G09 BMW XM into the arena, a breath of fresh air comes into play. The gargantuan ///M SAV is the perfect testimonial of a design that’s sure to cause a lot of discussion.
The XM oozes individuality drawn heavily temperamental design, which specifically combines both traditional traits and new, unseen lines and surfaces. The G09 feels rock solid and steadily planted to the road, thanks to its impressive stance, 5.11-meter length and sloping roofline. At 5.14 meters, the Bentayga is barely any visibly longer. The XM, on the other hand, is lightly wider at exactly 2,005 mm vs. the 1,998 mm of the British model.
While the Bentley Bentayga looks overall classic and well-behaved, the new BMW XM might look a bit brutal and relentless. Of course, design is purely a matter of taste, but while the Bavarian SAV feels rock-solid and even out of this world, the Briton is a tad more gentle.
Surely, both models look impressive, but when it comes to showing its muscles, the XM clearly wins over the Bentayga. The split headlights, the impressive grille with double horizontal bars, the power domes on the bonnet, the side character lines, the intricate creases, the abundance of gold accents, the stacked quad exhausts and the elongated tail lamps evoking ///M stripes all come together into a much cohesive and ravishing design. It may not feel as unique as the M1 or as balanced as its British competitor…
