Bentley Bentayga VS Lexus RX

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 Lexus RX arrives in plenty of trim and engine combinations, so exactly how much yours will cost is largely up to you. 

The minimum RRP, though, is $74,251, which will buy you an RX300 Luxury. A little further up the price list lives the RX350 Luxury, at $81,421, which makes use of a bigger engine, while the hybrid RX450h Luxury will set you back $90,160.

The range then steps up to the second of three trim levels, the F Sport, for which you’ll be paying $86,551 for the RX300, $93,721 for the RX350 and $102,460 for the RX450h. 

Finally, the range tops out with the Sport Luxury trim, which will push the budget to $92,701 for the RX300, $99,871 for the RX350 and $108,610 for the RX450h.

Okay, so that’s what you’ll be paying. But take a deep breath now, we’re dive into the model comparison.

Even the Luxury-badged cars are a premium package, arriving with 20-inch alloy wheels, tinted windows, a powered tailgate, LED headlights and fog lights (with daytime running lights) , a smart key with keyless entry, roof rails and rain-sensing wipers. Inside, expect a laundry list of standard features, including dual-zone climate control, sat nav (which, as far as GPS navigation systems go, is a breeze to operate), push-button start and leather trim.

Your 8.0-inch screen (it’s not a touch screen) pairs with digital radio and 12 speakers, there’s Bluetooth for your MP3s, as well as wireless charging (though iPhones require a special case), and you get heated and cooled front seats, too. Be warned; there is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto anywhere in the range.

Step up to the F Sport - a pseudo sport edition - and you’ll add a bigger, 12.3-inch infotainment screen that adds a CD player and DVD player and pairs with a better Mark Levinson sound system complete with 15 speakers (including a subwoofer). You get a new colour head-up display (HUD), too, and a whole heap of sport-flavoured styling flourishes.

Compare that to the Sport Luxury, which adds with soft leather trim elements, heated seats in the second row (vs just the front seats on the F Sport trim) and a power folding function for the backseat. There’s no heated steering wheel here, but then, who needs one in Australia? The adaptive front lighting system cn be switched off, too, should you prefer the traditional approach. 

Colours include 'Titanium' (metallic grey), 'Sonic Quartz' (white), 'Premium Silver', 'Onyx' (a kind of black), 'Graphite Black', 'Vermilion' (red), 'Metallic Silk' (rose gold), 'Deep Metallic Bronze' (a fancy brown) and 'Deep Blue'.

How many seats? That would be five. If you want a third row seat, then you’re shopping for the RX L, as the standard RX is strictly a five-seat affair.

A thick accessories catalogue includes specialty floor mats, roof rack and boot liner options, bull bar, nudge bar and rear seat entertainment system options, as well as a panoramic sunroof, which will set you back $3675. You won't find Homelink though (which automatically opens your garage door), as it's yet to be made available in Australia.