Interior showdown: Volvo XC90 vs. Bentley Bentayga 

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 07/29/2017 at 13:16 • Filed to: Bentayga, Bentley, Volvo, XC90

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One starts at over a quarter million dollars and is the de facto ultra-luxury SUV (sorry Dartz). The other is attractive and well-designed. Zing! Comparison pictures below

Bentayga backseat

XC90 backseat

Bentayga side profile

XC90 side profile

Bentayga front and center

XC90 front and center

Bentayga door details

XC90 door details

Okay, pet peeve time.

Quilted leather  luxury. I don’t care how many hundreds of hours Bentley’s press release says it took to get the “perfectly hand stitched rectangular diamond fiber overlay” just right, it’s still tacky. Any competent upholstery shop—as well as many DIY’ers—can easily get you a diamond stitch on your seats if that’s what you want. But it’s more commonly seen on beat-to-shit Z’s, Miatas, Hondas and the like that have been modded half to death by a steady string of teenage owners. Come on Bentley, you can do better than using the same tired design tropes for what should have been a breathtakingly extravagant interior that blows the competition so far out of the water they don’t survive the landing. In fact, I’m so dissatisfied that I’ve canceled my order. I hear Rolls just unveiled a new Phantom...

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 13:19

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Meh. Photos are the worst way to judge an interior. I took dealership photos and good lighting and a tripod will make a 2010 Malibu interior look nice as hell but the reality is far, far different.

AestheticsInMotion > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/29/2017 at 13:22

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Oh definitely. Hard to get a “feel” for the materials via the photographic medium. Still, some things are apparent from the photos. Look at the difference in bolstering. Obviously some people love that, others would rather have zero bolstering, but it’s a pretty noticeable difference.

Definitely wouldn’t kick either out of my garage

OKcarburetor > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 13:48

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The only let down on the Volvo is the shape of the center screen and vents. It’s not bad on it’s own, but it doesn’t look like it belongs with the rest of the car. Otherwise it’s beautiful.

As far as the quilted leather goes... it looks great when it’s of extremely high quality, and it’s a cohesive design element with the rest of the interior. Tarting up your stanced out miata with fake quilted leather seats is not the same. It’s like wearing the top half of a taylored suit with board shorts and Vans.

Wobbles the Mind > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 13:49

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Split the difference with a Range Rover Holland and Holland

Or take it to the next level with a Maybach G650 Landault

I think all four are perfect for their segment. I can see this segment exploding soon.

AestheticsInMotion > Wobbles the Mind 07/29/2017 at 18:21

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I want the luxury performance coupe (with a manual) segment to start up. Think new Miata with triple the power and a team dedicated to making it exquisitely comfortable in any climate

Pipe dream, I know

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 20:31

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I always laughed when I did dealership photography how nice Traverse, Equinox, etc. interiors would look in photos vs how garbage they are in person.

AestheticsInMotion > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/29/2017 at 20:44

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Oh god. What’s the worst interior you saw new?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 22:45

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Worst new-car interior? We only sold Chevys, but probably unsurprisingly probably the Express vans. The Spark was surprisingly competent. Previous-gen Malibu was alright. Equinox and Traverse were obscenely out of date for as long as they kept that design, even with the facelifts. ‘Burban was good. Tahoe was good. The upper trims were really plush where it matters, not “hurr durr the bottom trim on the seat is hard plastic instead of walnut hand-carved by orphans using their own severed bones”. Impala was one of their stronger interiors until the 6th gen Camaro and C7 came out. The C7 is the strongest by far application of their current interior design style. The current-gen Malibu and Cruze were improvements over the previous but still had an air of intense disappointment about them. The Trax is a stupid thing that should never have existed in the first place.

Oh, and the Captiva. That thing sucked ass in every way imaginable. Good thing they never sold. Ever. To anyone. I actually think that was fleet-only. A fleet-only crossover. Brilliant.

AestheticsInMotion > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/29/2017 at 23:25

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Huh. I actually had to look the Captiva up haha. Come to think off it, the Corvette is the only 2015 or newer Chevy I’ve been in (other than drunk Ubers). Certainly feels like you’re getting a quality interior for the price. I’ve been in New Cayman’s that were less well-appointed inside

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AestheticsInMotion 07/29/2017 at 23:29

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The C7 is obscenely nice. The 5th gen Camaro was garbage though. 20k miles and you’d be able to wiggle the door card around like a fuckin Chevy Vega.

C62030 > AestheticsInMotion 07/30/2017 at 23:15

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I don’t really have a problem with quilted leather, but I do have a problem with putting the quilted leather on the outside . Patterns go on the inside bit of the seat. This is an aesthetic tradition for a good reason.

The Volvo, on the other hand, is beautiful and perfect in every way.

AestheticsInMotion > C62030 07/30/2017 at 23:44

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Huh. I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah you’re totally right.

I want to see a modern Bentley/rolls go all in with a full-cloth interior. No leather in sight. That would interesting to see how the handled it

C62030 > AestheticsInMotion 07/31/2017 at 00:17

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If I can ever afford it, I’m going to take a car to Brabus or Mansory and the like and ask them to do a full velour conversion, just to see what they’d say. Not even ugly, just all black or white or something. Maybe Koenigsegg would do it; Christian once said that if you give them enough money, they can build you a helicopter.

AestheticsInMotion > C62030 07/31/2017 at 00:23

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White velour in a jet black Koenigsegg helicopter. Yes.