Size matters, and when people are shopping for size, they might go for a spacious SUV. But what many consumers may not know is that there are some large and powerful sedans on the market as well.

The largest sedan of all is the Bentley Mulsanne. Surprisingly, it actually weighs more than an average SUV. Here’s where the massive, almost 6,000 lb Mulsanne gets its weight from.

A comparison 

According to CreditDonkey, the average weight of a car in the U.S. is about 2,900 lb. The average mid-sized sedan weighs about 3,350 lb and the average SUV weighs in at 4,800 lb. This means that the Mulsanne weighs about twice as much as the average car does. Not to mention, it’s heavier than most SUVs on the market as well.

The Mercedes G-Wagen, for example, weighs about 5,600 lb. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, which boasts the most powerful engine on any production SUV, weighs only about 5,400 lb.

Compared to most other full-sized sedans, the Mulsanne is a monster. For example, both the Chevy Impala and the Buick Lacrosse weigh about 3,700 lb. However, AutoList does mention that other luxury full-sized sedans, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom, is close in weight to the Mulsanne, as the Phantom weighs about 5,600 lb.

Why does the Mulsanne weigh so much?

There’s simply a lot going on with the Mulsanne and that’s why it weighs a lot. The biggest culprit though is its engine, which is a 6.75-liter V8 and it produces over 500-hp for this heavy sedan. Its massive engine is necessary as otherwise, the Mulsanne won’t live up to the performance that’s expected of a luxury sedan. 

According to Motor 1, despite weighing almost 6,000 lb, its powerful engine allows the Mulsanne to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds. Incredibly, it can also hit a top speed of 184 miles per hour. However, because it weighs so much, its fuel efficiency is abysmal. It gets 11 city mpg and 18 highway mpg.

Another reason why the Mulsanne has that much weight has to do with all of the luxury features that it has available. Many of them are standard features and some are optional.

Standard features of the Mulsanne include an 8-inch digital screen, an infotainment system, a 14 speaker sound system, and a large array of smart driving and safety features like automatic emergency braking. Optional features such as increasing the number of speakers on the Mulsanne or amping up the infotainment system will also add extra weight to the car. 

But the other large reason why the Mulsanne weighs so much is simply that it’s such a large sedan. It has five extremely luxurious and comfortable seats as well as legroom and headroom for any size person. In fact, according to Autoblog, the Mulsanne has about the same amount of legroom and headroom as a Honda CR-V SUV. 

To be fair to the CR-V though, the Mulsanne’s cargo capacity is much smaller than the CR-V’s. In terms of other physical dimensions, the Mulsanne is comparable to the CR-V, and it’s actually larger in some areas.

Bentley says that the Mulsanne is about 220 inches long, 76 inches wide, and 60 inches tall. The CR-V is about 180 inches long, 73 inches wide, and 66 inches tall. All of that extra length and width means more space and comfort for the passengers, but it also means more material that’s necessary to build the car. And of course, the more material that’s used, the heavier it’ll be. 

Bentley did make an effort in reducing the weight of the Mulsanne though, both by using modern materials in its construction as well as using an advanced type of engine that weighs less than usual. That didn’t help much, however, as the Mulsanne is still the heaviest sedan on the road.