(Image credit: Copyright Nigel Harniman - written permission required for any use)
Rolls-Royce has made no compromises on its superb 4x4 offering.
The Cullinan is the first proper SUV Rolls-Royce has ever produced. And in true Rolls-Royce manner, "there has been absolutely no compromise anywhere", says Leon Poultney in Stuff magazine. "This is quite simply the most luxurious 4x4 money can buy."
Rolls-Royce has never been one for hiding its light under a bushel, says Top Gear. Its CEO, Torsten Mller-tvs, describes the Cullinan as its "answer to history, to the visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in the supremacy of liberty". He also draws parallels with Lawrence of Arabia's fleet of armoured Silver Ghosts in the Arabian deserts during World War I and Indian maharajahs' tiger hunts in old Rollers in the 1920s and 30s.
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Elaborate metaphors aside, this is a special car. The Cullinan "takes Rolls's fabled ride and refinement qualities into a new domain, doing to off-road rubble and ruts what the Phantom does to regular road imperfections", says Top Gear. It doesn't glide, exactly, but even sitting in the back, "the signature serenity is achieved". This is a car that "prefers to make determined but stately progress, rather than to do anything as unseemly as, you know, go fast". Instead, "you settle into a sublime rhythm, seduced by the almost total absence of mechanical, wind or tyre noise".
But "let's not ignore the elephant in the room here: some people find the exterior styling of the Cullinan a little difficult to swallow", says Poultney. Yet thankfully, the pronounced snout, boxy rear end and myriad chrome accents "become more palatable after spending some time with it". And "there's no doubting the superb standard of finish", says Gavin Green in Car magazine. "From the lustrous stainless steel exterior brightwork to the super detailing the Cullinan is beautifully crafted". The opulent cabin quality is also "superb".
With a price tag of £276,000, the Cullinan is dear, though not unexpectedly so for a Rolls. "The looks may be challenging, and the price daunting, but the car sets new overall standards in the luxury SUV class."
Price: £276,000. Engine: 6.75-litre V12 petrol twin turbo. Transmission: eight-speed automatic. 0-62: 5.2 seconds. Top speed: 155mph.
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Sarah is MoneyWeek's investment editor. She graduated from the University of Southampton with a BA in English and History, before going on to complete a graduate diploma in law at the College of Law in Guildford. She joined MoneyWeek in 2014 and writes on funds, personal finance, pensions and property.
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