First Drive: The Rolls-Royce Cullinan dials luxury driving up to the max

What is it?

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You could argue that a £250,000, 2.6-tonne luxo-SUV has no place being on sale at a time when budgets are being stretched to the maximum. But worldly issues have never troubled Rolls-Royce and that’s probably why its tip-top SUV – the Cullinan – continues to soar along as one of its most popular models.

Massive, luxurious and engineered to the typically high standards set by West Sussex-based Rolls-Royce, it’s a feat of engineering from the start. But what is it like to drive and is it worth that chunky price tag? We’ve been finding out.

What’s new?

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The Cullinan has actually been around for a little while now – it first appeared back in 2018 – but it has been underpinned by quite a modern architecture from the start, so it’s hardly creaking around the edges five years later. It sits atop a new aluminium chassis to help keep weight as low as possible, but it’s also a car of other firsts for Rolls-Royce; it’s the first model from the brand to get a hatchback tailgate, or to include folding rear seats.

As with other Rolls-Royce models, your scope for customisation on the Cullinan is almost never-ending, with a heady variety of paint choices, interior finishers and seat upholstery materials there to choose from. You can even get Rolls-Royce’s now-legendary ‘Starlight’ headliner to depict the night sky of a date that is important to you – they’ll track down the right constellations from that time and recreate them in dazzling LEDs.

What’s under the bonnet?

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The giant Cullinan is powered by an equally gargantuan engine. Flying in the face of the modern tendency for downsizing and hybridisation, it’s a 6.75-litre V12 engine which seems more suited to powering a fighter plane than it is an SUV. With 563bhp and 850Nm of torque, it’s linked up to a full four-wheel-drive system and an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Remarkably, it can shift this very large SUV from 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds before heading onwards to a capped 155mph top speed.

However, you’d imagine that moving all of this along is going to use a lot of fuel – and you’d be right. Rolls-Royce claims 17mpg on the combined cycle, but it’s the hefty CO2 emissions that really dig in, standing at 377g/km. That’s around 100g/km more than a Range Rover.

What’s it like to drive?

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The Cullinan is hardly a small car to drive around, with its huge front grille seemingly towering over other road users. However, it’s a car you become very quickly accustomed to as the suspension effortlessly irons out the road ahead and the body is kept remarkably well in check. The Cullinan corners and steers in a far keener fashion than you might expect, while the V12 always has some silky, low-down performance to offer regardless of the situation.

Rolls-Royce expected more owners to drive their Cullinan – rather than being driven, as with its other models – and it shows when you’re behind the wheel. This is a car that is easy to drive every day – just make sure you can find a parking space large enough, as positioning it into tighter areas is a stressful event.

How does it look?

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With its uber-large front grille, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan makes an entrance wherever it goes. However, it’s not quite as out-there as you might think, with ‘our’ car’s dark blue exterior shade doing a good job of toning everything down and giving it a little extra class. It was contrasted by plenty of real-metal ‘brightwork’ too, which added a more classic, coachbuilt feel to the whole car.

It’s all very square and boxy in the metal, but it does feel cohesively like a proper ‘Rolls-Royce’.

What’s it like inside?

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Car interiors have always been a Rolls-Royce speciality and it’s no different inside the Cullinan. It is lavishly finished, with high-quality materials used throughout. Oddly, however, one key area which you always touch as a driver – the indicators – feels cheap and plasticky, which is a shame for something you’re always in contact with.

However, the rest of the interior has been finished to a very high standard. There’s plenty of room for people in the back to stretch out and relax, while our car came with its own champagne cooler in the central rear armrest complete with crystal flutes. It also came with an optional ‘viewing suite’ with a pair of rear-facing, leather-trimmed seats – complete with table – swivelling out of the boot area at the touch of a button. They’re comfy, but you do sit quite high off the ground and, in truth, you could just sit on the fold-out tailgate anyway.

What’s the spec like?

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Prices for the Cullinan start in the region of £250,000 but, with options, you could quite easily clear the £400,000 mark. And while most of this car might seem other-worldly, you have got some more ‘normal’ features included as standard such as collision warning, cross-traffic warning and lane departure control, as well as active cruise control and a very helpful four-camera system to help with parking.

The main infotainment system isn’t too bad and does have Apple CarPlay functionality, but it does lag behind many of the current systems in terms of features and overall design. After all, the displays in some of Rolls-Royce’s parent company cars – BMW – far exceed the ones in the Cullinan when it comes to design and integrated technology.

Verdict

The Cullinan might not be a car that is particularly in tune with the times, but as with all Rolls-Royce models it is beautifully executed and feels remarkably special from head to toe. There will always be uber-premium cars on the roads regardless of the climate, but the Cullinan is one which does things in a classy way – providing you opt for a classy specification, that is.

If you have the means, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by the Cullinan. Plus, where other Rolls-Royces put the emphasis on the back-seat experience, this is a car which is best enjoyed from behind the wheel.