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My friend Gerry Spahn at Rolls-Royce was kind enough to lend me a 2024 Cullinan to use during this year’s Greenwich Concours, and I have to say I came away impressed.

The above statement may sound obvious, but I am one of those people who initially thought the entire idea of a Rolls-Royce SUV was a bit ridiculous. After spending a week with the car I am happy to report that I was wrong. There is definitely a place for a Rolls-Royce SUV, and the Cullinan is absolutely a Rolls-Royce in every way.

The Cullinan was dropped off to me on a Wednesday, and I immediately got in to familiarize myself with the car. There is a lot of tech in any new Rolls-Royce, however in every car they make the integration of it both seamless and quite easy to use. Almost every control is accessible from a button or from the I-drive system. In addition, all of those buttons and knobs are of the finest quality and have a feel unlike any car built today.

As you would guess the fit and finish is also simply perfection. Every gap is perfect, the chrome and paintwork are the best in the world and literally unsurpassed by any other manufacturer. That is a pretty bold statement, but if you doubt this simply go to a Rolls-Royce to take a look at their cars and you will agree. The quality is simply otherworldly.

After setting up the seats and steering wheel to my preferences, I took the car for a short drive. A lot of journalists have complained about the styling, but I have to say that everyone I drove past checked out the car and many gave me a thumbs up. This tells me that not everyone has a problem with the styling of the Cullinan. I freely admit that the car is not stunning like the Spectre and has a more imposing look, but to me the car is supposed to be this way. It was never meant to be a subtle statement.

The interior is nothing short of magnificent, with the finest materials used everywhere. The wood veneer of the dash, the feel of the leather, which covers practically every available surface that is not a window, combined with the sheepskin floor mats make the Cullinan a better place to be than most luxury hotels. Add to that the starlight headliner and the Cullinan has an interior better than any SUV I’ve seen.

Behind the wheel of the Cullinan, it feels like riding on a magic carpet; a 6,000 lb. magic carpet that can cover 0-60 in only 4.5 seconds should you care to thanks to its 563-hp and 627 lb-ft of torque 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12, which is possibly the smoothest engine in the world. But this is really an SUV to waft along in as you go from exclusive destination to destination, in other words: the perfect vehicle for a concours d’ elegance in Greenwich.

I loaded up the Cullinan early Friday morning and began the two hour drive to the hotel in Old Greenwich. Of course once I hit I-95 the traffic was intense, but the adaptive cruise control combined with the cooled massaging seats made comfortable work of the 25 miles of stop and go traffic. Behind the wheel of the Cullinan, as in every other modern Rolls-Royce motorcar, the troubles of the world just seem to disappear.

I arrived at the hotel refreshed as if I had just flown in Club Class on a Virgin Atlantic jet, checked in, and while doing so ran into fellow journalist and friend, Larry Printz. Since it was only 9 AM we decided to drive to the Woodbury Commons Luxury Outlet mall for some shopping. Larry had a new Aston Martin DB12 but we both opted to take the Cullinan instead.

The drive to the outlets was the very definition of serenity, and we got to the Woodbury Commons to look for deals. Larry ended up with a suit at 60% off at Brooks Brothers, and I ended up with a pair of Tod’s shoes also for 60% off. We took our outlet treasures back to the car and headed back to Greenwich.

Over the weekend everyone I knew wanted to ride with me to the various events of the weekend. I can’t blame them, as the Cullinan is that impressive and even more comfortable than you can imagine. Over the three days I had 12 different passengers, from judges to special weekend guests and all found the Cullinan an otherworldly SUV experience. The fact that many of these passengers heaping praise on the Cullinan were noted journalists, including the legendary Ken Gross, speaks volumes for just how amazing a vehicle the Cullinan is.

The worst part about having the Cullinan to test for a week was giving it up. On the night before they picked up the car for the next lucky journalist to use, a bunch of my neighbors came by the house to see it. For the next few hours I took them on rides and let them experience it. None came away disappointed and hundreds of selfies were taken of them in the car.

So, at the end of the day you have to remember that the 2024 Cullinan that was loaned to me had a total sticker price of $474,600. This included 16 different option packages. Two which should not be missed are the $8,550 Shooting Star Headliner and the $20,850 Dark Exterior Package. Is the Cullinan worth that much money? Well… after having it for a week, if I had the money and was looking for the world’s greatest luxury SUV I would order one this afternoon. That is because like every other car in the Rolls-Royce lineup it literally has no competitors. As an added bonus, it will make your house look all the more special when it is parked in the garage.

Source: www.classiccars.com