Video: Chris Harris Drives the Rolls-Royce Cullinan

If you own a newer BMW model you might have noticed that there’s a button located right above the rear view mirror labeled ‘SOS’. Most …

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan has been around for almost a year now and what a year it has been. The first SUV from Goodwood is now breaking all sales records and is apparently on a warpath to prove naysayers that they were wrong to doubt it. One of them was Chris Harris. He’s been one of the first journos to drive it and complain about certain aspects of this car. The Top Gear host had a particular issue with the design.

In all fairness, the Cullinan can’t really compete in a beauty pageant but, if you ask me, it’s not nearly as ugly as Harris portrays it in this review. What some people don’t understand is that the Rolls-Royce brand forces you to adopt some styling cues that may not work perfectly on cars of a certain size. You need to mold your design to how people perceive the brand and stay well within those limits.

I think that’s what happened here and the Cullinan is the end result of what was possible to achieve given the context. To my eye, this is exactly what it’s supposed to look like as it gives off a feeling of luxury and, to some extent, dominance. Driving it makes you feel invulnerable and that’s important for the particular niche the Cullinan appeal to. As for anything else, well, it’s a true Rolls-Royce by any means.

The ride is sublime, the cabin is whisper quiet and the materials used seem to be coming from a different planet compared to 99% of the cars out there. There’s literally nothing to complain about when talking about the Cullinan, after taking the design out of the equation. That’s understandable, to be honest, as design will always be a subjective topic. These days you can also get a Black Badge Cullinan, in case you want to drive it in a more… spirited manner.