“The best luxury car in the entire world. It’s as simple as that.”
– Top Gear
Overview
The pinnacle of luxury motoring. From its slightly gauche Bentley wilderness years to revived brand powerhouse and credibility under BMW’s ownership, Rolls-Royce has produced a stunning luxury car. The Phantom mixes modernity and tradition beautifully, particularly following a facelift last year – these cars lose the controversial round fog lamps at the front with a more retro-Rolls rectangular-shaped full LED lights setup taking their place.
What’s it like to drive?
Drive or be driven? You’ll enjoy both in the Phantom. It looks and feels weighty, but the V12 does a very convincing job hauling all that sumptuousness around. The spookily quiet 6.75-litre turbocharged 12-cylinder gives the Phantom scary pace, that’s now all the more smooth and genteel courtesy of a new eight-speed automatic transmission. You’ll want the extended wheelbase one though, not for the additional length it brings, but merely because it says you can afford the additional metal. Both ride with truly remarkable composure, the suspension and huge wheels (with always level rich-man’s spinners RR wheel badges) helping smother the pock-marked tarmac. The ride quality is, frankly, amazing. And while the steering is light and accurate, the wheel’s thin rim feels delightfully old school.
The obvious extremities help position the Phantom in traffic, but if that’s a real worry pay someone to shoulder the burden. Hushed refinement and comfort beyond comparison, you could live in it it’s so vast – if you default on your Mayfair mansion house you’ve always got options.
The Wheel Deal 