I

t has been 17 yearssincetheCayennedebutedtoa

rathercold welcome, enteringthemarketwithmixed

anticipationespeciallyfrompuristsfarmore familiarwith

light,agileandfasttwo-seatsportscarsthatPorschewas

knownfor. AnSUV was entirelydifferenttothe norm

andtheStuttgartcarmakerwas lambastedfor launching

a large, heavy, anddoorierutilityvehiclethatcould

accommodatemore thantwo passengers. Howwouldit

beacceptedbyenthusiasts?Well,it helpedmattersa great

dealthatit was exceptionallygoodtodrive andcoupled withchanging

consumer trendsona globallevel, it becamePorsche’s best-selling

model—butit isn’t any more havingbeenusurpedbyanothervehicle

fromwithinthefamily. Nope, notPanamera,andcertainlynot the 911

butanotherSUV,theMacan.

Now,almost allofthe prestigebrandshavea familyhauleroftheir

own intheline-upandseenit becomeits best sellerandif you think

theSUV crazehasnoboundswell then you are rightbecausehere we

seetheCullinanfromRolls-Royceprovingthatnotevenit isimmune.

Theultra-prestigiousbrandhasbeenswayedfromitstime-honoured

traditions;amongst thefinest luxurylimousinescomes a people

carrier, becausethat’s whatsirdemanded.Therationale was simple;

introducing thismodel was a necessityinordertokeepthestoried

Britishautomakeralive andasPorsche, Bentley, Audi,BMW, Mercedes

andothershavedemonstrated,anSUV doesn’t justaddtosalesit can

buoy you tonewlevels—buttheCullinan,launchedlast yeartogreat

internationalacclaim, haspushedtheluxuryhousetoevengreater

heightsand has completelyredefinedtheopulentSUV.

TheRolls-RoycePantheongrilleisoneofthemost imposinginthe

businessbuthere it iselevatedashighasyourchest andflankedbya

pair ofrectangularLEDheadlights. Itmakesforanextremelyboldlook

—staringcontestsmust beavoided at all costs. Speakingofcosts, the

pricetag really dependsonhowbigyourwalletisbecausethestandard

paint,leather, andtrimoptionscan allbecustomizedtobasically

whatever yourheartdesires. Tall,imposinglyslab-sided,andwith

thetraditionalSpiritofEcstasyadorningthebonnet, theCullinan—

heavilybasedonthePhantom(thefascia’s are almost identicalbutthe

characterlinesare exaggerated andeverythingisblockierandbulkier)

—isclearly inanother classaltogether. Itridesonthealuminium

‘A rchitecture ofLuxury’platformandthehighersuspensionand

wagon-like roofsets it apartfromtherestoftheline-up, andunlike

Bentley, whichwentwitha sportierrooflinefortheBentayga,Rolls’

boxylayoutgivesthemodela totallyuniqueappearancewiththe extra

thickD-pillar, 22inwheelsand thesidedetailingscoring extra points.

Nothingcan rivalthiswealthy gentleman’s off-roader(yes, an off-road

Rolls;theydescribeit asan‘all-terrain,high-bodiedcarthatmakesthe

ideaofauthentic, luxuryoff-roadtravela realityforthefirst time’...)

withfrontandrearsuicidedoorsthatopenelectronicallywiththepush

ofa button.Thisisn’t just Rolls-Royce’s first-everSUV,it’s alsothefirst-