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

The above statement may sound obvious, but I’m one of those people who initially thought the whole idea of ​​a Rolls-Royce SUV was a bit ridiculous. After trying the car out for a week, I’m happy to report that I was wrong. There’s definitely a place for a Rolls-Royce SUV, and the Cullinan is a Rolls-Royce in every way.

The Cullinan was handed over to me on a Wednesday and I immediately got in to familiarise myself with the car. There is a lot of technology in every new Rolls-Royce, but in every car the integration is made seamless and very user-friendly. Almost every control is accessible via a button or the I-Drive system. What’s more, all of these buttons and controls are of the highest quality and provide a feel that you won’t find in any car built today.

As you can imagine, the fit and finish is also just perfect. Every crevice is perfect, the chrome and paint are the best in the world and literally unmatched by any other manufacturer. That’s quite a bold claim, but if you doubt it, just go to Rolls-Royce, look at the cars, and you’ll agree. The quality is simply out of this world.

After adjusting the seats and steering wheel to my liking, I took the car for a short drive. Many journalists have complained about the design, but I must say that everyone I passed was checking out the car and many gave me a thumbs up. This tells me that not everyone has a problem with the Cullinan’s design. I admit that the car is not as stunning as the Spectre and looks more imposing, but to me that’s what the car is supposed to be. It should never be a subtle statement.

The interior is simply magnificent, with the finest materials used everywhere. The wood veneer of the dashboard, the feel of the leather that covers virtually every surface except windows, and the sheepskin floor mats make the Cullinan a better place to be than most luxury hotels. Add to that the starry sky, and the Cullinan has an interior that is better than any SUV I’ve ever seen.

Behind the wheel of the Cullinan, it’s like riding on a magic carpet; a 2.7-ton magic carpet that can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds thanks to its 563 hp and 850 Nm torque 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12, perhaps the smoothest engine in the world. But really, this is an SUV that can glide from one exclusive destination to the next, in other words, the perfect vehicle for a Greenwich Concours d’Elegance.

I loaded up the Cullinan early Friday morning and began the two-hour drive to the hotel in Old Greenwich. Of course, traffic was heavy starting at I-95, but the adaptive cruise control combined with the cooled massaging seats made it easy to navigate the 25 miles of stop-and-go traffic. Behind the wheel of the Cullinan, like in any other modern Rolls-Royce car, the worries of the world just seem to disappear.

I arrived at the hotel feeling refreshed, as if I had just flown in the Club Class of a Virgin Atlantic jet, checked in and met my fellow journalist and friend Larry Printz. Since it was only 9am, we decided to head to the Woodbury Commons Luxury Outlet Mall to do a bit of shopping. Larry had a new Aston Martin DB12, but we both decided to take the Cullinan instead.

The drive to the outlets was the epitome of serenity, and we headed to Woodbury Commons to look for bargains. Larry picked up a suit at Brooks Brothers for 60% off, and I picked up a pair of shoes from Tod’s, also at 60% off. We took our outlet treasures to the car and drove back to Greenwich.

Over the weekend, everyone I knew wanted to ride with me to the weekend’s various events. I can’t blame them because the Cullinan is so 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 they all found the Cullinan to be an out-of-this-world SUV experience. The fact that many of those passengers who spoke highly of the Cullinan were well-known journalists, including the legendary Ken Gross, speaks volumes about what a fantastic vehicle the Cullinan is.

The worst part of getting to test drive the Cullinan for a week was having to give it up. The night before they picked up the car for the next lucky journalist, a couple of my neighbors came by to check it out. Over the next few hours, I took them on drives and let them try the car out. No one was 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 total price of the 2024 Cullinan I was loaned was $474,600. That included 16 different option packages. Two of them are not to be missed: the Shooting Star Headliner for $8,550 and the Dark Exterior Package for $20,850. Is the Cullinan worth that much money? Well… if I had the money and was looking for the world’s greatest luxury SUV, I would order one today after a week. Because like every other car in the Rolls-Royce lineup, it literally has no competition. As a bonus, it makes your house look all the more special when it’s sitting in the garage.