Is The Rolls Royce Cullinan a Step Too Far?

Rolls Royce enters the SUV market place!

The SUV market has been gradually expanding, like the vehicles themselves. No longer the raison d’etre of off-road brands such as Land Rover or Subaru, it seems a SUV can be found anywhere and in any brand.

This all changed around 12 years ago, when Nissan launched the car that would come to not only dominate a sector but re-invent a sector, even lending its name to the sector it itself sat in. 2006 saw the birth of the Qashqai; a name as difficult to pronounce as it is to see reason for choosing. However in just a small number of years the Motor Trade press were announcing every new car of similar design and size as ‘entering the Qashqai segment'.

With this new segment not only created but cemented in the psyche of the consumer it swiftly became the go-to segment of the ‘school-run-mum’, big on space, raised seating, dominant on-road positioning and a large boot; everyone was taking the ‘soft-roader’ seriously.

Step up the German triumvirate of BMW, Audi & Mercedes who had all dabbled in big off-roaders prior to the Qashqai revolution [X5 1999, Q7 2005 & ML 1997] but had stuck resolutely to the format of their brand, prestige saloons, couple of fancy bits and one big utility vehicle. However, the ‘school-run-mum’ and her buying power could not be ignored for too long and all of a sudden…Boom 12 new models of varying sizes all aimed at the soft-roader.

Whilst choice is good and clearly the market is now awash with SUV’s there was really nothing for the super-rich, the person who’d buy a BMW X5, but for the Nanny to take the kids to the cinema in. What do they buy?

Well….hold your horses, because if you have a Coot’s bank account, 3 kids and a boat-load of luggage to get to your private jet….here comes: Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce to your rescue.

Audi/VW owned Bentley flinched first when it launched the Bentayga in 2016, followed shortly by similarly owned Lamborghini with their Urus in 2017. The Urus being proof positive that cars can mate as this is clearly the lovechild of the Porsche cayenne and the bat mobile, nevertheless it’s on the road.

But what are Rolls Royce doing? The Cullinan has clearly been developed for the Range Rover owner that thought they were looking a bit cheap these days despite the eye-watering £81,000 starting price.

Rollers are the pinnacle of arriving in style, pull up at a red carpet at moderate speed and you have reached your destination in more luxury than mink covered Learjet; a Rolls lets the amassed spectators know ‘someone’ has not just pulled-up, but ‘arrived’.

Do the same in a Cullinan and everyone is expecting Kanye West, regardless of the event.

Is this a new sector we are seeing then?

‘The School-Run-Nanny’ segment?

When the School is Eton and the poorest child arrives by Range Rover?

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