As the premier luxury brand on the planet, Rolls-Royce maintain a small model lineup. However, it just added the Ghost, a $240,000 car designed as an everyday driver.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
When BMW took over Rolls-Royce, it began revamping the automakers model lineup. In 2007, it released the Phantom, followed by the Phantom Drophead Coupe. The Ghost is the most recent model added to its lineup, a down-sized car designed to be an everyday driver.
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Under BMW's stewardship, Rolls-Royce has refocused on engineering. The Ghost gets a twin-turbo-direct injection-6.6-liter V-12 engine under the hood. This engine uses a BMW block and a Rolls-Royce top-end, giving it 575 pound-feet of torque.
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In length and height a foot and a half shorter than the Phantom, the Ghost maintains a cabin almost as large.
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An adaptive air suspension delivers a fine ride, changing its rigidity depending on the type of driving.
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Like the Phantom, the rear-hinged back doors make a protected walkway with the front doors out of the car. The doors open wide for easy access.
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While the Ghost would work as a chauffeur-driven car, the experience behind the wheel lacks nothing of the rear seat feel, making it a fine car to drive.
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In general, Rolls-Royce keeps the dashboard simple. It keeps the numbe of buttons minimal and clearly labeled.
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The four buttons under the headlight switch, to the left of the steering wheel, control various driver aids such as lane departure warning, night vision, and the head-up display.
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The analog clock, to the right of the center LCD, shows the same style as the gauges, with a raised white dial.
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The Ghost offers the same cabin tech functions as BMW's top models, but with a redesigned interface. We find it more aesthetically pleasing and intuitive than BMW's interface design.
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Although we've seen these rich, topographical maps in BMWs, they don't seem out of place in the Ghost.
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The around-view parking monitor shows obstacles to either side of the car.
