Most pistonheads view estates, MPVs and SUV's with contempt. Why would anyone love driving a barge? Yes, it takes skill to throw a two-ton-plus behemoth around a bend, but it'll never beat the thrill of driving something designed for the job. If you really must carry more than two people, why not buy a performance […]

Rolls Royce has finally unveiled their ode to excess: the new Phantom. After pleading with their PR department, I reckon I could learn German between now and the time they'll lend me their land yacht. But everything I've read indicates that Rolls' new owners have finally done what their former stewards failed to do: build a proper "gentleman's" luxury motorcar.

No surprise there. Even a brief examination of a 7-Series' fit and finish indicates that an Anglo-German alliance was the only way to restore Rolls Royce to its rightful place at the summit of sumptuousness. The Japanese would have made the Phantom as reliable as an atomic clock. The French would have given it Gallic flair. The Americans would have given it, um, a Ford engine. But the Phantom's success was never going to be measured by its ability to avoid mechanical mishap, or delight the aesthetic sensibilities of rappers or architects. To reclaim its rep, the new Roller had to combine German tactile precision with English opulence.