20K for Luggage? Rolls Royce think so!
Posted on 26th Mar 2014 
So…., 20k for luggage? What do you think? It is after all Rolls Royce luggage! You are unlikely to ever feel the need to attach it to a roof rack. I suppose when compared to the hefty but ‘reasonably’ priced Rolls Royce Wraith at a starting price of £215,000 its a much needed accessory? Lets talk about the Wraith, is it a car you like? Perhaps not, but you certainly cannot ignore it! It has been touted as the ‘most potent and technologically advanced Rolls Royce ever produced’.
Look at the figures: length, 5269mm; width, 1947mm; weight, 2435kg. It produces 624 bhp causing this 2.4 tonne beast to hit 0-62 in just 4.6 seconds! It is in two words, absolutely brilliant. Absolutely massive, simple but brutal. You may need to see it in the metal and you still may not like it? The engine feels strong rather like a top end Range Rover to drive. But then it goes faster ….. . It is most definitely not a sports car, a dirty word to Rolls Royce, however drive it and its excellent. The eight speed ZF auto Satellite Aided Transmission (like the Audi A8) uses GPS data to make sure the Wraith stays in the right gear. It works! No paddles, no modes and no fuss. This vehicle may be in a hurry, but once you are inside it you won’t be. The carpets are thick and deep, encouraging you to take off your socks and enjoy the pure pleasure that only your favorite slippers can bring. The leather, well its a Rolls Royce, perfection expected and delivered.
So, it feels like a Rolls Royce? Yes, unequivocally. The driving position is high, the seats are amply sized and generously padded as one would insist. The high seating aids visibility, which is useful in a car this large, but unlike the Phantom, you cannot see the edges of the vast bonnet, which makes the Wraith slightly trickier to manoeuvre and park. Body movements are as restrained as you’d hope – no more, no less, though over complex poor road finishes, there’s slight cabin intrusion. But then of course, do we here in the UK spend our hard earned cash on our roads……, I think we have lessons to learn from our European partners perhaps. The Wraith is epitomised by some of its systems. Rolls Royce likes these options, the ones that do you a favour without you even realising it, like a good butler. The Wraith is this sort of car, quiet, restrained (except for the exterior) and feels like a Rolls Royce. Which is just as it should be!
