In the realm of ultra-luxury, no name carries the same hushed reverence as Rolls-Royce. When the brand announced its first SUV—the Cullinan—in 2018, traditionalists balked, purists scoffed, and skeptics predicted a brand dilution. Yet within months, the Cullinan not only silenced critics but redefined what an ultra-luxury SUV could be. As we step into 2025, the automotive landscape has shifted dramatically, with competitors like the Aston Martin DBX707 and Bentley Bentayga Extended chasing the same crown. So the question arises: is the Cullinan still the undisputed benchmark of opulent off-roading, or has the throne begun to wobble?
Bespoke Beyond Belief: Interior Craftsmanship as Identity
The first impression of the Cullinan’s interior is not one of extravagance but of reverent quiet. Not metaphorical quiet—literal silence. Rolls-Royce’s legendary “Magic Carpet Ride” extends to its cabin, where 100 kilograms of sound insulation cocoon passengers from the outside world. Even the air vents exhale in a whisper. The materials are as expected: open-pore wood veneers from single-source trees, leathers tanned with champagne blends, and lambswool floor mats that feel thicker than hotel robes.
What sets the Cullinan apart is the degree of curation rather than customization. Clients aren’t just choosing from a menu—they’re commissioning personal artwork. Want your yacht’s wood matched perfectly? Rolls will send a team to your marina. Need a specific shade of silk to line the headliner? The Bespoke division will dye it to match your grandmother’s wedding dress. No detail is too minor, and no request too eccentric. The result isn’t just luxury; it’s intimacy forged through craftsmanship.
Engineering a New Nobility: The Chassis That Floats
The Cullinan’s architecture isn’t shared with BMW’s SUV platform. It sits atop Rolls-Royce’s proprietary aluminum spaceframe dubbed the “Architecture of Luxury,” also underpinning the Phantom and Ghost. Air suspension dynamically reads the road 500 times per second and reacts before you feel imperfections. The ride doesn’t merely absorb bumps—it anticipates them, almost telepathically. It’s not about handling like a sports car, but about never making passengers aware of motion.
Even the all-wheel-drive system is engineered less for rugged capability and more for regal continuity. While the Cullinan can cross streams and glide over desert dunes, it does so with poise rather than drama. Think Arctic expedition in a tuxedo rather than safari in fatigues.
The DBX707: Speed Over Serenity
Aston Martin’s DBX707 has stormed the ultra-luxury SUV segment with brute performance: 707 horsepower, 0–60 in 3.1 seconds, and a chassis tuned by the same minds behind the Valkyrie. It’s a driver’s SUV—snarling, agile, and unapologetically British in its road manners. The cabin is luxurious, no doubt, with high-end hides and carbon fiber, but it speaks a different language—one of athleticism rather than aristocracy.
Clients of the DBX707 typically lean toward performance pedigree over personalized opulence. It’s an SUV for those who might want to drift through alpine switchbacks rather than sip champagne in the rear seat. In many ways, it’s Aston Martin’s greatest grand tourer disguised as a family vehicle, but for those who prioritize ride over racetrack, it doesn’t quite match the Cullinan’s serene dominance.
Bentley Bentayga Extended: Boardroom on Wheels
Then there’s the Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase—the British alternative that tries to straddle both performance and passenger indulgence. With its new Airline Seat Specification, the rear seats offer 22 ways of adjustment, postural sensing technology, and even automatic climate zones for individual passengers. The Bentayga also features the signature Bentley knurled metals and dual veneer finishes, making it as much an executive retreat as a rolling manor.
Where Bentley wins is in its attempt to be everything at once—fast, refined, customizable, and deeply British. But therein lies the conundrum: it excels broadly, but not as singularly as the Cullinan does in its focused mission of effortlessness. The Bentayga whispers of versatility; the Cullinan roars of exclusivity.
Digital Serenity and Tech Elegance
The Cullinan avoids ostentatious digital screens and TikTok integrations. Rolls-Royce understands that true luxury is timeless, not trend-chasing. The infotainment is intuitive but never intrusive. Rear-seat passengers have access to deployable touchscreens and champagne coolers, but they’re hidden behind wood panels when not in use. Everything is designed around grace and discretion.
Where others throw pixels and LED overload at the driver, Rolls-Royce carefully hides its tech behind handcrafted elegance. Voice commands are subtle, haptic feedback is muted, and connectivity is effortless. It’s as much about what the Cullinan doesn’t show as what it does.
Customization vs. Character
By 2025, personalization has become an expected service among luxury marques. But Rolls-Royce remains the only brand where clients routinely engage artisans, not algorithms. Aston Martin offers bold color schemes and racy trim packages. Bentley will monogram everything from seatbacks to treadplates. But only Rolls-Royce invites clients to bring in meteorite fragments, family crests, and commissioned oil paintings for incorporation into the build.
The result? A Cullinan isn’t your Cullinan—it’s only your Cullinan. In an era of increasingly modular luxury, that singularity matters.
Off-Road, But Make It Regal
The Cullinan has been spotted in Saudi sand dunes, traversing Icelandic glaciers, and parked outside Alpine chalets in Gstaad. Its off-road credentials are real, but subtle. It lacks locking differentials or rock-crawling modes, because its buyers aren’t interested in winching themselves out of muddy ravines. What matters is that the Cullinan goes wherever they need to go—without fuss, without compromise, and without them having to wear hiking boots.
The “Everywhere” button—Rolls’ understated term for terrain management—remaps throttle, suspension, and torque delivery instantly. It’s simplicity masked as magic. In a Cullinan, you don’t conquer nature. You glide through it.
The Verdict: Reigning, Not Resting
So, is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan still the benchmark of ultra-luxury SUVs in 2025? Unequivocally, yes. Not because it outperforms the DBX707 on the Nürburgring. Not because it undercuts the Bentayga’s pricing or matches its tech stack. But because no other SUV so completely redefines what it means to be chauffeured through the world in absolute serenity and tailored expression.
The Cullinan doesn’t compete—it withdraws. It offers not just transportation, but elevation. It doesn’t shout luxury. It murmurs legacy.
In the shifting terrain of modern luxury, the Cullinan remains immovable. Not because it’s unchanged, but because it changes everything else around it.
