2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost Reviews

Rolls-Royce does not launch its new cars in Birmingham or Leeds or anywhere English and drear, it launches them in places like Provence, where they make sense, and where their owners like to buy houses. Thus it was that the new Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II saw us flying all the way to the south of France to drive through lush beauty. Sigh.

If you're looking for the most affordable way into a new Roll-Royce, the next-generation Ghost has arrived, whether one wishes to drive, or be driven.

Paul Gover road tests and reviews the Rolls-Royce Ghost with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Why drive when you can be driven? With its Ghost EWB, Rolls-Royce is appealing to the chauffeured classes.The hotel driveway is crammed with cars that catch the eye: Maseratis and Bentleys, lots of Mercedes and BMWs. And one Rolls-Royce. It's outnumbered, but commands the forecourt with an effortless patrician air. Not to mention colossal presence. This could be a hotel anywhere, of course, because luxury cars speak a universal language of affluence.But in China, where this gathering happens to be, it's a snapshot of a moment before its wealthy buyers became the most influential. When taste was still determined by the West. In a few years, after the elite in the world's largest market have worked their purchasing magic, this forecourt will have changed.The rich are different from you and me, and China's rich are different again. They like limousine-length vehicles. They prefer to be chauffeured and their self-esteem is measured in legroom and long bonnets. Expansive rear seats bristling with gadgets are more important than an ability to beat all-comers away from the lights.China's car market may be slowing to a simmer but luxury demand remains on the boil. This year, observers expect growth around 20 per cent - double the overall rate. Rolls-Royce is one brand alert to the opportunities.In 2011, its centenary year, China overtook the US to become its largest single market and Beijing its top dealership. At the 2011 Shanghai motor show it launched a car in China for the first time: the Ghost Extended Wheelbase, an XXL edition of its junior limo. The Ghost EWB, as it's known, arrives before the upcoming Ghost Coupe makes its pitch to Western buyers. It's a sign of priorities to come. The standard Ghost was the main reason last year's sales soared to a record 3,538.VALUEFor Australian buyers the Ghost EWB is a less formal, less expensive option to the million-plus Phantom. It plays country manor to the Phantom's stately home. The latest Rolls-Royce Ghost starts at $645,000.TECHNOLOGYFrom behind the wheel, the Ghost EWB loses little to the standard car, with the same 6.6L turbocharged V12 and the same giant strides to reach 100km/h in five seconds.DESIGNThe EWB reinforces the Ghost's claim to Chinese attention. Its extra 17cm is all in the back and the car's proportions are sweeter as a result. The rear doors open gatewise for dignified entry to a commodious compartment with all the toys you could want. Everything opens and shuts, is heated or cooled. The wraparound lounge poweradjusts.The doors swing shut at the push of a button and feet sink into lambswool rugs. There are rear screens and a 16-speaker hi-fi, frosted glass and ambient lighting. Everything is weighty and substantial, from the bull's-eye aircon vents to the tiniest piece of trim.DRIVINGYou hear the engine if you put your foot down but nothing disturbs the serenity of the cabin and a sense that the car is looking after things. Forget sports buttons and suspension settings, it doesn't have any. Just put it in D and let Rolls decide. Power delivery is smooth and relentless. It's got adjustable damping, active anti-roll bars and a whole lot more. Its refinement and comfort are first-rate.Of course the steering is slow and lazy. Of course it needs a football field to turn around. Around town it's an urban sailboat, only a bit more floaty. But if you're on the bridge (or the recreation deck if Chinese), the world is spread out below (some SUVs excepted).VERDICTThe Ghost defers only to the Phantom in being a paramount statement of luxury motoring. Ghost EWB, the Chinese luxury buyer awaits.Rolls-Royce Ghost EWBPrice: from $645,000Warranty: 4 yearsSafety rating: not testedEngine: 6.6-litre 12-cyl petrol; 420kW/780NmTransmission: 8-speed auto, RWDBody: 5399mm (L); 1948mm (w); 1550mm (h)Weight: 2360kgThirst: 13.6 L/100km, 317g/km CO2

The world's insatiable appetite for super-luxury car has taken a new twist with the Rolls-Royce Ghost.  By any measure, from its size to the weight and price, the Ghost is a heavyweight car.  Yet, by the standards of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the car is relatively affordable, relatively compact and relatively ordinary. Which is not to say that ordinary, in this car, is remotely related to most people's idea of it..  How can it be, with a price of $645,000 - before optional equipment or on-road costs - and a weight of 2.4 tonnes? And there is always that world-famous flying lady mascot on the nose.The all-new Ghost is the car you have when a Phantom is too much and a Mercedes-Benz is not enough.  More than 30 orders have already been placed for local deliveries at the R-R factory, at Goodwood in Britain, gears up towards full production.The Ghost has been three years in the making, and will eventually spin- off a number of other body styles, but for now it is a full-sized limousine with a V12 engine, R-R's signature 'clamshell' doors and more than enough luxury for any appetite.It goes almost without saying that the Ghost has wood and leather trim, no sign of a tachometer, and that everything you see and feel would be right at home in a luxury home. And yet the Ghost is a twin-beneath the skin with the BMW 7 Series - since R-R. is part of BMW Group - and a couple of things, the iDrive controller,  dashboard display and radio 'fin' on the roof, peek up from beneath the surface. They are non-identical twins, and you cannot detect the family ties once you are driving, but the link is there."Everything relevant to the character of Rolls-Royce is different. We passionately believe the important things much be proprietary," says Hanno Kirner of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.  The commitment to a 'real' Rolls-Royce runs as deep as a major revision of a BMW Group V12 engine to product the sort of effortless thrust expected for the luxury brand. The numbers, 420kW/780Nm, say it all.There is an eight-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive, and a full complement of safety equipment from airbags to ESP stability control, but the vital thing for any Rolls-Royce is the size and heft of the car. And the engineers have ticked the boxes.The Ghost is already creating the inevitable waiting lists, even in Australia and despite the massive bottom line.  "The first customer customers will be in Australia in June," says Hal Serudin, the R-R executive responsible for Asia-Pacific. Motor Cars.DrivingThe Ghost feels exactly like the Phantom, just condensed.  It has the same rock-solid connection to the road, the same wafting feel at any speed on any surface, and the all the luxury you could possibly need.Yet is is more grunty and responsive, more taut in turns, and a little disappointing in the BMW stuff I can see and hear. It's little things like the seat-belt warning tone and the look of the iDrive display, but little things can mean a lot when you have spent $645,000 and your best mate has a 7 Series for less than half that amount.The R-R people don't see it, and you don't feel it at the wheel, and yet the Ghost has the same tangible magic feel as the Phantom, and is clearly drawn from the same DNA and the same commitment to the best of the best.  It is, by any measure, a brilliant car. It's just a pity that so few people will get to experience one.Rolls-Royce GhostPrice: from $645,000Engine: 6.5-litre V12Output: 420kW/5250 revs, 780Nm/1500 revsTransmission: eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel driveEconomy: 13.6 litres/100kmEmissions: 317grams/kilometre CO2