Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £315,250 to £315,250
Incredible presence, fabulous ride, engine refinement, material quality.
Insufficient wind isolation with roof down, modest performance, rear legroom.
A beautifully engineered wealth statement which doesn't quite deliver on the promise of its appearance.
If you are in the front with the roof up or travelling at less than 70mph with it stowed, all is as you'd hope. The front seats feel a smidge short in the cushion but actually do a magnificent job of supporting your body over long distances. The sky-high driving position affords an imperious view down the stainless steel bonnet, while the instruments are perhaps the most beautiful of any car's and are an endless delight to read. So far, so very good. And it gets better: roof-up refinement is so good it might as well be made from metal and those rear-hinged suicide doors are not just fabulous pieces of design, they afford a step in, step out facility worthy of a head of state.
Where things veer off message is if you have to travel in the back or spend a long time at high speed with the roof down. Rolls-Royce claims the Drophead is a full four-seater but don't be deceived: four average-sized adults can sit on board without knees or heads coming into contact with the car, but then much the same can be said of a Skoda Fabia. But if anyone in the front is tall, those sitting behind had better not be, or someone's comfort is going to be compromised. Certainly it offers more rear room than the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC and many other self-professed 2+2 convertibles, but anyone expecting anything more than adequate space in the back is going to be disappointed. It also gets extremely draughty in the back at speed, and a little more windy in the front than you might expect. Rolls-Royce is working on a wind deflector for the car which is just as well: on this evidence, it needs it.
The roof itself is fantastic to watch in action. It's the largest convertible fabric roof in the world so we'll forgive the fact that you have to be at a standstill before it will operate and, contrary to Rolls' 25-second claim, ours took 37 to stow (and 42 to erect). The boot is not large, but will swallow three sets of golf clubs and should rarely prove restrictive. It also has a delightful split opening, with the lower half opening outward to provide a great place to sit or stand and watch your horses gallop by, or just somewhere to have an impromptu picnic.
As for equipment, it seems a little redundant to point out it has electric windows, navigation and standard seat heaters. Here it is quality that matters, from the suppleness of the 14 hides it takes to trim the interior to the richness of the wood, which seems every bit as convincing as Bentley's best work. There's also a music machine that produces sound quality you'd need the Albert Hall to significantly better.
