Brand’s most popular model and its meaner Cullinan Black Badge brother are first Rolls SUVs to feature 23-inch wheels and the Spectre EV’s Spirit infotainment system

Rolls Royce was hardly quick to market with the original Cullinan, but even so, the top-end SUV segment has changed a lot since 2018. Pretty much every premium carmaker pushes the boundaries of luxury, and brands like Ferrari and Aston Martin threw their hat into the ring. It’s the perfect time then for Rolls Royce to facelift the grandest SUV of them all.

There’s nothing radical to report about the changes to the base Cullinan Series II and its sporty Black Badge brother, which is great in its own way, because it means both versions continue with V12 power. The twin-turbo motor makes 563 hp (570 PS) in standard tune and 592 hp (600 PS) and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque in Black Badge guise.

But the facelift does bring plenty of detail changes that reflect what Rolls has learned about the people buying its most popular model. One of these things is that Cullinans spend a lot of time in the city, most are now driven by the owner, and customers are, by Rolls Royce standards incredibly young, at just 43. Ever get the feeling that you’re under-achieving?

Visually, the new SUV is easily identifiable by its drooping mustached-shaped DRLS that frame the square front end and are, Rolls says, inspired by city skyscrapers. The lower bumper is also new, but a more important change is arguably the introduction of a backlit grille for the first time.

The revised interior gains a full-width digital dashboard modeled after the one in the Spectre EV, a tiny Spirit of Ecstasy figurine housed beneath the clock, and on-board access to Whispers, which we were surprised to learn isn’t a seedy gentleman’s club on an industrial estate in Southampton, but the name of Rolls Royce’s private members’ app.

New material choices include Grey Stained Ash wood, a rayon fabric made from bamboo used in the Duality Twill interior, and a perforated seat pattern that’s meant to look like the clouds over Roll’s Goodwood home.

Cullinan Black Badge

Most of the important changes ushered in by the Cullinan Series II also apply to the facelifted Black Badge, the sub-brand Rolls calls its “disruptive alter ego.” Contributing to that personality is a grille, Spirit of Ecstasy and, for the first time, window trim finished in black rather than chrome. The rear bumper and hatch trim, plus the exhaust tailpipes, are finished in a mirror-effect black chrome and the wheels measure 23 inches across.

Inside, there’s the same digital dashboard panel, but the pocket-sized Spirit of Ecstasy is black, not chrome, and the interior is garnished with carbon trim whose 23 parts require six coats of lacquer and 21 total days to produce. And while the Black Badge is no Nurburgring weapon, it does make more concessions to sporty driving in the form of more aggressive throttle and transmission calibration and reduced brake pedal travel.