It’s probably best to start with what’s bad, as it won’t take long. There is too little rear leg and shoulder room, the iDrive-style control system (derived from BMW’s and developed too little from there) is a pain to operate, and the seat adjusters require too much time and attention to operate safely on the move.
There’s also a surprising amount of wind noise at speed, and the boot should be a little larger.
There the complaints end. For all the inefficiencies in packaging, which mean the Rolls has less rear room than a typical D-segment saloon, those who do fit into the rear will find its seats sumptuous and the fittings exquisite.
Front-seat occupants will care not a jot either, because the driving or passenger experience is second to none, enjoyed in seats that are slightly more bolstered than the saloon’s. Otherwise the front-seat experience mimics the saloon’s and convertible’s.
The dashboard and other trim feels beautifully constructed, with a pleasing weight to all major controls, and the stereo is quite possibly the finest-sounding system fitted as standard to any current road car.
The Phantom Coupe is a conspicuously large car to pilot, but forward visibility is helped by thin A-pillars, and the front edge and corners are relatively easy to place.
Generally, running costs on a Rolls-Royce will be less relevant on the Coupe than the Phantom saloon, because it is less likely to be run by luxury hotels or fleets and instead be used by private buyers. Most of whom will have more cars than you can count on one hand. Service intervals are a generous 25,000 miles, but its 14.3mpg average could be better.
With as many as 44,000 colour options, it’s unlikely that many Phantom Coupes will ever be the same, so the level of depreciation they suffer will depend partly on the specification and the tastefulness of the exterior colour.