I’ve worked in a number of places outside the usual comfort of the office or my home. The again of questionably pushed taxis. On the chilly, concrete floors of convention facilities. On packed commuter trains. Squashed into an economy airplane seat. The list goes on, and few handle to offer the consolation or practicality that you’d consider superb.
However, I’ve discovered a brand new, cell location from the place I may happily spend a whole day working… the again of a Rolls-Royce.
When it comes to engaged on the transfer, Rolls-Royce prides itself on its entrepreneurial buyer base who not solely want to journey in fashion and luxury, but additionally wish to proceed their enterprise operations with minimal disruption.
Not surprisingly, Rolls-Royce delivers, offering an unparalleled working setting for the highway – and I used to be lucky to experience it for myself.
A cocoon of comfort
There are a few stuff you’ll discover nearly instantly while you plant your self contained in the again of a Rolls-Royce, whether or not it is the Cullinan SUV or the model-new Ghost: space, and the carpet.
The ample seats are nearer maybe to your sofa than a conventional automobile seat, with plenty of width, headroom and legroom to accommodate even the most important of travellers. The headrest cushions are splendidly plump and comforting, almost pillow-like in the way they cradle your head.
Whereas the abundance of area could also be an apparent level, the ground protecting is not one thing you’d seemingly take discover of – however issues are totally different in a Rolls-Royce. Your feet sink into the deep, sheep-wool carpets, engaging you to kick off your footwear and take full benefit of the protecting adorning the floor.
As soon as you have settled in, and after having closed the door with the touch (and maintain) of a button, you may absorb a number of extra comforts. These embody the padded armrests on the door panel and heart divide between the 2 seats and Rolls-Royce’s dreamy Starlight Headliner.
The latter is finest considered at the evening, presenting a constellation-like display throughout the roof, which provides to the magical aesthetic of the in-cabin setting.
So, this automobile is comfy – as you’d hope of a car costing greater than, nicely, a number of issues mixed. It is a good begin for getting some work completed, however it’s extra than simply consolation that Rolls-Royce brings to the enterprise world.
A wondrous workplace
The opposite factor you may discover as your power-door clicks itself closed is the noise – or, extra precisely, the dearth of it. And issues do not get a lot louder while you’re on the transfer.
Rolls-Royce has gone to painstaking lengths to cut back the noise contained in the cabin, with soundproofing all through its car’s body, double-glazed windows and a particularly quiet – yet highly effective – V12 engine.
This reduction in highway noise, the roar of an engine and general metropolis sounds, means you end up with the ability to suppose extra clearly, and focus on the task at hand.
Darting around cities within the backs of taxis, I do know first-hand simply how tough it’s to focus when varied sounds interrupt your practice of thought. Not so in a Rolls-Royce.
And one thing else I’ve struggled with when trying to work in automobiles or on trains is the quantity of motion you are subjected to on a journey. Bumps, turns, sharp braking and normal vibrations make typing, studying, scrolling and watching all of the extra irritating.
With regards to an easy journey, nothing comes near travelling behind a Rolls-Royce. The expertise is extra akin to flying (Business-class, naturally) than it’s to being on the highway.
The automobile’s intelligent suspension methods, and dampeners within the seats, imply the automobile soaks up highway imperfections, leading to a sublimely easy journey. My laptop display screen wasn’t shaking, my fingers weren’t jolting over the keyboard inflicting me to overlook keys, and cornering did not see my laptop computer and phone deposited right into a footwell – nor did it send me tumbling sideways.
For an extra subscription fee you may equip your Rolls-Royce with Wi-Fi connectivity, permitting you to get on-line – important for anybody trying to conduct enterprise from the again seat.
Press a button on the rear of the seat in front of you and a tray table will unfold. Whereas this was helpful to relaxation my smartphone upon, it proved a bit of too small to comfortably sort with my laptop computer on it since solely a portion of the machine was in a position to relaxation on the tray.
Nevertheless, an iPad would sit properly right here – though, if you go for the rear-seat leisure bundle, then you’ll get touchscreen shows built-in behind the tray tables, with DVD and Live TV functionality. There are additionally a few USB ports for charging, and a HDMI port allowing you to attach a tool to the aforementioned shows.
I used to be in a position to sit comfortably and work solidly for greater than two hours, with my laptop computer on my lap and my smartphone on the armrest. Positive, the journey is not good – if you happen to drive over a very massive pothole then in fact the power might be transferred by way of the chassis. Nevertheless, in all honesty, I haven’t come near this degree of serenity, smoothness and easy nature of working in another land-based car.
And I am unlikely to ever come near the Rolls-Royce expertise once more – as a result of I am by no means going to have the ability to afford one.
The price of luxury
I spent over 4 hours working in the back of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, and one other hour within the rear of the brand new Ghost – each of which had value tags of over £300,000 (around £380,000, AU$530,000) at their respective spec levels.
It is good to know that while you spend this sum on an automobile, it should ship over and above what you’d expertise from another car. However, it additionally severely limits the potential buyer base.
Not that this is a matter for Rolls-Royce. The launch of the Cullian SUV in 2018 noticed it grow to be the agency’s finest selling car in 2019 because of its attraction to a brand new buyer base for the model. With the brand new Ghost – the Rolls-Royce for house owners who wish to drive in addition to be pushed – the company hopes it is going to be in a position to proceed increasing the attain of its automobiles.
Though these vehicles certainly will not be getting any cheaper, so if in case you have aspirations to work in consolation on the move, then you may wish to begin saving pronto.