2019 Lamborghini Urus vs 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost

What's the difference?

Lamborghini has nailed it. The Urus is a super SUV that’s fast, dynamic, and has Lamborghini looks, but just as importantly it’s practical, spacious, comfortable and easy to drive. You’re not going to find those last four attributes in a sentence about an Aventador.

Where the Urus loses marks is in terms of warranty, value for money and fuel consumption.

I didn’t take the Urus on the Corsa nor the Neve, nor Sabbia and Terra, but as I said in my video we know this SUV is capable on the track and that it can go off-road.

What I really wanted to see was how well it handled regular life. Any competent SUV can deal with shopping centre car parks, dropping kids off at school, carrying boxes and bags, and of course fitting and being driven as you would any car.

The Urus is a Lamborghini anybody could drive, pretty much anywhere.

You might see it as an obscene indulgence or a piece of engineering excellence, but there’s no denying the new Rolls-Royce Ghost is exceptional. Incredibly refined and capable, it’s arguably the most impressive ‘entry-level’ car in the world. 

Anything interesting about the Urus? That’s like asking is there anything tasty about that really tasty thing you’re eating there? See, whether you like the look of the Lamborghini Urus or not, you have to admit it doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before, right?

I wasn’t a major fan of it when I first clapped eyes on it in pictures online, but in the metal and in front of me wearing that 'Giallo Augo' yellow paint I found the Urus stunning, like a giant queen bee.

As I’ve mentioned, the Urus is built on the same MLB Evo platform as the Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga and Audi Q8. While that offers a ready-made base with great comfort, dynamics and technology, it would limit shape and styling, but nevertheless I think Lamborghini has done an excellent job of ‘dressing’ the Urus with styling that doesn’t give away its Volkswagen Group bloodline too much.

The Urus looks exactly how a Lamborghini SUV should – from its side profile with the sleek glasshouse and haunches which look spring loaded, to its Y-shaped tail-lights and tailgate lip spoiler.

At the front, as with the Aventador and Huracan, the Lamborghini badge takes pride of place and even that broad flat bonnet which looks just like the lid on its supercar siblings has to skirt around the emblem almost out of respect. Below is the giant grille with its enormous lower air-intake and front splitter.

You can also see a few hat tips to the original LM002 Lamborghini off-roader from the late 1980s in those squared-off wheel arches. Yes, this isn’t Lamborghini’s first SUV.

The optional 23-inch wheels do look a bit too big, but if anything can pull them off, I feel the Urus can because so much else about this SUV is over the top. Even everyday elements are extravagant – the fuel cap on our car was carbon-fibre for example.

But then everyday objects which I think should be there, aren’t – like a rear windscreen wiper.

The Urus’s cockpit is just as special (and Lamborghini) as its exterior. As with the Aventador and Huracan the start button hides beneath a red flip-up cover fighter-jet rocket launcher-style and the front passengers are separated by a floating centre console which is home to more aircraft inspired controls – there are levers for selecting drive modes and there’s a giant one just for selecting reverse.

As we’ve covered above, the interior of our car had been optioned to the hilt, but I have to mention those seats again – the Q-Citura diamond stitching looks and feels beautiful.

It’s not just the seats, though, every touch point in the Urus has a quality feel – actually even places that never come in contact with passenger such as the headlining look and feel plush.

The Urus is large – look at the dimensions: it’s 5112mm long, 2181mm wide (including the mirrors) and 1638mm tall.

But what’s the space like inside? Read on to find out.

Rolls-Royce adopted what it calls a ‘post-opulent’ philosophy in development of the new Ghost’s design. Specifically, restraint, “rejecting superficial expressions of wealth.”

That’s because, as a rule, Ghost customers aren’t Phantom customers. They don’t want to make that big a statement, and prefer to drive the car as much as they might be chauffeured in it.

This Ghost is longer (+89mm) and wider (+30mm) than the outgoing model, yet it’s a superbly balanced shape, with minimalism the guiding design principle. 

That said, the iconic ‘Pantheon Grille’ is bigger, and now downlit by 20 LEDs under the top of the radiator, with its individual slats polished even more carefully to subtly reflect the light. 

The car’s broad surfaces are tightly wrapped and deceptively simple. For example, the rear guards, C-pillars and roof are fabricated as one panel, which makes sense of the absence of shutlines around the rear of the car (except for the boot outline, of course).

Rolls-Royce refers to the Ghost’s cabin as an ‘interior suite’ consisting of no less than 338 individual panels. But despite that number, the feeling inside is simple and serene.

In fact, Rolls says its acoustic engineers are experts in serenity. Sounds like Darryl Kerrigan needs a Ghost for the family road trip to Bonnie Doon.

A few details stand out. The open pore wood trim is a welcome, tactile change from highly finished veneers that often do their best to look like plastic.

The proper metal chromed trim elements around the cabin confidently say quality and solidity, and the steering wheel, as well as the buttons around the multimedia controllers are subtle throwbacks.

The wheel has a circular central pad, with ancillary buttons around its lower perimeter, which echoes the style of the 1920s and ‘30s. You half expect an ignition advance/retard lever to sprout from its centre.

And the buttons around the media controllers use a combination of shape, colour and typeface to conjure up thoughts of the same era. They could be made of Bakelite.

For those that way inclined, the signature ‘Starlight Headliner’, using untold LEDS to create a glittering night sky in the roof, now incorporates a shooting star effect. You can even option up the constellation of your choice.

From the outside the Urus’s cabin looks like it could be a cramped place – it is a Lamborghini, after all right? The reality is the interior of the Urus is spacious and storage is great.

Our test car was a five-seater, but the Urus can also be ordered with just four seats. Alas, there is no seven-seater version of the Urus, but Bentley does offer a third row in its Bentayga.

The front seats in our Urus were snug but offered outstanding comfort and support.

Head-, shoulder- and legroom up front is excellent, but it’s the second row which is most impressive. Legroom for me, even at 191cm tall, is outstanding. I can sit behind my driving position with about 100mm to spare – take a look at the video if you don’t believe me. Headroom is good back there, too.

Entry and exit through the rear doors is good, although they could open wider, but the height of the Urus made putting my child into his car seat easy on my back. Also installing the car seat itself was easy – our is a top tether which hooked to the seatback.

The Urus has a 616-litre boot and that was large enough to fit the box for our new child car-seat (have a look at the images) along with several other bags – that’s damned good. Making loading easier is an air suspension system which can lower the rear of the SUV.

The big door pockets were excellent and so was the floating centre console which has storage underneath and two 12-volt power outlets. You’ll also find a USB port up front, too.

The centre console bin is the downfall – it’s only has space for the wireless charging pad.

There are two cupholders up front and another two in the fold down centre armrest in the rear.

The rear climate control system is outstanding and offers separate temperature options for left and right rear riders, with plenty of vents.

Grab handles, 'Jesus handles', call them what you will, but the Urus doesn’t have any. Both the youngest and oldest members of my family pointed this out – my son and my mother. Personally, I’ve never had a use for them, but they both feel it’s a glaring omission.

I’m not going to mark the Urus down for a lack of handles – this is a practical and family friendly SUV.

The new Rolls-Royce Ghost is over 5.5m long, more than 2.1m wide, and close to 1.6m tall. And within that substantial footprint sits a 3295mm wheelbase, so no surprise utility and practicality are exceptional.

First, there’s getting in. The ‘coach’ or ‘clamshell’ doors will be familiar to current Ghost owners, but their “effortless” operation is new, a gentle pull on the door handle bringing welcome electronic assistance.

Once inside the rear of the car, as on the previous model, the press of a C-pillar-mounted button will close the door.   

But up front, easing onto the generous driver’s seat is a breeze thanks to the Ghost’s sheer scale and a large door aperture. 

There’s plenty of space for people and things in a thoroughly considered layout. A large glove box, big centre storage box (containing every connectivity option known to humankind) a lined slot for your phone and twin cupholders under a sliding timber cover. The door pockets are generous, with a sculpted section for bottles. 

Then the rear. Obviously designed for two, the back seat will seat three. The sumptuous full-leather seats are multi-way electronically-adjustable, and NBA players (almost certainly prospective owners) will be happy with the leg, head and shoulder room provided.

Need even more room in the back? Step this way to the ‘Extended’ long-wheelbase version of the Ghost, measuring 5716mm long (+170mm), with a 3465mm wheelbase (+170mm), and stepping up in price to $740,000 (+$112,000). That’s $659 per additional millimetre, but who’s counting?

But back to the rear of the standard wheelbase car. Fold the large centre armrest down and twin cupholders pop out the front. Then, a wood-trimmed lid on the top flips forward to reveal a rotary multimedia controller.

Behind that, a beautifully trimmed storage box offers generous space and 12V power, and behind door number three (a pull-down leather panel in the back of the armrest aperture) is a small fridge. What else?

The rear of the front centre console houses individual climate-control outlets as well as USB and HDMI sockets.

Touch a discreet chrome button and small desks (RR calls them picnic tables) fold down from the front seat backs, faced in the same open pore wood as the dash, console, steering wheel, and door trims, and finished off with flawless chrome.

The entire interior benefits from a ‘Micro-Environment Purification System’ (MEPS), and rather than bore you with the details, let’s just say it’s exceptionally efficient. 

Boot volume is a solid 500 litres, with an electrically-assisted lid and plush carpet lining. Of course, the air suspension system can lower the car to make loading heavy or awkward objects that little bit easier.

Good value is open to broad interpretation in this rarefied part of the new car market. On the surface, value could relate to standard equipment; the features that make life with a car safer, more comfortable, and efficient.

It might also have you lining up the competitors, to determine how much sheet metal, rubber and glass you’re getting for your money. Maybe a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, or Bentley Flying Spur?

But peel away those layers and you’re getting closer to the heart of the Rolls-Royce value equation. 

A Rolls-Royce is a statement of wealth, confirmation of status, and indicator of success. And that will be enough for some. But it also delivers value to those who appreciate the last few percentage points of creativity and effort that deliver exceptional results.

Sounds like a bit of a gush. But once you dip into the background of this car’s development and experience it first-hand, it’s hard not to.

We could produce a separate story on the Ghost’s standard features, but here’s the highlights reel. Included are: LED and laser headlights, 21-inch twin-spoke (part-polished) alloy wheels, electrically-adjustable, ventilated and massaging seats (front and rear), an 18-speaker audio system, electrically-assisted ‘Effortless Doors’, a head-up display, full leather trim (it’s everywhere), multiple digital screens, active cruise control, adaptive air suspension, and there’s lots more.

But let’s pick a few of those out for closer inspection. The audio system is designed and produced in house, featuring a 1300W amp and 18-channels (one for each RR built speaker). 

In fact, there’s a team dedicated to audio performance, and it’s made the entire car an acoustic instrument, calibrating resonance through its structure to optimise clarity. Not the work of five minutes, requiring complex collaboration with the design and engineering teams, not to mention the bean counters.

And yes, there’s leather everywhere, but it’s of the highest quality, analysed to (literally) a granular level to ensure it makes the cut for use in this car. Even the stitching is set to a particular (longer than typical) length to minimise visual noise.

How about RR personnel travelling the globe to measure rain drops to make sure the roof rain channels perform as well as they can (true story). Or the 850 LED ‘stars’ in the dash fascia, backed by a 2.0mm thick ‘light guide’ with 90,000 laser-etched dots to disperse light evenly, yet add a twinkle.

You get the idea. And as much as they say, ‘If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it’, the cost-of-entry for a 2021 Ghost, before any options or on-road costs, is $628,000.

Depending on your perspective, a stupendous sum that will buy 42.7 entry-level Kia Picantos, a car every bit as capable of transporting you from A to B as the Ghost. Or alternately, brilliant value, in that it buys the ultimate attention to detail applied to this car’s design, development and execution. You be the judge, but for what it’s worth, I’m in the latter camp.

The Lamborghini Urus has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 engine making 478kW/850Nm.

Any engine which can make 650 horsepower has my attention, but this unit, which you’ll also find in the Bentley Bentayga, is superb. The power delivery feels almost naturally aspirated in how linear and controllable it feels.

While the Urus doesn’t have the same screaming exhaust note as a V12 Aventador or the V10 found in the Huracan, the deep V8 grumble on idle and crackle on the down shifts let everybody know I’d arrived.

An eight-speed automatic transmission can change its personality from a brutally hard-shifter in Corsa (Track) mode to gelato smooth in Strada (Street).

The new Ghost is powered by an all-alloy, direct-injection, 6.75-litre, twin-turbo V12 (also used in the Cullinan SUV) producing 420kW (563hp) at 5000rpm, and 850Nm at 1600rpm.

The ‘six-and-three-quarter-litre’ V12 has a distant link to BMW’s ‘N74’ engine, but Rolls-Royce is at pains to point out this unit stands on its own two feet, and that every piece of it bears a RR part number. 

It runs a Ghost-specific engine map, and permanently drives all four wheels through a GPS-guided eight-speed automatic transmission.

That’s right, the GPS link will pre-select the most appropriate gear for upcoming bends and terrain with the aim of producing “a sense of one endless gear.” More on that later.

A V8 combustion engine that makes 478kW is not going to be frugal when it comes to fuel consumption. Lamborghini says the Urus should use 12.7L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.

After highways, country roads and urban commutes I recorded 15.7L/100km at the fuel pump, which is close to the serving suggestion and good considering there weren't any motorway kays in there.

That’s thirsty, but not surprising.  

Rolls is currently quoting European Regulation (NEDC) fuel consumption numbers for the new Ghost, which for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 15.0L/100km, the big V12 emitting 343g/km of CO2 in the process.

On the launch drive, covering around 100km of urban pottering, B-road cornering, and freeway cruising, we saw a dash-indicated figure of 18.4L/100km. 

Premium 95 RON unleaded fuel is recommended, but if circumstances (presumably in the back-of-beyond) demand it, standard 91 unleaded is usable. 

Whichever you choose, you’ll need no less than 82 litres of it to fill the tank, at our average fuel use, enough for a theoretical range of 445km.

The Lamborghini Urus is a brute, but not brutal, in that it’s big, powerful, quick and dynamic without being hard to drive. Actually, it’s one of the easiest and most comfortable SUVs I’ve ever driven, while also being the fastest I’ve piloted.

The Urus is at its most docile in the Strada (Street) drive mode and for the most part I drove it in this setting which kept the air suspension at its cushiest, the throttle calm and steering light.

The ride quality in Strada even on Sydney’s pot-holed and patchy streets was outstanding. Remarkable, given that our test car rolled on giant 23-inch wheels wrapped in wide, low profile tyres (325/30 Pirelli P Zeros at the rear and 285/35 at the front).

Sport mode does what you’d expect – firms the dampers, adds weight to the steering, makes the throttle more responsive and dials back the traction control. Then there’s 'Neve' which is for snow and probably not hugely useful in Australia.

Our car was fitted with optional extra drive modes – 'Corsa' for the racetrack, 'Terra' for rocks and dirt, and 'Sabbia' for sand.

Alternatively, you can ‘build your own’ mode using the 'Ego' selector which lets you adjust steering, suspension and throttle in light, medium or hard settings.

So, while you still have the Lamborghini supercar looks and colossal grunt, with the ability to head off road you could pilot the Urus all day as you would any large SUV in Strada.

In this mode you’d really have to plant your foot for the Urus’s reaction to be anything other than civilised.

Like any large SUV the Urus gives its occupants a commanding view, but it was a strange feeling looking out over that very Lamborghini bonnet but then pulling up next to the No.461 bus and glancing over almost at head height with the driver.

Then there’s the acceleration – 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds. Combine that with this height and piloting it feels like watching one of those videos of a bullet train shot from the driver’s seat.

Braking is almost as astonishing as the acceleration. The Urus has been equipped with the largest brakes ever for a production car – sombrero-sized 440mm diameter discs at the front with giant 10-piston calipers and 370mm discs at the rear. Our Urus was fitted with carbon ceramic brakes and yellow calipers.

Visibility through the front and side windows was surprisingly good, although seeing through that rear glass was limited as you’d expect. I’m talking about the Urus not the bullet train – bullet train rear visibility is terrible.

The Urus has a 360-degree camera and an excellent reversing camera, too, which makes up for the small rear window.

So, if this Rolls is designed to be driven, what’s it like behind the wheel? Well for a start, it’s plush. As in, the front seats are big and comfortable, but surprisingly supportive and endlessly adjustable.

The digital instrument cluster tips its hat to classic RR dials, and despite thick pillars (especially the bulky B-pillars) vision all around is good.

And if you’re thinking 2553kg is a lot of Ghost to get moving, you’re right. But there’s nothing like applying 420kW/850Nm of twin-turbo V12 muscle to the task.

Peak torque is available from just 1600rpm (600rpm above idle) and Rolls-Royce claims 0-100km/h in 4.8sec. Plant the right foot and this car will calmly have you at throw-away-the-key speeds in the blink of an eye, the eight-speed auto shifting imperceptibly all the way. And even at full throttle, engine noise is relatively subtle.

But aside from that prodigious thrust, the next eye-opener is unbelievable ride quality. Rolls calls it ‘Magic Carpet Ride’, and it’s no exaggeration.

The bumpy road surface disappearing under the front wheels just doesn’t compute with the unruffled, perfectly smooth progress you’re experiencing. It is unbelievable.

I’ve only had that sensation once before, behind the wheel of a Bentley Mulsanne, but this was possibly even more surreal.

Rolls-Royce’s ‘Planar’ suspension system refers to, “a geometric plane which is completely flat and level”, and it works.

The set-up is double wishbones at the front (incorporating a unique to RR upper wishbone damper) and a five-link arrangement at the rear. But it’s the air suspension and active damping that create the magic Rolls calls “flight on land.”

A ‘Flagbearer’ stereo camera system in the windscreen reads the road ahead to proactively adjust the suspension up to 100km/h. It’s name recalls the early days of ‘motoring’ where a person waving a red flag walked in front of cars to warn unwary pedestrians. This slightly more sophisticated approach is just as arresting.

This time around the Ghost is all-wheel drive (rather than RWD) and it puts its power down brilliantly well. We dared to push it fairly aggressively on a twisting B-road section and all four fat Pirelli P Zero tyres (255/40 x 21) kept things on track without so much as a squeal.

A 50/50 weight distribution and the stiffness of the car’s aluminium space-frame architecture help keep it balanced, planted and under control. But on the flip side, steering feel is almost completely MIA. Numb and overly light, it’s the missing link in the Ghost’s otherwise impressive dynamic performance.

Drop into a freeway cruise and you become aware of the impossibly low noise level. But it’s not as quiet as it could be. Rolls says it’s able to achieve near silence, but adds that becomes disorienting, so it introduced an ambient “whisper”... “a single, subtle note.” 

To achieve this level of calm the bulkhead and floor have been double-skinned, interior components are tuned to a specific resonance frequency, and there’s 100kg worth of acoustic damping materials within nearly half the architecture of the car, in the doors, roof, double-glazed windows, even inside the tyres.

The four-wheel steering system helps with agility on the highway (where the front and rear axles steer in unison), but comes into its own at parking speeds (where they counter-steer), because even with numerous cameras and sensors, parking this 5.5m long, 2.5-tonne machine is quite an undertaking. Turning circle is still 13.0m, though, so beware. If all else fails, the car will park itself, anyway.

Beefy ventilated disc brakes front and rear wash off speed progressively and without a hint of drama.

Other highlights? The multimedia system is the only thing openly borrowed from BMW, but that’s not a problem because the interface is great. And that 1300W, 18-speaker 18-channel audio system absolutely cranks!

Rolls-Royce doesn’t submit its cars for independent safety assessment, so no ANCAP rating for the new Ghost, unless, of course, the local testing authority chooses to purchase one. Enough said...

The previous Ghost was limited by its ageing 7 Series platform when it came to the latest active safety tech, But this version, sitting on a bespoke RR chassis, brings the entry-point Roller up to speed.

Included are AEB, incorporating ‘Vision Assist’ (day and night wildlife and pedestrian detection), active cruise control (with semi-autonomous driving mode), cross-traffic warning, lane-departure and lane-change warning, as well as an ‘Alertness Assistant.’

There’s also a four-camera system with panoramic and helicopter view, as well as a self-park function, and a hi-res head-up display 

If all that’s not enough to avoid an impact, passive safety includes eight airbags (front, front side, full-length curtain, and front knee).

There are also top tethers and ISOFIX anchors on the two outer rear seat positions for safely securing child restraints for kids fortunate enough to be travelling in this kind of style. 

This is the category which brings the total score down. The three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the Urus is falling behind the norm with many carmakers moving to five-year coverage.

You can purchase the fourth year of the warranty for $4772 and the fifth year for $9191.

A three-year maintenance package can be bought for $6009.

Rolls-Royce covers its Australian range with a four year/unlimited km warranty, but that's just the tip of the ownership iceberg.

The mysterious ‘Whispers’ owners portal, a “world beyond”, is claimed to offer the opportunity, “to gain access to the inaccessible, to discover rare finds, to connect with like-minds.” 

Plug your car’s VIN into the app and you’ll be on the receiving end of curated content, event invitations, news and offers, as well as access to your own ‘Rolls-Royce garage’, plus a 24/7 concierge. All complimentary.

What’s more, service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km, and it’s free-of-charge for the duration of the warranty.