The ride quality gave us the most pause. The Black Badge Ghost still floats like a '70s-era Cadillac over big bumps, but now there's a near-constant vibration, the soft pitter-patter of not-quite-perfect pavement getting passed up to the seats. In a Rolls Royce, it's … well, it's weird, that's what it is. The magic of the Silver Badge Ghost is that it gives the sensation that all roads are paved with glass. The Black Badge car loses that ability to smooth out the surface beneath its tires, and with it dulls that Rolls-Royce enchantment.
All this might be acceptable if it transformed the Ghost into a world-class handler, something akin to the Bentley Flying Spur Speed—which, to be honest, is what we hoped for. But it doesn't. The Silver Badge Ghost is stable and secure in high-speed turns, though rather clumsy on smaller, tighter roads. The Black Badge car is nominally better, but still feels awkward and out of place, as if it's trying to run in dress shoes that are too tight.
