2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Safety and Reliability

Neither the NHTSA nor the IIHS has had the opportunity to provide a review of the Rolls-Royce Dawn's crashworthiness, which is pretty much standard on high-end cars like this. Since it's essentially a 5,000-lb brick, there's a good chance it will crash right through whatever happens to be in your way, and you'd likely barely be disturbed within the cabin.

While the exterior and interior may still be sublime, the Royce is starting to show its age in this category. It has a plethora of airbags, traction and stability control, front and rear cameras and parking sensors, low tire pressure warning, and Rolls-Royce Emergency Assist. But it's a bit light on the driver assistance side. Forward collision control is the main feature, and by that, we mean the only standard driver assistance one. Rolls-Royce offers Driver Assistance packages with features like a head-up display, night vision, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control, but you don't get the semi-autonomous functionality present in the latest Mercedes offerings, for example.

True luxury is… a few things. It's the final product, it's the process of choosing every intricate detail of your vehicle, but it's also the underlying knowledge that the final product is so perfect that nothing can or ever will go wrong. That's Rolls-Royce. While Mercedes-Benz models routinely have double-digit recalls annually per model, the Dawn has only ever had two recalls for the current generation, both of which are only applicable to the 2017 model year. The first was for seat-mounted airbags that may not deploy. A second callback for the same problem was issued in early 2017.

A four-year/unlimited mileage warranty covers all Rolls-Royces, but we're pretty sure when you own a Rolls, even out-of-warranty repairs are A, unlikely to be needed, and B, unlikely to be beyond your budget.