Are rear-hinged car doors a touch of class, or simply backwards thinking?

The Rolls-Royce Phantom’s rear-hinged doors look great on the red carpet, but they’re less practical in a Tesco car park - (Rolls-Royce)

Sometimes the wheel – or the door – just doesn’t need reinventing. Car makers have played around with rear-hinged doors for years but, for plenty of reasons, they’ve never really caught on.

Unless you’re Rolls-Royce, that is. Rear-hinged doors are very much a Rolls-Royce thing. The Cullinan, Phantom and Ghost back doors are all rear-hinged. Even the giant single doors on each side of Spectre all-electric coupé pivot from the rear. Does it make them any easier to get out of? Not really, but it certainly adds to the grandeur.