A Mercedes-Maybach we can ALL afford

IT MUST be hard being a member of the one per cent.

Not only do you and your colleagues get to chat about Davos every year about how much more money you have than the rest of the globe, but you’ve got car makers catering for your every whim and desire.

Just last week, for instance, one of the world’s biggest car makers launched a limousine perfect for you to stretch your legs while plotting world domination. In the back, there’s 157mm of legroom – more than twice the amount any of its rivals offer – and it’s got more room for your head and elbows too.

The air conditioning system is split into three different zones across the car, and if that’s not enough you can get an electrically-operated, tilting panoramic sunroof as an optional extra. If it gets cold, the windscreen AND the windscreen washer jets are heated to make sure your chauffeur never gets a frosty reception, and he’ll never need fidget with a bootlid because that’s electrically operated too.

You’ll have to agree this is a fine compliment of luxuries, and that’s before I introduce you to the little umbrellas hidden in each of the rear doors so you never get wet when you go shopping. The Mercedes-Maybach 600 Pullman will cost an jaw-dropping £165,000 when it goes on sale this summer. Which is why it’s a mighty good thing you can have all of the little luxuries I’ve just run past you on Skoda’s newest model instead.

The new Skoda Superb is one of the quiet heroes of the motoring world because it’s a luxury car the 99 per cent can enjoy owning. Unlike the Hyundai Genesis I mentioned the other week, it’s not attempting to march in on BMW and Mercedes territory with a similarly-priced offering. Nope, the Superb’s party trick is giving you all the important things you’d want in a luxury car – first class legroom and some gadgets to play with – for a fraction of the price.

It’s a pity its astonishing amounts of legroom, boot space and value for money – expect it to cost between £20,000 and £35,000 – means you’re most likely to experience the Superb when a) your fleet manager assigns you one or b) you get a ride home with your mates in one on a Friday night. It’s also got the words ‘SKODA’ and ‘SUPERB’ on the boot, which means you’ll have to endure lazy journalists digging out The Big Book of Motoring Clichés so they can tell you – just as they did with its two predecessors – about the new Skoda being a ‘superb’ car and how you’ll have to write ‘a cheque to the Czechs’ to get one.

 Forget the jokes, however, because the Superb is offering up a lot of motor for the money. It’s Learjet luxury for EasyJet earnings.