Rolls-Royce has lost the plot if they think millennials are going to spend £250,000 on a car

The first Rolls-Royce SUV is designed to appeal to high worth entrepreneurs in their mid-30s, but that’s the age group who claim to be shunning unwanted possessions and saving the planet

(James Lipman)

It’s a gorgeous late spring day and you fancy a picnic in the countryside with the kids. Do you:

a) Get the folding picnic chairs out of the garage, hard boil eggs, cook sausages, butter a load of bread and cram it all in a carrier with a roll of kitchen towel, a jar of Hellman’s and a bottle of bargain rose wrapped in tin foil?

b) Pick up the phone and tell the butler to prepare a hamper with lobster, a salad of designer leaves and can the chef peel the shrimps?

If the answer is 'b', the perfect car for your rural excursion has just been unveiled – the Cullinan, the first Rolls-Royce SUV, which the company describes as “a weekend car you can put the kids in… a Rolls-Royce that’s usable every day”. Not a car for kiddie sick and dog hair – the hatchback folds down to reveal a mini dining table for caviar and champers, complete with two proper chairs with padded backs. Perfect for spectating at polo or Ascot.

The Cullinan includes a drinks cabinet, cool box, and storage space for shooting equipment. This all-terrain monstrosity only manages 19 miles to the gallon – although the beautiful mascot on the bonnet is retractable should you be travelling through hostile postcodes.

Rolls-Royce say it is designed to appeal to high worth entrepreneurs in their mid-30s – millennials who have probably made their fortune in web and tech businesses. But that’s the age group who claim to be shunning unwanted possessions and saving the planet, so they may not flock to spend £250,000 on a gas-guzzling vehicle.

In the real countryside, no one drives anything worth more than £10,000 – from a second hand Freelander (unsaleable if it’s running on diesel) to a recycled economy saloon, cheap on parts and economical on fuel. I’m proud to be a Fiat Panda woman – just love them. Compact, stylish, reliable, and incredibly perky on a motorway. The flashy, chunky Cullinan is designed to appeal to those Ecclestone girls – need I say more?