You might think that after 50 odd years I would have mastered the art of stepping out of a car.

In the sixties, debutants were taught how to step in to a car in the most demure way possible. Not easy in a skirt and high heels I imagine.

Now it seems I need to retrain myself for cars like the Mercedes GLC, which have side steps. For every time I leave the driver’s seat, I can’t stretch beyond the edge of the step itself.

This results in a dirty line down the calf of my trousers – and no end of dirty words coming from my mouth.

So who decided we need steps to get in and out of an SUV? Land Rover nailed it with retractable side steps on the Range Rover but personally, I can;t see the point.

If you can step into a car, you probably shouldn’t be driving it…