Built and designed entirely by Volkswagen (not outsourced like Mercedes and Ford), the California is a converted VW Transporter - a good looking one at that, that gained plenty of admiring glances, thumbs-up and comments during our week together.

If you’ve been around green ovals for as long as me, you’ll know that this new model builds on decades of Land Rover V8 heritage…

With the familiar 310PS 2.0 litre engine mated to a seven-speed DSG gearbox, you can expect a 0-62mph time of just 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. And with all-wheel drive it isn’t just quick in a straight line, it can handles corners too….

With 462bhp, it’s the most powerful production car in Volkswagen’s history, and the first R model to utilise electric power, an eHybrid with plug-in hybrid technology - it’ll also set you back in excess of £70k, before options…

With 175bhp on tap, bung it into ‘sport’ mode and it’s quite a feisty car that’ll do 0-60mph 7.9 seconds…

On the outside, the keen eyed amongst you will notice a slightly wider front grille with slimmer lights, new rear bumper reflectors and LED daytime running lights which are now.…

If you’ve ever been to Sicily you’ll be acutely aware of how poor the roads are; the Cherokee’s ride, on the other hand…

My curiosity was then aroused and I suddenly needed to experience the hype…

Maybe it’s the 4x4 enthusiast in me, but I hadn’t even left the carpark and I was smitten…

Using the aforementioned to hold onto the correct gear and choosing the right lines, the Eclipse Cross will give you huge smiles all-round…

There’s plenty to like about the new MG3 and it remains immensely affordable. I haven’t even mentioned their fully transferrable 7 year/80,000-miles warranty yet…

The Rexton has just been collected, and I’m sat here trying to think of the worst bit, or at least a negative, but I can’t. The Rexton is simply a good, solid car…

Now to be honest, when we planned this trip I’d organised for us to have a V8 Mustang, but a confusion in the booking procedure meant, well, I couldn’t have one, hence the EcoSport.

During this dark and dreary drive along a wet M62 and A1, the X-Trail proved itself to be a rather nice cruiser…

Funky and chunky. I think that’s a fair description…  it certainly stands out from the crowd, and that’s before I mention the orange colour pack! 

The Skoda Kodiaq is a multi award winning large, 7-seater SUV that’s practical, comfortable and to a point, great value for money….

My first drive was the automatic version loaded with 300kg of sand bags. The ride was smooth, as it should be, and its performance wasn’t…

The L200’s sleek body seemed to cut its way through the turbulent wind like a hot knife through butter, especially high up on the M62…

At this point, Ian confidently pointed at the 3 buttons on the dash that marked the front, centre and rear locking differentials - so I pressed all 3…

As well as the usual off-road trips and the daily commute, its biggest test was a 300 mile, 7 hour round trip to Powys to interview both Paul at Prolinx and Gwyn Lewis for the AWDC magazine…