GENERAL Motors in Europe thought it would be a good idea to launch the new Antara SUV on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond but it got less than a warm welcome in Scotland.

Four inches of snow and a cold drizzle greeted drivers in the beautiful Queen Elizabeth Forest Park where a small but challenging off-road course had been set up to test the newcomer from Vauxhall.

It's a big crossover vehicle which will spend the majority of its time on tarmac but if you want to take it onto the tough stuff I can vouch for its capability.

You can choose the Antara in two or four-wheel-drive guise and with two gutsy 2.2 diesel engines, one developing a useful 163bhp and the other a more powerful 184bhp.

With fuel consumption of 44.8mpg, CO2 emissions of 167g/km combined with a 9.9-second 0-60mph time and top speed of 117mph, the powertrain offers an excellent blend of performance and efficiency.

The 184bhp diesel comes standard with all-wheel drive and is available with both transmissions. Performance is up, with a 0-60mph time of 9.6 seconds and a top speed of 124mph, with a combined 42.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 175g/km.

Both on and off-road these units give instant acceleration and enough power to make overtaking easy.

Newly produced six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions are options. I drove both and preferred the auto. I found the manual version, which Vauxhall says 80 per cent of owners will choose, had a stiff and heavy feel.

The latest Antara now features refinements to the chassis and active safety include improvements to the ABS system and the standard fitting of Hill Start Assist which prevents roll-back when driving away on gradients.

On the style front the new Antara's exterior sports an updated front grille with chrome bezel, re-designed fog lights, rear lights with new graphics and a distinctive protection panel at the front and rear of the car complete the exterior changes.

It's a smart piece of kit.

Inside, the cabin has been refreshed and has better quality trim and upholstery, instruments with new graphics, a re-designed centre console with extra storage along with a leather trim option called Light Titanium.

Improved safety and comfort features include an electric parking brake, a gear display for manual operation in the automatic variants, deactivation of front and side airbags on the front passenger side to enable mounting of a child safety seat; seat-belt pre-tensioners and belt force limiters for the front passenger.

Space is no problem in the Antara. Driver and passengers should have plenty of head, leg and shoulder room and there is no shortage of load space.

The Antara's luggage compartment holds up to 402 litres with its rear seats up and this grows to 795 litres when the back seat is folded down.

Out on the open road the Antara handles very well with very little roll on bends and it is very quiet with little wind, road or engine noise.

It's the kind of motor where long journeys will be comfortable and not tiring.

Customers have a choice of three equipment versions: Exclusiv FWD, Exclusiv AWD or SE AWD.

All models have a serious amount of kit. The twho-wheel-drive Exclusiv FWD has anti-lock brakes, traction control, hill descent and hill start systems, front and side airbags up front, electric parking brake, power windows front and back, air conditioning, tyre repair kit, leather steering wheel, roof rails, heated side mirrors, seat belt pre-tensioners, etc.

On sale in April the entry level Antara 2.2 CDTi 163bhp Exclusiv is priced at £19,995. The top-of-the-range 2.2 CDTi 184 4x4 auto comes in at £26,905.

Vauxhall is confident its new Antara will be an attractive proposition in this sector of the market and is predicting 3,000 sales in its first full year.

It's good looking, well screwed together, capable and comes with a lot of equipment which makes it very competitive.