UP to now, I have only managed to get a brief drive in Jeep's latest Compass mid-size four wheel drive.

And while performance is impressive from the 2.2-litre turbo diesel, I found the handling on wet roads to be poor.

I had driven the same section of road in wet conditions in other cars, and they had taken the bends in a well-balanced way at reduced speed.

But the Compass understeered badly, with the front wheels sliding sideways very easily.

I cannot give you a reason for this but look forward to driving another example to find out if they are all the same. I did not like the feel of it at all.

Apart from that, the handling felt safe, but the ride did feel a little lumpy and was upset at lower speeds.

There was a fair amount of feel from the steering but the engine, while having plenty of power and giving good economy, is quite a lot noisier than the best in this price range.

In Limited spec it does come well equipped, with loads of airbags, stability control, a category 1 alarm, leather, aircon, heated front seats and on demand four-wheel-drive.

: Land Rover Freelander