SNOW is a great leveller, unless you can ride above and beyond it in a car like the Hyundai Santa Fe four-wheel-drive.

The recent cold snap proved a real world test of the Hyundai Santa Fe 4WD MPV.

Faced with a 130 mile journey over country roads generously covered with snow and liberally sprinkled with nervous car drivers, the Santa Fe never put a wheel wrong or gave me a moment's doubt about its effortless ability.

The Santa Fe uses the same engine in its 12 versions on UK sale but you can choose between manual or automatic boxes, two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive, five or seven seats in three trim levels priced between £25,500 and £34,400.

Th model we tried is towards the top of the range and has 18-inch alloys, skid plates, roof rails, parking sensors and camera as well as self-levelling suspension in its long list of standard features. The only option was a £495 paint job.

Personally I cannot understand why anyone would not want the all-wheel-drive version of this SUV because you never know when you might need the added traction and security in a multi-purpose family vehicle. Better to be safe than stranded.

With the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the automatic is £1,700 more, you have a very good range at your finger-tips with a moderately weighted clutch and direct action lever giving precise and rapid selection for any conditions. The ratios give good standing start pull away, there's always power available to overtake and 311lb/ft torque ensures it is not short of grunt when loaded.

Drivers do not have to worry about selecting 4WD or range changes because the sophisticated system does it all for you with downhill brake control, hill start assist, trailer stability and vehicle stability management coming into play automatically and seamlessly.

Steering is very well weighted to blend feel with function so it turns neatly and gives a firmer feedback at speed. Even on ice it was not too light.

Underfoot the comprehensive braking technology slowed and stopped the Santa Fe without drama irrespective of the surface and the electric parking brake had a set and forget feature for repeated use.

Secondary controls close to the wheel and column meant everything was immediately to hand and the big instruments were clear to read directly infront of the driver and included a multi-panel display for a variety of  settings.

Wipers front and back cleared a good area of glass, the headlights were bright and far reaching and the climate control kept it all clear and cosy.

Access was very good through the doors and into the high floor loadbed and this was a good shape and capacity at over 500 litres rising to over 1,500 litres. The rearmost pair of seats quickly drop flat into the floor when not in use but you need to be agile or young to use them as a passenger.

There is very good adjustment range on the front pair of seats and all are well shaped and give good support while their occupants have plenty of room, particularly headroom.

The self-levelling suspension gives a smooth ride over anything although the Santa Fe does roll around corners at speed.

The high riding position gives excellent visibility and you can safety anticipate conditions and situations but the high tail does partly obstruct rear vision and the camera is very useful when reversing.

Noise levels are fairly low unless you rev the four-pot powerhouse in the lower gears but wind and road noise are well muted.

The sophistication and refinement of the Santa Fe Premium 4WD are both good. It really is a multi-purpose, generously sized and comfortable, capable, all-rounder which is unchallenging to drive and unphased by what it faces underfoot.