BEST SPORTS CAR 4X4s

Banish the winter blues with these 4WD stunners guaranteed to put a huge smile on your face and keep you on the move

- Richarb Drebge

HAVING a car that can cope with winter weather doesn't mean settling for a humdrum hatch or SUV. Increasingly, sports and luxury car makers are equipping their vehicles with high-tech four-wheel-drive transmissions that allow you to get their power down more safely in the dry and are just as good at doing so when the going gets slippery.

All of these cars have a driven wheel in each corner, and while we're not suggesting that you'd necessarily take them out on an everyday basis when the weather is foul, it's good to know that just because winter has hit, you don't have to keep them locked away.

After all, with those low temperatures, ice, snow and drizzle potentially dragging on for months, what could be a better tonic than to get behind the wheel of something special? We reckon that a spin (not literally!) in any of these will put a smile on your face this winter.

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R

THE Golf R is another one of those cars that's vying for the title of ultimate all-rounder. Its credentials are compelling, because the R has all of the usability and subtlety of an entry-level Golf, but it's blisteringly quick, very well equipped and incredibly easy to live with.

Potter around town at pedestrian speeds and nobody will give the Golf R a second glance, but when you want to have some fun, you can turn on the taps and make the most of the turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine's 328bhp, which goes to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Recently facelifted, the Golf R comes in hatchback form from £43,320, or as an estate from £44,685.

MG CYBERSTER