Editor FRANK BALDWIN test drives the new Subaru XV down to the French Alps.

DURING a British university championships in Tignes a few years back a couple of students embarrassed themselves when, after a night time snow storm, they spent all morning digging out their car – only to find it was the wrong car.

I had this in mind when I made my way to where I had left the Subaru XV I had driven down through France to Les Deux Alpes a couple of days before.

After a week of sunshine before Christmas, the lift operators had been getting a bit worried in the French resort. There was still snow on the slopes but it was starting to get a bit thin in places. Plus the windy hairpins on the roads up to the village at 1300m were completely snow-free which was a bit of a disappointment for me as I had been looking forward to seeing how this new Subaru all-wheel drive car, the company’s first foray into highly competitive C-segment crossover market, handled the icy conditions.

But the day after I arrived, it bucketed down with snow for a whole day and night which is why I now found myself wondering if I would be able to recognise the Subaru’s new stylish shape under the snow which had completely buried the line of cars I had parked in.

Just to make it worse the snowploughs had already been out and had pushed piles of snow off the roads and up against the parked cars creating a wall of white stuff.

A couple of Frenchmen had already started digging their cars out and one had managed to get inside, but with wheels spinning like mad he was making no progress out of his parking space.

I got my bearings on where the Subaru was parked and after clearing off the windows I managed to climb in with the car still surrounded by snow. My plan was to get it started and let the 2 litre Boxer Diesel engine warm up while I cleared away more snow from around the outside.

But then I caught sight of one of the French men still struggling with his spade and working up a sweat despite the cold. All I had was a couple of bits of cardboard as tools.

Well, I thought, here’s a chance for the Subaru to show what it’s made off. I put the automatic transmission in low gear and depressed the accelerator slowly.

I would have liked to have painted you a picture in which the Subaru fought valiantly with wheels spinning

and engine screaming before bursting out through the wall of snow that was holding it prisoner.

But it was nothing like this at all. The Subaru simply moved out of the parking space with absolutely no fuss while the Frenchmen looked on enviously. Driving around the snow covered roads was equally uneventful as the Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system complements the symmetrical all-wheel drive, which is standard on all XV models. This makes it as sure-footed – or is that sure-tyred? – as a mountain goat.

However, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. The new Subaru XV is fun, spacious, great to drive, packed with gizmos including a flirty sat nav – and very safe to.

The XV was awarded a five-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating and scored 90% in the ‘child occupant’ category – the best of any car on sale in the UK. It also received maximum points for its protection of 18-month-old infants, and as this Subaru model is aimed in particular at young families, this shows it is as well suited to the school run as it is snow covered mountains.

I drive down to this part of the Alps at least once a year and usually in one hit – a 10-12 hour stint of about 700 miles with a few stops for coffee and petrol. I judge a car on how tired I feel at the end of the journey. With the Subaru I felt as fresh as a daisy.

www.subaru.co.uk