Notice the drop in anti-4x4 sentiment as winter threatened to bring the country to a snow-covered standstill?

Around Oxfordshire, owners of off-road vehicles quietly did what they could, helpfully ferrying around people and provisions and generally keeping everyone on the move.

Needless to say, Murphy’s Law dictated that I did not have access to a 4x4 during the worst of the conditions and, unwilling to risk two-wheel-drive test vehicles on the pitifully ill-prepared roads, more than once I ended up travelling by bus.

Had I had the fourth generation of the Land Rover Discovery on the drive, there is little doubt that I could have kept going, even when Oxford’s Woodstock Road resembled an urban version of the Cresta Run.

Keeping going is what the Discovery has always been about. And the seven-seater Discovery 4 goes about its business in supremely capable and hugely sophisticated style.

At the heart of this big beast is a new V6, 3.0-litre, twin-turbo diesel engine, a version of which already sits under the bonnet of Jaguar’s silky smooth and sumptuously appointed XF saloon.

Land Rover’s version, mated to a super-smooth, six-speed automatic gearbox, has been tweaked for low-end pulling power, as well as economy.

Externally, it is the Discovery 4’s smoother front end and revised lights, including LEDs, which catch the eye, but the really eye-catching goodies are to be found in the leather-trimmed, carefully-stitched palatial interior, with its transformed dashboard and centre console.

New features include keyless entry, a push-button starter and a new five-camera ‘surround’ system, for easier parking and towing. The system is linked to a 5in touchscreen that also acts as a display for the satellite navigation system, the digital radio and even, when parked, digital television. An array of personal audio storage devices can be hooked up and one of the ports is a dedicated Apple iPod point.

But at the heart of the Discovery 4 is its awesome off-road ability, aided by an electronic system that gives five different settings that prepare the car for everything from general driving and grass, gravel and snow, to mud and ruts, sand, and even crawling across rocks. New larger brakes, derived from the Range Rover Sport’s system, improve braking feel.

A ‘tow assist’ function gives a wide field of views of the reversing trailer, with guide lines overlaid on the rear camera image to illustrate both the vehicle and trailer’s route. Another towing aid detects vehicle swing in response to trailer behaviour and can automatically adjust both the engine and brakes to bring the towing back under control.

For those really freezing days, the engine can also be pre-heated by setting a timer so that when you get in on a chilly morning, the cabin is already warm.

So did all that snow and ice have any effect on Land Rover sales? You bet it did. Land Rover tell me that sales in January were up 58 per cent on January 2009, with sales of the Discovery up 92 per cent.

Seems there is still a demand for a vehicle that can carry huge loads, climb mountains, cruise across continents, haul trailers of up to 3.5 tonnes, and transport seven people in comfort. Funny that.

Auto facts Land Rover Discovery TDV6 3.0 HSE

  • Price: £48,795
  • Insurance group: 13
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 30.4mpg
  • Top speed: 112mph
  • Length: 483.8cm/190.5in
  • Width: 202.2cm/79.6in
  • Luggage capacity: 9.9 cu ft (seven seats in place)
  • Fuel tank capacity: 18.1 gallons/82.3 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 244g/km
  • Warranty: Three years/unlimited mileage