Bob Cooke – contributor

I can state with absolute veracity that putting on a show for the photographer is the only reason I got the Cherokee planted up to its floorpan in soft sand at the Hogmoor Enclosure off-road site on an All Wheel Drive Club Driveround day recently. Hogmoor has a fair variety of conditions, but its main feature is lots of soft sandy soil that can be fairly treacherous – it doesn’t take more than a few spins of a wheel that’s lost traction to grind itself inextricably axle-deep into the ground, and that’s particularly likely to happen if you’re attempting a steep climb. I had to be particularly careful, since the Cherokee’s tyres are relatively narrow 225-section Mud Terrains, and although they’re the newer type with the less-course tread pattern they’re still aggressive enough to turn the wheels into grinding discs on soft going. So, most of the time, I’d kept to the rather more stable areas under the trees, which was actually quite interesting in its own way because of the way the softer soil had been eroded away where there weren’t any trees, leaving the forested areas standing high above the surrounding terrain. That made for steep climbs up in among the trees, and it takes care to enter those areas without scraping the bodywork. Or, to be more politically correct, without barking the trees, particularly in the case of the Cherokee which has had so much bodily contact that an additional dent or scratch would simply blend in with their surroundings.

Hils Everitt – editor

At last, Happy New Year it is indeed for my Grand that has really suffered in 2010. Am I glad to see the back of that year. Readers with good, long memories will recall that I was without my silver machine for several months while Mercedes Benz refused to release any parts to Jeep dealers during the financial trouble for the US company. I finally got delivery of the reconditioned auto gearbox which worked beautifully, but I’d almost forgotten what the Grand Cherokee looked like it as it been gone so long.

Nigel Fryatt – contributor

Thank goodness we were ready! As regular readers will know, our December issue had a detailed feature on winter driving, with specific advice on winter tyres. Little did we know that the snow was on its way to us so early this year, arriving by the freezer-full at the end of November. It was to provide a stern test for both our Toyota and its new winter tyres.

Louise Limb – contributor

What is it with these Jimnys? After the ignominy of having motorway spray kicked in my face by last month’s diminutive, aquaplaning Suzuki, the bobtailed Jimny I was overtaken by this month could easily have been driven by the Jack Russell on the passenger’s knee for all the respect it was showing the steep, snow-slithery Pennine lane my Grand Vitara was lumbering up in four high. A wee bit too much on the gas and the little Suzuki went into a bit of a shimmy on the salty slush. I thanked the God of tarmac and dirt that there was nothing coming the other way. The Jack Russell’s guardians were having snow fun in the arctic sun and, with similar disregard for the edge of the snow-hidden tarmac, they took off up the embankment, rounded an innocent Rowan tree a few times and stopped for a quick photo call before heading off back down toward Silsden, the Jimny wagging its tail like an eager pup.

Garry Stuart – freelance photographer

With the onset of freezing snowy weather in December forecast I knew I had to address the problem with the Terrano’s broken heater matrix. I put in an order for the part early December and now in early January I am still waiting for the garage to receive the part and repair it. Consequently, I have been driving the Terrano through some of the worst winter weather for years without a heater. Apart from the discomfort of freezing extremities, the worst part was that after de-icing the outside of the windscreen and windows I also had to do the same inside. Because the temperature never rose above freezing over 10 days it meant that, throughout all my journeys, my breath froze on the inside, and every 30 seconds or so a scraper had to be applied to the inside of the windscreen. Apart from being extremely tedious, it seriously affected visibility, especially at night.

Phil Weeden – editorial director

Yes, it’s another winter rescue story! Over Christmas we were staying at my mother-in-law’s place. Perched in a valley, just off the A427, it’s pretty isolated at the best of times, down a long unmade track. With all the snow immediately prior to Christmas, the track was seriously covered; this snow, in turn, was flattened and then refroze, leaving a marble-smooth surface so slippery it could become a politician.

Hils Everitt – editor

As you can see from the picture right, our diminutive little Suzuki almost completely disappeared in the heaviest snowfall I have ever seen in my corner of West Kent.

Unlike my own Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Jimny didn’t have the benefit of a roof over its head during the severe winter weather and so had to put up with a very deep layer of snow sitting on it. As it was such an effort to clear off all that snow the Jeep got more use. I also preferred the Grand as its engine breaking is far superior from the 2.7-litre diesel than the Jimny’s 1.3-litre petrol engine. There area lot of steep, slippery hills to negotiate around here and I didn’t want to put anything at all to chance as I weaved and crept around all the abandoned saloon cars which really shouldn’t have been on the roads.