Driving in the river

Today I have been driving in a river. The occasion was the press launch of Toyota's new Land Cruiser, held at EJ Churchill Shooting Ground at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It's a remarkable vehicle - taking quite terrifying muddy slopes in its stride.

Like a lot of modern 4x4s it's all a bit fly-by-wire, giving the impression of floating through the countryside on a magic sofa. And like all modern cars, it comes with more letters than a can of alphabet spaghetti: KDSS, AWD, MTS, MTM, HAC, DAC, A-TRC, ABS, VSC, AVS, ABD. This one is a 3-litre 4-cylinder diesel with 5-speed automatic transmission, top speed of 109mph and 0-62 in 11.7 seconds (but not in a river).

All in all, a remarkably competent and comfortable vehicle with heaps of room for guns, dogs and what-have-you - and it cruises comfortably, if a bit noisily, on the motorway too. Sadly, at £44,795 on the road, I can't see the boss replacing my current antiquated BMW with one of these!