Yesterday I had a couple of test drives in a Scout diesel. I was very interested in the ride and handling having seen Autoexpress No 966 and having had a decent length test drive of a Subaru Forester a few months ago. The Scout drove like it was "on rails" but I was concerned that the 17" alloys and 50 section Dunlop tyres might ruin the ride. I found that it was a bit jiggly at 70 mph on a particular bit of dual-carriageway but generally it was very smooth. On broken surfaces at low speeds you could hear the bumps rather than feel them. The engine and transmission were really good - the engine has loads of torque but is also easy to drive slowly if you are light on the throttle. Nice gearbox too. I was pretty impressed but convinced myself I didn't need a 4X4.

So I went back to the dealers this morning intending to buy an Ambiente estate instead. I insisted on being taken out in one to check the ride quality and just as well I did! OK it was a 1.9 Tdi DSG but despite 60 section Michelin Primacy tyres the ride was poor. At slow speeds (30 mph) you could feel every bump and at higher speeds it was basically "nervous" all the time. I know there was just me and the salesman and very little fuel on board but in comparison the Scout felt so safe, solid and refined. The net result is that I am expecting a Scout in a couple of weeks time.

Can you engineers out there explain why the ride characteristics of the two vehicles are the opposite of what you would expect?

did the ambient have the 17" pegasus wheels fitted as if it did then it may be running on sports suspension. that would explain the bumps but not the nervousness.

No - I checked the wheel and tyre size after the run out and the salesman assured me it wasn't fitted with sports suspension.

Incidentally I have had a ride in the back of a VRS 170 with sports suspension and I could feel every imperfection in what I thought was a smooth asphalt road. As a comparison, a ride in a Mk 1 Civic Type R was similar.