LET me admit at the very start that I used to think that Porsche's Cayenne was for posers with more money than sense.
I firmly believed that the only time you should go off road in a Porsche was when you had lost control of a high-speed sportscar and stuffed it through a fence.
I thought the Cayenne was just a way for Porsche to cash in on the people who wanted to show that they had more cash than taste.
And while I am still of the view that this is one pretty ugly motor for the type of dosh involved in buying it, I have to say that I have at least changed my mind over its capabilities.
For after testing the Cayenne at Scotland's toughest and most challenging off-road venue in Fife I have to say that it as tough and competent as any 4x4 on the market.
And that is no mean achievement when you consider that Porsche claims it is as quick as their sportscars on tarmac.
A very brief blast on the way to the off-road centre certainly proved that the Cayenne is fast and an excellent on-road performer but would this status symbol do the business in the mud, snow and ice?
The simple answer is yes!
And it was all the more impressive becuse the £45,300 Cayenne S I tested was the standard model fitted with just £1,500 of extra off-road kit which included side protectors and skid plates.
It came with a tiptronic automatic gearbox and the only other addition was a set of off-road tyres.
The Cayenne, which is the result of a joint development with Volkswagen, enjoys plenty of ground clearance and bristles with technology.
To be honest, I don't understand most of it, so I won't even begin to try to explain it. Suffice to say it does the business and makes this one of the easiest off-roaders to drive since the technology makes all the hard decisions for the driver.
To change the Cayenne from a street cruiser into a serious mud plugger all you have to do is press a switch which selects a secondary gearbox and gives you six low-range forward gears instead of the high-ratios needed for normal roads.
Touch more buttons and a host of electronics come into play to maximise all the various braking and traction systems.
And the electrics are so clever that you can tackle even the steepest downhill slopes simply by taking your feet off all the pedals and allowing the systems do the work.
To go back up the same slope all you need to do is to flatten the accelerator pedal and the electrics will do the rest, putting the power to where it is needed most to get the machine to climb.
Even with just one wheel in contact with the ground (and that's worrying) this car is still capable of moving forward.
During the rest of my time with the Cayenne, I ploughed through mud up to the top of the wheels, crossed a pond of over a metre in depth, took muddy banks at 45 degree angles and generally had great fun. I crossed rocks that you would expect to find on Ben Nevis and only got stuck once during a full day of off-road driving.
And that was not down to the machine, it was down to me not being brave enough to give it enough power at the right moment. I reversed back, tried again with the right foot flat on the floor and away she went.
As far as creature comforts go, the interior is spacious and comfortable without being flash and the controls and switches are perfectly placed.
The Cayenne S will do the 0-62mph sprint in just 7.2 seconds and has a top speed of 150mph. Expect up to 20mpg on longer runs but much, much less around town from the 4.5-litre V8.
Cayenne prices start at £35,390 for the manual V6 model and go all the way up to £70,700 for the Turbo model. Extras can add thousands to the price tag so its no wonder that most owners will never tackle anything higher than a kerb.
The bottom line is that the Cayenne will tackle almost anything but will never be asked to do it. So although this is a magnificent vehicle I still have to ask ... what's the point?
FAST FACTS
Porsche Cayenne S auto
Price: £45,300
Mechanical: 340bhp, 4,511cc, 8cyl petrol engine driving all four wheels via 6spd automatic gearbox
Max speed: 150
0-62mph: 7.2
Combined mpg: 19
Insurance group: 20
CO2 emissions: 361g/km
BiK rating: 35%
Warranty: 2yrs/ unlimited mileage, 3yrs paint, 10yrs anti-rust