When my friendly local car dealer offered me the chance to take the new Hyundai Santa Fe for a spin, I don't think he appreciated just how far I wanted to spinning it.

A car magazine with a bottomless budget would, naturally, have taken it to Santa Fe, and perhaps asked the drivers of New Mexico's four-wheeled monsters what they thought of the Korean's latest SUV ("Small" is a word I'm guessing would have occurred regularly).

Well, in lieu of a return ticket to the Rocky Mountains, I took the car to Britain's equivalent - the Cullins. That's the Cullins in Scotland. The Isle of Skye, to be precise.

Until you've driven to the Isle of Skye you really don't appreciate how far away it is. Sticking within the speed limits, and allowing for sensible breaks, a jaunt to Glasgow from the Cotswolds will take you eight hours. The Isle of Skye will take you the same again.

It's a lovely drive, mind. The appropriately-named Road to the Isles takes you past beautiful lochs and through some of the most awe-inspiring countryside in Britain. So how did the Rockies-inspired Santa Fe fare?

Well, the obvious advantage of the Santa Fe is interior space. We were going camping, so we welcomed the roomy boot, which had more than enough space in which to throw the tent, camping equipment, a week's worth of outdoor wear for two, and provisions.

With just the two of us travelling, there were no back seat passengers to try out the reclining rear seats, although we considered them a useful back-up in case life under canvas became too much to bear.

Staying at the back of the car, the boot contained some nice surprises. The first was a rear lift-up window, which allowed access to stuff stored in the boot without hauling open the back door (especially useful in confined spaces).

The second was a cigarette lighter, perfect for powering a coolbox with suitable connection or, as I found, for inflating an airbed whilst keeping the drizzle off.

The drive from the Cotswolds to Glasgow was mainly by motorway, so good use was made of the cruise control and - as the May sun was shining - air conditioning or the electric sunroof.

Driving conditions were a little less laid-back than I would like (obviously the Koreans have less leg to fit between the seats and the pedals) but it was not too constricting and the cabin layout was attractive and intuitive.

Once past Glasgow two things changed. Firstly the motorways gave way to winding lake-side roads with potholes aplenty. Secondly, the weather got considerably worse.

The Santa Fe coped well with both. The joy of being behind the wheel in a 'soft-roader' like this one is that the pot holes simply don't matter too much.

Whilst the two-litre, 115bhp diesel did not offer enough grunt to comfortably overtake tractors and motorbikes on steep and twisting mountain roads (you really had to be sure there was nothing bearing down on you from around the next bend) I believe the 2.4 petrol or the 2.7 V6 would have both coped admirably.

The handling, however, was firm and power steering helped get us around the twists and turns of the Highland roads without too many problems. And on the odd-occasion when soft-roading became off-roading, the car handled the terrain admirably.

And when the rains came and the temperatures dropped (as they inevitable did - the literal translation of the Isle of Skye is 'the misty isle') those heated seats were a godsend!

At £15,995 on the road - and more than £1,000 under its rival, Toyota's Rav 4, the Santa Fe represents good value for money; better when you consider that it comes with a generous five year warranty and three years' RAC cover.

Add to this the fact that Hyundai has replaced the box-on-wheels look of earlier models with a sporty exterior (ours was silver, although I personally believe it looks best in black) and the Koreans have a winner on their hands.