Land Rover is offering a Nordic adventure which will test your driving skills to the full. Chris Russon takes up the chilly challenge.

Land Rover’s take on the frozen planet is a Nordic adventure which reveals all about winter driving.

Out on an ice field 50 miles north of Helsinki in Finland, a fleet of Range Rovers was taken to the limit in treacherous conditions.

On surfaces so slippery even a pedestrian would struggle to stand, the British-built 4x4s tackled purpose-built handling courses driving through drifts several feet deep. Helped by studded snow tyres and Land Rover’s sophisticated traction systems, the cars can negotiate a slalom on ice at speeds of up to 30mph with the driver in absolute command.

Switch off the electronic aids and it’s a different story with the vehicles pirouetting out of control as soon as speed becomes excessive.

But that is one of the key aspects of the sessions at the Hameenlinna off-road centre where the Land Rover Experience team has its Finnish base.

Not only do drivers get to feel just what a Land Rover can do, they also get to grips with driving techniques which can help them cope in wintry conditions.

The drive, only a few hundred miles from the Arctic Circle, has just become the latest Land Rover Adventure holiday – a four day luxury Scandinavian excursion. With the chance to sample the latest Range Rover Evoque as well as the more established Range Rover Sport and the classic Range Rover, it was an opportunity to discover what has made Land Rover 4x4s legendary across the world. All the vehicles are fitted with Terrain Response – an advanced traction system invented by Land Rover which uses sophisticated electronics to deliver optimum traction in a variety of conditions. It comes into its own on the ice tracks which have been specifically created to demonstrate how a Range Rover can handle low grip surfaces.