Vauxhall has unveiled the fresh Antara 4x4, right as the UK begins a record-breaking period of snow.

The company is trumpeting the lower entry price, which scrapes a fiver below £20,000, although that's for a front-wheel drive version. That one's not very conducive to snow conquering, but almost £3,000 cheaper than the previous base model.

The press release doesn't say how much the other versions are, but we'll find out soon enough because it goes on sale before the New Year.

We do know that it gets a new 2.2-litre CDTi diesel with either 161- or 181bhp. The former comes with front-wheel drive with a six-speed manual, or four-wheel drive with either the manual or a six-speed automatic. The higher power version is four-wheel drive only.

As well as the inevitable changes to the grille and light clusters, the Antara gets a re-worked chassis and suspension, which Vauxhall claims makes it better both on- and off-road.

The four-wheel drive version switches automatically between front- and four-wheel drive modes, reducing fuel consumption but providing extra traction as needed.

The revised cabin gets the Marmite electronic parking brake (some people hate 'em) and there's an optimum shift indicator for fuel economy's sake.

Mark Nichol - 29 Nov 2010