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How many other car manufacturers can you think of that produce an entire range of cars, from their wheel nuts to their crank-shafts, under just one roof, at one factory? Not many.

Aston Martin sources engine, body and electrical parts from outside the main plant at Gaydon, as does Jaguar. Even Morgan, that most bespoke of car companies, sources one or two components externally, including quite a few trees.

Ferrari 599XX video, pictures and first drive review

At Ferrari, though, everything except the cows that provide the leather is now made at Maranello. Since November, in fact, they’ve even been generating their own electricity in order to power the Scuderia’s various tooling facilities – to the extent that in January Ferrari sold power back to Italy’s National Grid.

As a result, Ferrari now claims that its plant at Maranello produces between 25-30 per cent less CO2 than it did before its new “Trigeneration” system fired up in November – in which mechanical power, heat and cooling are produced by just one source. And that’s real world emissions, by the way, not ones that appear in EU approved documents, and which mean not a great deal in the overall scheme.

Imagine how much less angst would be displayed towards the car industry in general if all cars were created in the same way, with the same efficiency? The green meanies would hardly have a leg to stand on, and us car enthusiasts could carry on enjoying our cars (virtually) guilt free. Even ones like the utterly barking 599XX, on whose launch I discovered all of the above.

We’re yet to drive the new Cayenne S Hybrid but impressions from the passenger seat reveal Porsche’s first series production petrol-electric model will be a clear thorn in the side of rivals such as the BMW X6, Lexus RX400 H and Mercedes-Benz M400 Hybrid.

With performance – both off the line and through the gears – on par with the 400bhp naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8 Cayenne S, the new four wheel drive displays exceptional levels of mechanical refinement without any indication of the complex processes taken by its advanced driveline, which was developed in a joint venture between Porsche’s own Weissach based engineers and their counterparts at Volkswagen’s engineering centre in Braunschweig, Germany.

Porsche Cayenne Hybrid – full details

Step off is typical strong, with the electric motor and its 184lb ft of torque providing primary propulsion from standstill up to speeds of 50km/h or until the energy level of the battery runs low.

The only indication of the introduction of the petrol engine – the same unit used by Audi in the S4 – to the drive process from the passenger seat is when the needle on the rev counter – now placed in the centre of the instrument binnacle as with Porsche’s more sporting models – springs to life.

At loads under 2500rpm, the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 is so well isolated from the cabin its operation is barely audible. Under greater throttle load there is a low level growl as acceleration builds but it is never over bearing.

Out on the motorway the over riding impression is of wind noise around the large exterior mirrors. The decoupling of the clutch at speed occurs seamlessly when the driver backs off from the throttle, allowing the Cayenne S Hybrid to coast at zero revs in a state not dissimilar to a bicycle when it is freewheeling with the engine fully disengaged.

Further to the mechanical aspects of the new Porsche, there has been a wholesale improvement in interior ambiance. The new dashboard, similar in style to that gracing the Panamera, is of a much higher quality than that of the first generation Cayenne.

The question that now remains is: how much will Porsche charge for it?

Most of us probably won’t be too disposed to sympathising with Bugatti Veyron owners over the maintenance costs they’ll face when running one of these magnificent machines – you practically have to be a billionaire to afford one – but you can understand why anyone might wince at some of the bills that Volkswagen’s finest can run up.

A routine service, for instance, costs £12,866 or the price of a middling Polo, whereas an annual service for a Ferrari Enzo is £1680, which seems like a bargain by contrast.

Bugatti Veyron vs Bugatti EB110

Buying new rubber for the Veyron will produce similarly heart-freezing bills, a set of four tyres costing £23,500, in part because they have to be capable of 253mph, more than 100mph faster than Concorde’s landing speed.

Worse news still is that at every fourth tyre change the Veyron’s rims must be stress tested for cracks – a sensible precaution in a car this fast – and replaced if they are found wanting at a cost of £7050 per corner.

For all these reasons, it’s not surprising to learn that one owner has taken to having his Veyron trailered to his favourite roads and following it there by executive jet, an arrangement that works out cheaper than driving the Bugatti several hundred miles to reach the dream Tarmac.

All of which is guaranteed to keep the Veyron out of reach of 99.9 per cent-plus of all car buyers, even if it should depreciate colossally. And, despite these maintenance costs, even that looks unlikely.

Down here in the permafrost, ice and snow of the Wye Valley, I’ve been assessing the relative merits of front and four-wheel drive via the medium of a Peugeot 4007 (aka Mitsubishi Outlander) which lets you switch freely between the two. And I have reached the perhaps unlikely conclusion that in most adverse weather conditions, if your car has ESP, you’re better off with just front-wheel drive.

The problem with four-wheel drive is it lulls you into a false sense of security, as the mate of mine who’s just binned his Honda CR-V will attest. Modern four-wheel drive systems are so good at finding traction where there is none, you only realise just how lethal the conditions are when you have to make even a slight turn and continue straight on, or need to stop. By contrast, with front wheel drive you always know where you are grip-wise and will never miss that moment when your journey becomes a fool’s errand.

Watch our winter tyre test video

Of course four-wheel drive can be a life-saver as all those who have been rescued by off-roaders in the last few weeks know well. But these cars will tend to be Land Rovers and the like which have not only four driven wheels but, just as importantly, tyres designed to cope with these conditions. But modern soft-roaders come with road tyres whose treads clog at the first sign of snow, leaving you little better than four driven slicks.

The point is this: if conditions are too bad to provide safe passage for modern front drive cars with sophisticated electronics, perhaps they should be considered too bad to drive on at all, unless you have the right specialist equipment.

Going out in terrible weather because you have four-wheel drive is not safe: not going out in the first place because you haven’t got four-wheel drive is safe. This is why I like the choice provided by the Peugeot/Mitsubishi arrangement so much: I drive in front drive, relying on ESP and traction control to provide due warning of slippery conditions, leaving the selection of four-wheel drive as a last resort.

But if I had to choose between the two, I’d stick with front-wheel drive.

I’ve been reading some of the web threads and letters on Infiniti of late and think it might be time to put the record straight a bit on Nissan’s luxury brand.

Even though the cars are good, Infiniti already seems to have copped all manner of flak. Observations like, it’ll never take off; BMW won’t notice or care; they’re just Datsuns in disguise and it’s going to be like Lexus all over again.

Why all the hostility?

OK, let’s take the last one first. Lest we forget, Lexus was created originally for North America where over the years it’s been hugely successful and influential (yes, even Mercedes and BMW had to sit up and take notice). Europe has been a much harder slog and 20 years on, Lexus is still mostly about refinement, comfort, quality and luxury, and now eco-friendly hybrids, of course.

Driver appeal and sportiness have never been high on the agenda – until the IS-F came along, that is. And it’s here that the two Japanese brands part company.

Infiniti most definitely is about driver appeal and sportiness, just the kind of things readers of this site and mag are wired in to. Nissan has some demon engineers who turn out good stuff like the 370Z, Skyline and GT-R and when you drive the latest Infinitis, you can feel this DNA coming through.

Yes, I know, all that on its own is not enough. Until Infiniti comes up with some new clean diesels and gets C02 down to a certain level, it’ll be a blip on the radar screens. Guess what, Nissan knows that already which is why diesel power and a new rear-drive hybrid are working their way through the system as we speak. The party starts on that next year, but – yes – really should have been there from the start…

Nissan is also clued into the badge snobbery bit, which is why it’s not making any rash promises about world domination and blowing BMW away tomorrow. It look Audi, after all, the best part of 20 years to make it into the same premium car park as BMW and Mercedes.

Nissan is sensibly starting out slow and steady and, yes, much ultimately depends on how much Carlos Ghosn invests, when the diesels and hybrids come and what the dealer experience is like.

Anyway, Infiniti is not going to be like Lexus. The cars and culture are different, with Infiniti appealing far more to the (free-thinking) petrolheads among us. An attitude like that is eminently worthy of support, I’d say.