Winter weather got you down? Then you might consider taking up a winter sport that'll leave you enjoying the snow instead of ruing it. Or you could stay inside, where it's warm, and watch someone else play around in the snow. Like Aston Martin, which has been braving the cold up near the Arctic Circle to test its new DBX prototype.

Like so many of its rivals have in recent years, Aston Martin has been gearing up to launch its first crossover since fist revealing its intentions with the initial DBX concept four years ago.

Though Aston assuredly tests all its vehicles in winter-weather conditions to make sure they'll stand up to whatever their owners might throw them into, it'll be particularly important for the company's first SUV to be able to stand up to varying environments and levels of traction.

To that end, the British automaker has been running the DBX – still wrapped in vivid camouflage – around Pirelli's Sottozero Centre at the Flurheden Proving Ground in northern Sweden. And it thankfully bought a camera crew along to show us how testing has been going.

"The Aston Martin DBX needs to be ready for a wide range of multi-terrain surfaces, so in addition to testing the car in normal day-to-day situations, we need to test it in extreme conditions such as these," said the automaker's chief engineer Matt Becker. Testing these prototypes in cold climate conditions helps us to assess the car's early dynamics and crucially ensure confidence inspiring sure-footedness on low grip surfaces."

Sounds good to us, and we're looking forward to seeing the finished product. Production is set to commence at the company's new facility in Wales next year.