[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

He was using hill descent control which activates automatically. I usually use 1st gear with it, but I guess it works fine in neutral too.

As an experienced hill driver who has cut his eyeteeth driving old gen vehicles in the hills, I would ONLY go downhill in First Gear in such circumstances.

NEVER ever in Neutral. Despite ASR and Hill Descent Control and half the English alphabet being present in the Yeti, there is an old technique while driving in the hills, use the SAME gear while going downhill on an incline, that you would use while going uphill on the said incline.

I park daily in my office basement which has a sharply dipping 38 degree downward sloped ramp to access it. I always descend that slope in first gear with my foot off the accelerator and can feel the Hill Descent Control kicking in beautifully.

The same goes when I am driving down a steep ramp in any of the malls, notably Oasis Mall in Koramangala. The vehicle crawls down beautifully in first gear with zero accelerator input. Amazing!


Yes indeed, those who buy the Yeti 4x4 Elegance are truly fortunate. It is one heck of a vehicle for the price.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I park daily in my office basement which has a sharply dipping 38 degree downward sloped ramp to access it. I always descend that slope in first gear with my foot off the accelerator and can feel the Hill Descent Control kicking in beautifully.

Do you press the offroad button before? If not the hill descent control isn't actually coming on. When hill descent is on, there is a green flashing light on the dash, and you raise or lower the set speed by pressing the accelerator or brake.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Do you press the offroad button before? If not the hill descent control isn't actually coming on. When hill descent is on, there is a green flashing light on the dash, and you raise or lower the set speed by pressing the accelerator or brake.

On really bad roads and in the hills in wet conditions like in Coorg or Ooty, I have used the off road button and am able to understand and relate to what you are saying.

In the city there is absolutely no need to press the off road button, but the vehicle, while going down a slope, in first gear, actually behaves exactly in the manner that I earlier described.

This leads me to believe that Hill Descent is indeed kicking in. It is fantastic. Just like crawling along in low gear on say, slushy or rocky terrain. You feel such a huge sense of security when this happens, I cant even begin to describe it!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

This leads me to believe that Hill Descent is indeed kicking in. It is fantastic. Just like crawling along in low gear on say, slushy or rocky terrain. You feel such a huge sense of security when this happens, I cant even begin to describe it!

Nope its not the hill descent, just the natural engine braking. Do try the said ramps with the off road button tomorrow and let us know if any different.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Nope its not the hill descent, just the natural engine braking. Do try the said ramps with the off road button tomorrow and let us know if any different.

Good to learn this from you but I will do what you suggest tomorrow and note if there is any difference.

Perhaps because it is a full time AWD, this 'crawling' effect seems to be tangible.

I do know that this feeling did not exist in my earlier 2WD vehicles. It did, however, feel very much like this, when I had my Gypsy and engaged 4WD mode while going down a slope.

The interesting thing is that in wet conditions in the hills, while going down the slope with the Off Road button on, the feeling was very similar. I cannot remember about the dashboard light though because it must be almost a couple of years now, since I last tried this stunt.

[iTNerd]

Thank guys! akshay1234 is right, the hill descent/offroad button works on neutral too (as well as in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and reverse). It kicks in as long as there is atleast 10 degrees slope and speed below 30 kmph. When it kicks in, the green hill descent gauge flashes constantly. It works quite effectively. You can increase the speed manually or brake it for manual control. However, once the speed exceeds 30 kmph, offroad mode comes back to normal. Putting on neutral actually relieves me to not think of clutching because that's how one would do in normal gear.

My Yeti has Geolandar tyres and they are great all-rounder, even on snow. But I guess, shod the Yeti with some winter tyres and it would live to its actual reputation on the snowy mountains and icy roads. In fact, on my numerous visits, I have seen a few Yetis in Shimla.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

. Putting on neutral actually relieves me to not think of clutching because that's how one would do in normal gear..

Why would you press the clutch while going downhill in normal gear?
Unless of course you plan to come to a dead halt.

If you leave the vehicle in first and proceed slowly downhill with zero input from the accelerator, you will simply be leveraging your natural engine braking along with the additional leverage provided by the Off road button and hill descent control.

Being a traditionalist it simply does not make any sense to me to go downhill in neutral.

It flies in the face of everything I have ever been taught as regards driving techniques.

I am absolutely unable to accept this as 'correct practice'.

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Why would you press the clutch while going downhill in normal gear?
Unless of course you plan to come to a dead halt.

If you leave the vehicle in first and proceed slowly downhill with zero input from the accelerator, you will simply be leveraging your natural engine braking along with the additional leverage provided by the Off road button and hill descent control.

Being a traditionalist it simply does not make any sense to me to go downhill in neutral.

It flies in the face of everything I have ever been taught as regards driving techniques.

I am absolutely unable to accept this as 'correct practice'.

You understood me wrong, I think. I meant to say putting nuetral on hill descent/offroad mode just work fine (as I assume, it automatically engages 1st gear seamlessly). And I am not saying, it is the correct way or the wrong way. Its just is that, I find it more convenient, and as coming from petrol cars, I always find myself using the clutch when in 1st gear when driving dead slow. Its a habit that I am meaning to change, but it is hard when you drive petrol and diesel cars interchangeably. I hope you got the point!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

You understood me wrong, I think. I meant to say putting nuetral on hill descent/offroad mode just work fine (as I assume, it automatically engages 1st gear seamlessly). And I am not saying, it is the correct way or the wrong way. Its just is that, I find it more convenient, and as coming from petrol cars, I always find myself using the clutch when in 1st gear when driving dead slow. Its a habit that I am meaning to change, but it is hard when you drive petrol and diesel cars interchangeably. I hope you got the point!

Try this with your Yeti. Put it into first gear and move off from standstill.

Maintain the engine revs at around 1000 rpm and do NOT push down the accelerator. Just feather it as necessary while moving constantly under your own torque and keep the revs at a constant 1000 rpm.

Believe me, you will NEVER need to use the clutch at all, as long as the road ahead of you is clear and not badly obstructed by other traffic which is too close to you. With a little practice, you will get the hang of using the engine's own torque in first or even second gear, without riding the clutch, even in heavy traffic!

Try it! It is a very liberating feeling I can guarantee, especially when you are moving away from a petrol to a diesel and importantly, even when you are driving in high traffic conditions.

I have been doing this for ages and it is blissful, I reiterate, even in heavy traffic.

Therefore, I am never in a scenario where I am riding the clutch and in consequence the clutch and all the other components take lots less stress over the long term.

Enjoy!

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Try this with your Yeti. Put it into first gear and move off from standstill.

Maintain the engine revs at around 1000 rpm and do NOT push down the accelerator. Just feather it as necessary while moving constantly under your own torque and keep the revs at a constant 1000 rpm.

Believe me, you will NEVER need to use the clutch at all, as long as the road ahead of you is clear and not badly obstructed by other traffic which is too close to you. With a little practice, you will get the hang of using the engine's own torque in first or even second gear, without riding the clutch, even in heavy traffic!

Try it! It is a very liberating feeling I can guarantee, especially when you are moving away from a petrol to a diesel and importantly, even when you are driving in high traffic conditions.

I have been doing this for ages and it is blissful, I reiterate, even in heavy traffic.

Therefore, I am never in a scenario where I am riding the clutch and in consequence the clutch and all the other components take lots less stress over the long term.

Enjoy!

Of course, what you mentioned here is true when you drive down hill (I usually put the gear to 3 and rest away my foot from the accelerator and just steer the car). The torque is enough to pull happily without requiring any changes in gears (assuming there are no traffic ahead). However, in city traffic bumper to bumper condition, I am not at all comfortable with such technique. At times, I find myself stalling or sudden braking. so, I do use clutch riding in such situation. Anyway, the point I wanted to make was about Offroad button working in neutral as well as in 1, 2, 3 and reverse gears. If it worked, why not use it?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Of course, what you mentioned here is true when you drive down hill (I usually put the gear to 3 and rest away my foot from the accelerator and just steer the car). The torque is enough to pull happily without requiring any changes in gears (assuming there are no traffic ahead). However, in city traffic bumper to bumper condition, I am not at all comfortable with such technique. At times, I find myself stalling or sudden braking. so, I do use clutch riding in such situation. Anyway, the point I wanted to make was about Offroad button working in neutral as well as in 1, 2, 3 and reverse gears. If it worked, why not use it?

The technique I mentioned here was for mormal daily use on flat land in traffic and in the city. Try it. You just might get comfortable with it.

As for me, I will never use neutral while going downhill. It is not acceptable practice in my book.

I would always prefer to have engine braking on my side rather than just rely on the power of half the alphabet soup that these new vehicles have in them.

[anandpadhye]

May be my question was lost in the discussion or plain ignored, I will try and ask again:
What does Skoda recommend in the Yeti owner manual? Go downhill in neutral?

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

May be my question was lost in the discussion or plain ignored, I will try and ask again:
What does Skoda recommend in the Yeti owner manual? Go downhill in neutral?

A page from the Yeti's manual

[anandpadhye]

Wow, so they don't recommend driving down hill "in gear"? They think neutral is OK?
Interesting. But won't it heat/wear the brake pads more than necessary? What's the point?

[shankar.balan]

Yes indeed. The pages from the manual are very interesting. Sorry but mine is in the car and I did not feel like getting it out last night.
Will try this technique today on the office ramp and see how it works.
However, I cannot come away from the opinion that one simply ought to be in gear, when one is proceeding down a gradient...