How useful are the Terrain Modes of 2WD cars?

shankar.balan · 17th December 2019, 18:27

A couple of experiences a while ago in my Yeti.

1: Wet surface. 45 degree concrete surface extending about 15 -20 feet, to ascend, and reach a parking spot in a friend’s house.
Reached the bottom of the slope and stepped on the accelerator pedal in first gear.
I could “feel” the Haldex 4WD kick in and propel the Yeti up that slope with no problem at all.

2: Wet country track extending for more than 5-6 kms, somewhere deep in the Nilgiri Hills. Rainy weather. “Kutcha” road. Lots of loose leaves, soft mud, wet grass etc as well as general slush, stones hidden beneath the mud surface and all sorts of muck to worry about. No problem at all for the Yeti because the Haldex 4WD system plus Electronic Differential Lock, Traction Control and Anti Slip Regulation and all the other Acronyms, kicked in perfectly, delivering power and torque to exactly whichever wheel needed it most.

So the long and short of it, is that these electronic systems do actually work.
And given AirbusCapt’s input just now, there is no reason to doubt that these work even on the 2WD vehicles. Especially in conditions of Snow, Slush, Sand and similar.

But certainly NOT for hard core off road work.

17th December 2019, 18:27	#16
shankar.balan BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,797 Thanked: 27,235 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/3 (13)	Re: How useful are the Terrain Modes of 2WD cars? A couple of experiences a while ago in my Yeti. 1: Wet surface. 45 degree concrete surface extending about 15 -20 feet, to ascend, and reach a parking spot in a friend’s house. Reached the bottom of the slope and stepped on the accelerator pedal in first gear. I could “feel” the Haldex 4WD kick in and propel the Yeti up that slope with no problem at all. 2: Wet country track extending for more than 5-6 kms, somewhere deep in the Nilgiri Hills. Rainy weather. “Kutcha” road. Lots of loose leaves, soft mud, wet grass etc as well as general slush, stones hidden beneath the mud surface and all sorts of muck to worry about. No problem at all for the Yeti because the Haldex 4WD system plus Electronic Differential Lock, Traction Control and Anti Slip Regulation and all the other Acronyms, kicked in perfectly, delivering power and torque to exactly whichever wheel needed it most. So the long and short of it, is that these electronic systems do actually work. And given AirbusCapt’s input just now, there is no reason to doubt that these work even on the 2WD vehicles. Especially in conditions of Snow, Slush, Sand and similar. But certainly NOT for hard core off road work.
	(2) Thanks