Went out first thing this morning in the fresh snow for a drive around. There is a really steep hill locally which is always a bit of a challenge to get up, but coming back down is often harder work.

Took a couple of vids of the HDC in action, it was struggling a bit to limit the speed in places but generally kept the car in a controlled straight line (unless I messed around with the steering & brakes)



 

Did much the same today except I also had it in Terrain Response Snow & Gravel and manual Gears.

Gazellio wrote:

Did much the same today except I also had it in Terrain Response Snow & Gravel and manual Gears.

Need video's next time Gaz. 

so how many times did you change your pants
nice vids though Dan  ONE LIFE LIVE IT

igore wrote:

so how many times did you change your pants
nice vids though Dan

I had every confidence in the car's abilities from previous experience. Playing with the car in safe environments lets you experience its limits and how it behaves whilst at the edge of those limits! - and it does have them! 

I also had a play on Saturday and am now really amazed at what it can do. Had it in Grass, Gravel, Snow terrain response mode and then down a steep hill turned on HDC. It really works! Not that I doubted it but when I turned it off could certainly tell that I'd have to spend some time working out best settings on gears, maybe low range and keeping foot on brake.

Was also intrigued when using HDC that could feel the brakes being activated at times and the brake pedal falling away from foot (in very rapid fethering type movements).

BTW had the HDC set to 5mph for this exercise. Only heart stopping moment was when I was showing off to the other half and showed how good the HDC was, turned it off then tried to stop as car ran away almost into the back of the car in front, oops!

(As an aside we saw a fire engine stuck getting up a hill wheel spinning/sliding all over the place. I did say to missus that I should go and offer help which she thought was a ridiculous suggestion, just as another 4x4 helped. Goes to show I wasn't so foolish)

scene247 wrote:

I also had a play on Saturday and am now really amazed at what it can do. Had it in Grass, Gravel, Snow terrain response mode and then down a steep hill turned on HDC. It really works! Not that I doubted it but when I turned it off could certainly tell that I'd have to spend some time working out best settings on gears, maybe low range and keeping foot on brake.

Was also intrigued when using HDC that could feel the brakes being activated at times and the brake pedal falling away from foot (in very rapid fethering type movements).

BTW had the HDC set to 5mph for this exercise. Only heart stopping moment was when I was showing off to the other half and showed how good the HDC was, turned it off then tried to stop as car ran away almost into the back of the car in front, oops!

(As an aside we saw a fire engine stuck getting up a hill wheel spinning/sliding all over the place. I did say to missus that I should go and offer help which she thoug
ht was a ridiculous suggestion, just as another 4x4 helped. Goes to show I wasn't so foolish)

Gazellio, agree on the brake front and didn't use mine either. Still have my foot covering it though as need to stop at the bottom

Don't think that LR have built a system where the car knows when you want to stop. Hehe.

I agree with the good advice on using manual gears or slowing down. This is something that I do constantly and I think many with auto cars forget to do as get lazy and just use brake. Which in poor conditions could lead to skidding, any poor conditions not just the snow/ice now but wet and mud etc. Good reminder to all - thanks.

my hdc makes a noise, is this nornal ?

David - YES that is normal, it's the sensors triggering the ABS to make the brakes work.

Did you know?...................................... you can vary the speed that the HDC allows you to travel at by adjusting the Cruise Control + and - buttons, so if you feel it safer to travel faster then you can set the speed you would like. Also if you are in deep snow, even in GGS mode you should disable the DSC if you think you might get stuck, if not then if you turn the steering wheel rapidly left/right/left right to use the tyre treads on the sidewll of the tyres to get grip in the ruts then the DSC computer thinks that you may be trying to steer out of a crash and is programmed to cut the engine power - it doesn't realise that you may also require the power on to keep you moving. Same thing as in deep mud or sand.

AND

Disable HDC as soon as you can after you think you don't need it - if it triggers a lot it will make very short life of a set of brake pads otherwise - even offroad if you don't need it switch it off - if you find you need it then the latest version reacts much more quickly than the old Mk1 version that required 5 wheel rotations before it would start working. IIRC the latest version requires only a single complete wheel rotation to start working properly.


AND

Party trick - on a very quiet and ice/snow free road drive along at 5mph and operate the electronic parking brake if your car has one............................. this is the EPB's emergency stop mode and is quite amazing to experience. Only do it once or twice to experience it as it doesn't do the EPB brake pads a lot of good, it is the EMERGENCY stopping mode after all! 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Tim in Scotland wrote:

The old Mk1 version required 5 wheel rotations before it would start working.

Tim, where is this info from? I've found no reference to it...

My understanding is that the HDC maintains the speed at which the vehicle is currently travelling (upto 22 mph) unless the vehicle is stationery in which case the speed is limited to 2-4mph depending on which gear you are in.

5 wheel rotations would be about 5M ish? I'm sure HDC kicks in before then if the car is already moving. 

i forgot it was on once having pressed the button accidentally but was able to pull out and accelerate onto a main road albeit with a first gear feel. I switched it off quite quickly but it did not stop me accelerating.

Gazellio wrote:

i forgot it was on once having pressed the button accidentally but was able to pull out and accelerate onto a main road albeit with a first gear feel. I switched it off quite quickly but it did not stop me accelerating.

It doesnt disable the throttle... you can still drive normally its just as you take your foot off the throttle it will then try and slow you down - upto 22mph.