How To Use Chevy Hill Descent Control

| Opinion

What Is Hill Descent Command? How This "Downhill Cruise Control" Works

How the safety tech slows things down.

Imagine yourself perched atop a steep, snowy hill. If you're rocking snow pants and a parka, and in that location's a sled beneath your snow-insulated cheeks, you want to slide downward that slope with every bit much speed and every bit little friction every bit possible. Information technology'll be fun!

As fun equally that might be, if you notice yourself atop a hill in an SUV packed with 3 rows of beloved family members, y'all'll likely have a different goal in mind. A slow, rubber, controlled descent is what we're after, which can exist rather tricky and unnerving to accomplish with brake-pedal modulation alone. Hence, hill descent control.

How Does Colina Descent Control Piece of work?

Land Rover introduced hill descent control on the compact first-gen Freelander, which reached American dealers in late 2002. The Freelander didn't have the low-range gears that aided low-speed descent in more conventional Land Rovers (and Jeeps, Land Cruisers, etc. ).

That system and all those that have followed operate in the same basic fashion. One time the driver has activated hill descent command and chosen a maximum speed, the vehicle draws on its traction-control and anti-lock braking systems to minimize tire sideslip and ease you lot down the slope. The driver need not touch the gas or brake pedals, and can therefore concentrate on steering effectually potential hazards that lay ahead. The ABS pulses cause the tires to skid slightly over a given terrain, often building up trivial piles of dirt, scree, or similar materials in front of the wheels; these small "obstacles" can provide further assistance in, uh, controlling a hill descent.

Different cruise control, hill descent control merely operates at a low range of speeds and offers finer adjustments. Some systems limit usage to under 5 mph and offer minute speed adjustments to the 10th. Hill descent command is marketed using that exact phrase across most automakers, though there are some exceptions. More than 20 years after its development, information technology has become a staple of the modern SUV.

SUVs With Loma Descent Control

These vehicles offer hill descent control every bit standard or optional equipment.

Alfa Romeo (Stelvio)
Aston Martin (DBX)
Audi (A4 Allroad, A6 Allroad, E-Tron, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q8)
Bentley (Bentayga)
BMW (X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7)
Chevrolet (Colorado, Tahoe, Silverado, Suburban)
Ford (Explorer, Trek, F-150, Super Duty)
Genesis (GV80)
GMC (Sierra, Yukon/XL)
Hyundai (Kona, Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade; labeled as Downhill Brake Control)
Jaguar (E-Pace, F-Stride, I-Step; labeled equally All-Surface Progress Control*)
Jeep (Renegade, Compass, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Gladiator)
Kia (Seltos, Sportage, Telluride; labeled as Downhill Brake Control)
Lamborghini (Urus)
Land Rover (Defender, Discover, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover; labeled as All-Terrain Progress Control*)
Lexus (GX, LX; equally office of Crawl Control*)
Lincoln (Aviator, Navigator)
Maserati (Levante)
Mercedes-Benz (GLS-Class, GLE-Form, GLC-Course, GLB-Form; labeled Downhill Speed Regulation)
Nissan (Frontier, Pathfinder, Titan)
Porsche (Cayenne; labeled Porsche Hill Control)
RAM (1500, 2500, 3500)
Rolls-Royce (Cullinan)
Subaru (Ascent, Crosstrek, Forester, Outback)
Toyota (4Runner, Highlander, RAV4)
Volkswagen (Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan; labeled as Colina Descent Assistance)
Volvo (XC40, XC60, XC90, V60 Cross Country, V90 Cantankerous Country)
*These systems besides manage speed on level and uphill grades.