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Originally Posted by Martyvan75
Is it a worthy addition, has it been useful to the guys that have taken it 'off road'?
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It is an $865 option on all the AWD models so I guess the price is the first consideration.
You can use it going forward down a slope and you can use it going backwards, back down a hill, if you need to retrace your steps because you didn't make it up the hill in the first place.
Obviously, the most common use will be to clamber down a steep hill especially a rocky or slippery slope. Functionally, it couldn't be easier to use. Click the button on the LHS of the steering wheel for a second or two and the HDC light illuminates on the dash. The car is automatically set at 4km/h and you can release the brakes and accelerator (assuming you are already pointed down the hill).
The car moves to the 4km/h speed and suddenly you start feeling individual wheels braking as you clamber down the hill. At first it seems a bit harsh and noisy, but you soon get used to it .... you realise the HDC is utilising the other systems involved (traction control and the ABS) to detect wheel slip and speed to brake the wheels and maintain the desired speed down the hill.
As a driver, at this point, you have no feet on either brake or accelerator, merely concentrating on steering the car down the slope through rocks, dips or mud as appropriate.
4km/h doesn't sound like much, and I guess it isn't, but down a rocky slope like the jump-up I mentioned when getting to Chambers Pillar .... you realise it's plenty of speed to maintain control and steering. On a less rocky slope you can speed up the car, as johny and Territory have mentioned, by using the steering wheel cruise buttons to increase speed to a comfortable level.
The thing that I reckon is quite innovative, I found out by accident. At the bottom of the hill you can use the accelerator and the system temporarily switches off until you let go of the accelerator again and the system reengages at the previously set speed (say 4km/h).
This is great when you come down one hill then reach a plateau, for instance, before reaching another down hill section and progressing down that.
The system also stays in the standby mode when you accelerate above 35km/h and switches off when you exceed 90km/h. Of course, you can turn it off via the dash switch as well at any time.
Given the car does not have a low range transfer case, the addition of HDC along with the standard traction control, ABS and Dynamic Stability Control give you four "developed for Australia"
electronic systems that do a great job which in the past were handled by mechanical systems (low range, diff locks etc). If you have a copy of the special edition Wheels magazine did on the development of the Territory --- you will know all about this and how it was developed in the Flinders Ranges and places like Sweden.
If you haven't got a copy of that magazine -- go see your Dealer for a copy. It's fascinating stuff.
You are not going to use the HDC a lot, but when you do, you will find it an extremely effective system that gives you a hefty extra margin of safety and control.
I'd certainly recommend it to prospective owners.
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