DAC (DownHill downhill assist control) or 4x4 low gear?

[Lennyal]

Hi!  I have an extremely long and steep hill from my house.  The ground is scary when it's slippery.  I will therefore buy a safer car.  What do you think is the best of:
 

1) A car with DAC (for example Rav4)

2) A car with 4x4 with low range, for example Suzuki Jimmy?

I live in cold Norway with a lot of snow. Thanks for the constructive answers!

[ernieb]

I think a car with good studded winter tyres is the answer coupled with some steady driving.  I think many of the driving aids are recommended to be turned off in very icy conditions.

[philip42h]

In order you want:

1. The right tyres, appropriate for the conditions
2. All wheel drive - to give you the best chance of getting up the hill
3. Hill descent control - to give you the best chance of getting down safely

Hill descent control was a feature of the traditional automatic gearbox on the previous generation of RAV4. I had one; hill descent control was brilliant but I hardly ever needed to use it ... AFAIK hill descent control isn't yet available on on the hybrid RAV4.

[Strangely Brown]

53 minutes ago, philip42h said:

In order you want:

1. The right tyres, appropriate for the conditions
2. All wheel drive - to give you the best chance of getting up the hill
3. Hill descent control - to give you the best chance of getting down safely

Hill descent control was a feature of the traditional automatic gearbox on the previous generation of RAV4. I had one; hill descent control was brilliant but I hardly ever needed to use it ... AFAIK hill descent control isn't yet available on on the hybrid RAV4.

This ^^^

By far the biggest difference that you can make to how well a car drives and how safe it is in winter conditions comes from the contact patch. Winter tyres are the best option. Good all season tyres are the next best but both will be far better than summer tyres.

2WD on winters will out drive 4WD on summers every time.

What combination is best for you will depend entirely on your specific driving needs.

When it comes time to change the OE tyres on the RAV I will fitting all season tyres that are biased toward mild climates. i.e. I want wet performance top, dry second and snow/ice third. If I lived in Scotland I might put snow ahead of dry.

YMMV.

ETA: The Jimny is awesome and will go places that Land Rovers, and certainly RAV4s cannot. The memsahib has said they can take hers when they pry it from her cold dead fingers.

[IanML]

I'm with Strangely re the Jimny.  I have driven awesomely steep ups and downs in very slippery mud with the Suzuki part-time 4WD in low range first gear, and it just works.  Also rutted stony wet slopes at an angle, and pulled bogged-down 2WD cars and vans off soft beaches.  The Jimny is light, so probably better than a Landy in some situations, but an old (part-time 4WD) Landy is probably tougher.  Only reservation - you must remember to revert to 2wd when back on the firm stuff, or you wind-up the transmission when turning and can break something.

The AWD vehicles with traction control are better than nothing, but the Jimny is much more capable.

Oh, and I've seen an old part-time 4WD Vitara going up an icy, snowy hill, passing a Range Rover on low-profile tyres which couldn't make it.  'Nuff said.

[Cyker]

I heard the Panda 4x4 or whatever it's called now is bizarrely capable offroad and on snow. There's a funny video someone showed me once:

but for balance...

There are also literal clubs here that meet up and take their pandas off-roading for fun  

 

[NASY]

Panda 4x4 is very capable, many Ferrari owners use them to get to the slopes in winter in Italy. 

[Cyker]

I must admit I was tempted by one; I have no reason to since, while London roads are awful, they're not you-need-a-4x4 awful... yet... but it's so cute and plucky, yet rugged!  

I think I'd be less precious about it than my Mk4, which I cringe every time a get near a bush or drive over a branch or something!

That little 2 cylinder turbo is hilarious too