Slippery vs. Tow/haul drive mode

[dbp]

Happy New Year! I just got home from a band job. Drove through a snow squall on roads beginning to freeze in my 2012 Transit Connect hauling a 1700 lb trailer. Thinking about my 2024 Maverick XLT scheduled to be built in January, wondering which drive mode would be appropriate in those conditions, Tow/haul, or Slippery? Anyone have thoughts on towing in slippery weather? I've not had problems in the last 40 years just being cautious, but I've never had a choice in drive modes either! Thanks for your thoughts, and again, Happy New Year to all.

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[icegradner]

In snow, slippery works well, it softens throttle response, so you are far less likely to spin the wheels from a stop. I'm not sure about in the EB, but is also softens the brakes as well, making them better for longer braking distances. Tow haul is going to change the shifting, which may or may not be helpful.

 

[GPSMan]

In a hybrid my vote is for slippery.
You're probably not starving for horsepower in snow. In the hybrid tow mode boosts RPM to give you more HP / lower effective gear ratio, and increases regeneration and engine braking forces. Tow/Haul and Sport have a lot in common. I don't think you'd choose sport in snow.

But I've never driven an EB. Yet.

 

[rallyshark]

Slippery will be the way to go for sure in snow/ice I'd imagine. I must confess, I've never had a car with drive modes either(prior to my Maverick). On one hand, I can see where the slippery would be useful(especially on ice). On the other hand, I'd kind of want to have it in normal with traction control off, so I could have full control of what the truck is doing.

I learned to drive on wet clay dirt roads, and they can be as bad or worse than ice. The electronic parking brake bugs me in that respect. There have been many times where using the emergency brake was necessary to get the car pointed in the right direction during an understeer situation... It also allowed me to turn around in the middle of a small road in some "advanced stunt driving exercises" I feel like the electronic parking/emergency brake takes away some of my driving tools, even if they would be rarely utilized.

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