Today, we will discuss “Jeep Features for Winter Driving.” Driving is a dangerous activity in itself, but it gets more so when the roads are covered in snow. Winter requires that drivers be extra careful and smart. Thankfully, automakers like Jeep know that the most dangerous road conditions can be taken on more safely with the help of some smart features. The following are some of the Jeep features that make life easier for drivers when winter comes around.
Jeep Features for Winter Driving: Four-wheel drive
Most winter accidents are due to slipping and sliding on icy roads. With four-wheel drive, it’s easier to stop since all four wheels get braking power. Although having a four-wheel drive doesn’t make the car stop any faster than a two-wheel drive, the power supplied to all four wheels gives tremendous help.
On slippery roads, the most important thing is traction. With a four-wheel drive, torque is evenly distributed to both the front and rear parts of the vehicle. It gives you more control especially when braking. At the same time, moving the vehicle forward from a snowbank is a lot easier with four-wheel drive.
The Jeep Wrangler has the Selec-Trac Full-time 4WD System and the Jeep Grand Cherokee has the Quadra Trac System. Both systems allow for an automatic transition to 4×4 capability when the road condition changes and requires it. All that with no driver intervention. Cool, right?
Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control
When a wheel loses traction, its tendency is to keep spinning rapidly. This happens most of the time on icy roads. The Traction Control feature on your Jeep is designed to assist you in case this happens. The Traction Control uses sensors to detect if one wheel is spinning faster than the other wheel. The car’s response is then to reduce engine power or to apply brakes so that the rapidly spinning wheel will regain traction.
Electronic Stability Control is a system that has been installed in cars since 2012 but was first introduced in the 1990s. It’s a much more complicated feature than Traction Control. It uses multiple sensors to keep cars going straight.
It’s a complicated system because it takes account of multiple things: the angle of the steering wheel, the driver’s intended path, and the direction the vehicle is traveling in. Based on the position of the wheels and the speed at which they are individually rotating, the Electronic Stability Control can sense if the car is going off its intended path. If so, the brakes will automatically be applied or the engine power will be reduced to correct the car’s direction.
Heated steering wheels
Driving in the cold can be uncomfortable and while the first two features are for safety and security on the road, heated steering wheels are an added layer of comfort for your winter morning drives. Jeep takes this into consideration by making it standard in some models. For some Jeep vehicles, you can get heated front seats as well. Talk about next-level comfort in driving.
