2020 Ford Transit AWD

simple

Adventurer
What do you guys think of this test?

Does that model have upgraded traction control? Pretty good. Looked like 3 tires on rollers and 1 on slippery aluminum and got enough traction with one wheel to get moving again. Seems like a good test to approximate compact snow and ice on a moderate incline.
 

simple

Adventurer
Here is another test with AWD cars on a roller ramp. I wonder how the Express AWD would do on the same ramp as the Transit in the previous post?

 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Jeep has been using a similar highly advanced low speed traction control on their new cherokees. Its acceleration (forces), and somewhat surface aware. Its response times with the electronic diffs (not applicable to the transit) and wheel brakes is excellent, and actually beats out mechanical lockers on many surfaces, where the induced slip causes the vehicle to move sideways or disturb the surface (like ice).
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
I would be curious to see if they change the "mode" setting on the other vehicles. Some surely have a switch to change to winter mode?
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
wow, this is a very interesting video.
They should have included a standard 4WD vehicle with a transfer case and open diffs. It wouldn't have made it up that either and I bet a lot of SUV buyers don't know that. That ramp is testing how well your traction control works.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Indeed, I bet some 90% of 4x4 trucks and SUVs would have been unable to complete the test. A lot of it may come down to how much braking the traction control is programmed to apply to spinning wheels. Though a Helical LSD on the rear would improve response.
 

sg1

Adventurer
If you look at the Transit video you can see a slight delay between the moment the rear wheels start to spin and when the front wheel starts to turn. This indicates to me that the system is normally RWD and only sends power to the front wheels if sensors on the rear wheels detect slipping. The European AWD Transits have a similar system. In my almost 9 years of experience with this I found that it works quite well when the vehicle is in motion because once traction is lost on the rear wheels momentum will usually keep the van going during the few secondos until the front wheels are engaged. Were the system is inferior to a manual or permanent 4wd is when you are stopped in mud or sand. The rear wheels spin and dig in before the front wheels get grip.
 

Photomike

White Turtle Adventures & Photography
WOW it is nice to know that the next time I am climbing a roller ramp which vehicles would make it. Honestly I prefer real world use then tests like this. But hat is probably just me.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
My RWD van unloaded would easily lift a rear wheel when entering steep driveways (just as steep as the ramp in the video). The traction control had no issue braking the spinning wheel within 100ms, and up I drove.
 

Highlander

The Strong, Silent Type
The ford website is not showing a selection for diesel or awd system. I guess it’s not yet it available.
 

Joey G

Member
The ford website is not showing a selection for diesel or awd system. I guess it’s not yet it available.

The on-line configuration tool isn't showing it correctly, but they're sitting on dealer's lots already.

EDIT: I mean the AWDs are out there, not the diesels.
 

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