Any car driver, be it an experienced or a learner, gets baffled when it comes to driving the vehicle up an ascent. Although, there aren't much of the sloping roads in India, the hills and plateau regions of the country constitute most of the ascents. Sports Utility Vehicles or SUVs generally have a 4-wheel drive and are easy to be climbed up a steep slope. On the other hand, sedans having lock differential are also comfortable to drive uphill the locking differential comes to play quickly when the car is standing on a steep slope and prevents it from moving backward. However, the small or compact cars, such as hatchbacks, may require strenuous efforts while climbing up a hill. Interestingly, there are certain tips and advices, people can implement in their driving techniques while going on the slopes. These are as follows:
- The most common technique to climb up a hill is the Paddling, which makes use of the clutch, accelerator and the brakes.
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For successfully paddling the car up a slope, one has to use quite a lot of concentration while driving.
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The process can be initiated by pressing the clutch from left foot and the brakes from the right.
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Then put the car in the first gear and within milliseconds remove the right foot from the brake pedal and press the accelerator's neck while gradually releasing the clutch.
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It must be noted that the clutch should not be released instantly and only the accelerator pedal has to be pressed hard.
This technique, however damages the clutch plates of small cars as well as SUVs in the longer run. The pressing of accelerator pedal hard might also lead to access of fuel consumption in diesel as well as petrol cars and also can damage the engine. Interestingly there is one other simple technique to climb up any steep or steady slope.
- This technique is known as the Hand-braking and makes the use of a handbrake, clutch pedal and accelerator.
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While hand-braking, one has to simply put the car on neutral and engage the handbrakes.
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When the slope arrives, gently press the clutch and if the slope is very steep then press the brakes also.
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After putting the car in the first gear, release the handbrake while gradually pressing the accelerator gently. The releasing of handbrake and pressing of acceleration pedal should be done simultaneously, and this will push the car forwards instantly.
The diesel cars have an advantage of climbing up the slopes as this type of fuel engine delivers high amount of torque. The torque helps in the moving of car spontaneously up a slope, preventing it from rolling and creating a much firm grip on the road. On the other hand, CNG cars are equally difficult to be driven uphill as while on gas, the power output of the car is generally reduced. Therefore, it is always advised to shift the car from CNG to fuel while driving on the hilly areas or slopes. Still, the CNG vehicles can be driven with much effort while using the aforementioned tricks but would require a considerable amount of time for the same.
