Planning a hill drive with your AMT car? Key techniques you must follow

Manual transmission may be the favourite of the purists who love the thrill and charm of old school driving where the vehicle's control remains in the hands of the driver, but for many new generation car buyers, automatic cars have been becoming hot favourite. There are various different types of automatic transmission technology available in the market and one of them is AMT (Automated Manual Transmission).

1 Use manual mode

When driving on hills, use the manual mode that AMT technology offers. While driving uphill, engage manual (M) mode for better control of the vehicle. However, this technique becomes more useful while driving downhill. While driving downhill, using the brake pedal can be troublesome, resulting in the heating up of brake pads and eventually leading to brake failure. In such cases, downshift in manual mode and utilise engine braking.

2 Utilise creep function

In many AMT cars, there is no Hill Hold Control (HHC), but there is a creep function, which allows the car to move forward at a very low speed even if the accelerator is not pressed. This function is highly useful in slow-moving traffic conditions. But, this could be highly useful in uphill driving as well, as it would prevent the rolling back of the vehicle.

3 Engage parking brake

When you fully stop the car on a hill, engage the parking brake to prevent the vehicle from rolling. Unlike the fully automatic cars that come with a P mode, the AMT cars don't come with this function. Hence, the parking brake could be useful in that scenario. If you don't feel confident even with that, try to block the wheels from rolling by using bricks or wooden blocks.

4 Drive slow but steady

One key thumb rule of driving on the hills is maintaining a slow but steady speed. Hilly roads are often narrow and have challenges in the form of hairpin bends, steep curves, and blind spots, among others. Hence, driving slowly but steadily is the key to safety. Sudden acceleration or sudden braking on the hills could be fatal for you as well as for other fellow drivers too.

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