I just checked the manual. I don’t have the paddle shifters, and it looks like without the paddle shifters you can only manually shift when in sport mode.

I will have to try this when I have it in one of the off-road modes. I wonder if it will ignore the “sport” and just let me manually control the gears.

 

I guess technically it's in sport mode. At least it held it in gear I chose instead of automatically going back to drive like my Mercedes Benz 4matic

 

Snow mode works nicely in snow. I don't use Auto much.


I find Auto useful when there are spotty areas of ice, or a snow mud gravel mix. Saves you having to switch between modes as conditions change.




For the really deep stuff, sand mode is the ticket.


I've also a deep snow setup in configurable TR. Similar to sand. More of me playing with the system setup rather than anything of real benefit i think.

The Defender is a blast to drive in the snow.

 

^^^^with blizzaks I see?

 

For what it's worth had/having snow here in the greater Denver area these past few days; found setting terrain response to AUTO worked well on snow packed / icy road in city & highway driving conditions (running Wrangler DuraTrac tires at ±35psi)

 

Use snow mode when passing in the left unplowed lane after sitting behind other SUVs crawling along in the 2 hardpacked tire paths in the right lane. You won't pass them quickly, but it prevents aggressive upshifts and you won't go spinning off into the far left ditch. And buy winter tires if you frequently travel in snow, slush or ice. I can't imagine making ski trips to VT without winter tires.

 

I used snow mode as well passing on the left lane but scared it will upshift and cause a spinout, hence I put it in manual/sport mode and keep/hold the gear in 5th. that way, if I want to slow it down, I downshift to 4 or 3 without using the brakes.

 

Too bad they don't make the Defender with a manual transmission. LR4 was the first automatic transmission vehicle I ever owned in my 40 years of driving.

 

Well there is always the V8 with paddle shifters?

 

It is great to see the interest in maximizing the capability of the 4WD system in our new Defenders !

I read in this thread many of the misconceptions and mistakes I suffered during my experimental learning (from 2000 to 2022) of how to most effectively think about JLR's electronic 4WD system. I bought my first LR4 in 2010 and my Evoque in 2016, and then my 2020 Defender, solely to understand and use what JLR had been creating since the time of the Freelander and the Discovery 1 (late 1980s to today).

A few comments directly relating to Grass / gravel / snow mode regarding some points raised within this thread:

a) Grass/ gravel/ snow mode: This really is to be thought of as "a hard surface beneath a slippery yet still tractable surface" mode. My rule of thumb is that: the thickness of the top surface must be no more than 3 to 4 inches; to avoid damage to grass, it should be turned on whenever on grass; and to drive in a controlled fashion it should always be used on gravel. This is true in either LO or HI range. DSC should always be left on in this mode, as something really bad has happened if DSC activates. There is no ICE mode -- ICE is not tractable.

The primary logic engaged in GGS mode is that zero wheel spinning is to occur -- so the gear selected has very low torque, the throttle response is very slow, the suspension is compliant, and the steering is not precise. The advantage of selecting this mode instead of AUTO is that wheel spin is NOT necessary to provide the computer a basis upon which to act.

I have torn up many a surface which the owner (many times my relations) were most upset to see. Disciplined use of GGS mode eliminates that occurrence.

I am getting called away by such relations presently, so I will cease my typing for now. Enjoy !!