# 4Motion - Snow Mode?



## phlegm (Apr 24, 2019)

Was curious if anyone had further details on the Snow mode in 4Motion.

I can definitely feel that it dulls the throttle, and this is confirmed here:
https://www.vwmodels.ca/performance/4motion/

However, that's not adding a lot of value, and if you're already familiar with winter driving, light on the throttle should come naturally.

I was also hoping that it might switch to a more even distribution of power, instead of retaining the front bias, or a more aggressive setting from Haldex.


Any more info?


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

phlegm said:


> Was curious if anyone had further details on the Snow mode in 4Motion.
> 
> I can definitely feel that it dulls the throttle, and this is confirmed here:
> https://www.vwmodels.ca/performance/4motion/
> ...


We've only had 1 snow here so far, but that was my experience as well. It seems that it retarded the throttle and did start out in 2nd gear. I'll be curious to see how it does in more snow this year, I had Jeep Cherokee before which was a tank in the snow.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

phlegm said:


> Was curious if anyone had further details on the Snow mode in 4Motion.
> 
> I can definitely feel that it dulls the throttle, and this is confirmed here:
> https://www.vwmodels.ca/performance/4motion/
> ...


I wish the Arteon had the dial like the Atlas/Tiguan. It has 4motion, but no way of accessing snow or off-road mode. I don't care so much about off-road mode, but snow mode really does make a difference. I used it in my Atlas and in the loaner Tiguans we had over the years.


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## AkiraSieghart (Nov 20, 2019)

We got a bit of snow/icy weather this past week in NJ and I was using snow mode. To my knowledge, not only does it start in 2nd gear and dull the throttle, it also allows the transmission to hold higher gears at lower RPMs than it normally would. So driving at 40 MPH, it may be down at 1k RPM in 7th gear or so.


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## phlegm (Apr 24, 2019)

It seems like the 4Motion snow mode may not do anything with the AWD, just throttle/transmission.


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## IbsFt (Dec 15, 2018)

Wait, what? Dulls the throttle? In the owners manual page 182 it says "The Snow driving mode increases accelerator sensitivity on icy or snow-covered roads." ROFL Must be a misprint. :banghead:VW manual

I wish you luck finding out exactly what snow mode does. Here are some articles about a bunch of 4 motion cars being driven on a snow covered Canadian lake: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...while-blasting-around-a-frozen-canadian-lake/ and another:https://driving.ca/volkswagen/auto-...tion-all-wheel-drive-an-ideal-driving-partner You can glean some information out of the articles but there was no detailed explanation of all the changes snow mode makes. You also have to consider the source, so unless the information comes directly from VW, you have to decide if the info given is the author's suppositions or real facts.

I'm interested, as you probably are too, if snow mode modifies traction control and / or ABS behavior. I'm not impressed with the dead throttle and starting in second gear for driving in snow with a vehicle that has so little torque at tip in even when not hamstrung by the snow mode Nannie.


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## titleman (Sep 29, 2019)

Jeez I thought the dull throttle was standard.


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## WISVW (Aug 25, 2003)

I assumed it was just a button you could show all your friends, but never really use in the real world.


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## DanSan (Oct 3, 2007)

this is my first car with AWD, yet alone some sort of driving mode button. do people normally leave it in normal during snow or actually switch to that mode?


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## phlegm (Apr 24, 2019)

I think I'm inclined to leave things in Normal. We have dedicated winter tires, and are familiar with winter driving over the years, so we wouldn't be gunning the throttle anyway. I've found that it feels incredibly sluggish, so it is probably not for anything other than deep snow.

I guess if I found I was slipping like crazy, I might switch to Snow mode to further smooth out the throttle. However, I'm a bit disappointed to hear that this 4Motion setting may have nothing to do with 4Motioin (AWD) at all.


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## Turchman (May 16, 2019)

Used snow mode a couple times now, but only on the Freeway. Undecided as to the value, but I do feel it might make it a little less likely to "step out" when accelerating to change lanes.


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## phlegm (Apr 24, 2019)

Thought I'd follow up, as we've had a couple of serious snowfalls since I posted, and I've been able to get a good sense of the Snow Mode.

As touched on, it only seems to dull the throttle, and nothing else. I can't sense any other change with the AWD or transmission mapping.

I don't use it any more, since I like to have normal, predictable throttle control, and prefer to take it easy myself, instead of having it sluggish, all the time. A bit disappointed, but it is, what it is.


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## AkiraSieghart (Nov 20, 2019)

phlegm said:


> Thought I'd follow up, as we've had a couple of serious snowfalls since I posted, and I've been able to get a good sense of the Snow Mode.
> 
> As touched on, it only seems to dull the throttle, and nothing else. I can't sense any other change with the AWD or transmission mapping.
> 
> I don't use it any more, since I like to have normal, predictable throttle control, and prefer to take it easy myself, instead of having it sluggish, all the time. A bit disappointed, but it is, what it is.


It's the simple reality that the AWD system in the Tiguan suits the price tag compared to more advanced systems like Quattro or xDrive that can really affect the splitting of torque. Oh, well. I don't think the dull throttle is a bad idea. With my Focus ST, sure it was FWD, but it made almost 350tq to the wheels at ~2,000 RPM. Taking off in snow was a nightmare without proper snow tires. Once APR cracks the ECU and we can achieve similar torque numbers, I'm sure Snow Mode will have a lot more use since we'll also make a ton of toque in the lower RPM range.


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## Tooleman694 (Oct 19, 2019)

We finally got a foot of snow and I tried it. Pretty much forces you to drive how you should in the snow. Not a bad feature if you don't know how to drive in the stuff.


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## cjconover (May 3, 2018)

Tooleman694 said:


> We finally got a foot of snow and I tried it. Pretty much forces you to drive how you should in the snow. Not a bad feature if you don't know how to drive in the stuff.


I really like the feature as my son will drive my Tig to work when it is snowing. it helps to make sure he is light on pedal and slows down. 

Cindy


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## mike1100 (Feb 12, 2020)

New member here. I have a brand new 2020 SE with ~ 2000 miles. Just took it for my first drive on snowy Boston roads. Slushy really, barely an inch. For comparison I'm coming from a series of older AWD Volvos (S60s, XC60s and XC90s) and my wife currently drives a 2016 Audi A4 quattro.

My impression so far is snow mode clearly retards the Tig's throttle and seems to start in 2nd gear, limiting torque. It's not that different that the 'W' mode in my Volvos, though the car doesn't have the heavy weight of the monster XC90. It feels fairly solid and I didn't feel much slip, even on my own unplowed street. The Tig does not quite have the same solidity as the Audi's quattro, which never slips on these kind of slushy roads during proper snow driving, but to me it is solid enough. I'm driving the standard all-weather Giti tires. Not sure yet what to make of these and I won't put on snow tires this season; it's already mid-February. Maybe next winter, but I'll see how the rest of this season goes.

Mike


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## __raj (Apr 28, 2018)

Dulls the throttle response and also seems to make the steering tighter on my 2018 like Sport mode.

The 4motion works really well in snow for what it is. We seem to use our up a neighbors inclined driveway weekly they do not plow with anywhere from 1 foot of snow with sheer ice at bottom to sheer ice with rain running on top(can't even walk on it). Its like a weekly comparo of AWD capability. We had factory Conti tires and General Altimax RT43's as replacements both all-seasons.


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## schagaphonic (Aug 24, 2008)

Here in Denver, we have (IMO) some of the worst road maintenance for snow removal. 

So far, for this entire month of Feb. half the days have produced snow-covered, slippery road conditions in the city and burbs.
My city street has never been plowed, EVER! So I'm continuing to be impressed by how well this 4MO system works in "Snowflake" mode.
Here's a few more observations:

* Even with these cheap Giti tires I have about 80% less wheel spin in snowy conditions compared to normal "Street" mode in same conditions.
* Turning a corner, the stability is enhanced and feels safer.
* Yes, it's immediately upshifting ASAP for low torque but if I must have more power, it will downshift to deliver the power and STILL have limited wheel spin.
* I've yet to get stuck and this is the first winter where I've gone without a dedicated set of snow tires in over 20 years!
* Neither my 2013 Tiguan 4MO or my 2016 CX5 had this level of sophistication for traction control. Both of those cars required dedicated snow tires.
* This system will not help you brake sooner or better. Stay safe!

I'm guessing that the newer Foresters have great winter traction, but I'd be curious if any other AWD SUV priced under $30K perform as well as the Tiguan.


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