After weeks of relentless rain, the fields of Jerez de la Frontera resemble the green grasslands of Asturias or Cantabria right now. Not even the oldest of the place remember a streak of similar water, and much less were waiting for it in the month of March, but there we have gone to try the 4×4 range of Suzuki as it has already become tradition in recent years.
Experience has on this occasion its point not so much complex, because instead of the usual circuit Off Road -Anegated these days in mud- we make a route through the slopes of the beautiful Natural Park of Los Alcornocales, as of surprise, since constant rainfall often cause detachments and one can see the passage through a giant stone (if not suffering something worse).
Suzuki had displaced this year’s appointment units of the Vitara and S-Cross models, current heirs of its extensive tradition of 4×4 vehicles. The secret of its good out -of -road performance is none other than the Allgrip system, a technological evolution of the classical integral traction or 4WD that is based on the application of electronics to modify the vehicle’s response and adapt to the different surfaces through which it circulates. Thanks to her, driving is much more comfortable and safe, especially when things are really complicated.
At present, the entire Suzuki range, except for the SWACE family Berlin, can incorporate four -wheel drive. In the case of Swift, Vitara and S-Cross, the system is called Allgrip; In the first, the operating scheme is automatic, and in the other two the user can choose between four different driving programs. For its part, the A-Cross model has the contribution of an electric motor on the rear axle that provides the whole wheel traction, in what is identified as a trail mode.
In any of its configurations, Allgrip technology integrates control of motor management, transmission and other elements, including stability, traction and descent controls in slopes. In this way, the models that equip it acquire resources that usually make a difference when it comes to circulating out of the road or under conditions of low adhesion.
The Swift Auto Swift system basically consists of a 4×4 viscous coupling traction, with which the motor torque is automatically distributed to the rear wheels when grip losses are detected on the front axle, all automatically, that is, without intervention by the driver. This can move therefore more tranquility on sliding surfaces or snowy land.
Recall that the Swift is the only car in its segment that offers the possibility of mounting this traction system, which makes it a very interesting option for cities or towns where the bad weather is a constant for several months every year (not only in this singular 2025).
The Allgrip Select system, in detail
As for the Allgrip Select, it allows the driver to choose between four programs -Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock– through a command located in the central tunnel, and the electronics is responsible for managing the four -wheel drive according to the chosen mode.
In car, the differential works automatically causing the vehicle to circulate in two motor wheels unless some skating is detected, at which time it will be blocked until it reaches a distribution of 50% torque on each axis.
In the Sport mode, in addition to making the accelerator response faster, traction control intervention weakens to increase efficiency and prevail the feeling of driver control. It allows, therefore, to practice sports driving to enjoy a section of curves or, simply, squeezing the power in an overtaking.
In snow mode, the system allows traction control to intervene in a more incisive way to ensure stability and grip in low adhesion conditions. Consequently, it helps to drive along a snow road or possible ice plates is much safer.
Finally, LOCK mode (to select it must be activated by snow mode previously) grants the controls of the situation to the driver, so to speak. Without waiting for the sensors to detect the loss of motor skills on the front axis, the car makes use of all the benefits of whole wheel traction. Stability control improves here the traction capacity by applying braking force to the wheels that turn without traction and prioritizing the torque allocation to which they do have adhesion. This program is automatically deactivated once the 60 km/h is exceeded.
The Allgrip Select system uses a central viscous differential to distribute the power between the front and rear axes. When a rotation difference between the wheels of both, the multidisk clutch bathed in high viscosity silicone oil is attached and transfers the torque to the rear wheels.
In addition, the device has the predictive intelligent control Synergetic Vehicle Dynamics Control, which anticipates the possible sliding depending on the surface of the road, the accelerator position, the direction of the direction and the inclination of the body, among other factors, and can thus transmit more torque to the front or rear wheels in order to avoid it or compensate. In this way, instead of reacting after losing the grip, the system acts to counteract any lateral sliding trend of the vehicle from its first bars, that is, even before it intervenes the stability control.
#Secrets #Suzukis #Allgrip #traction
