Towing advice - wet grass/mud

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Lola43

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I have a Kia Sorento, which I am generally very happy with. However, it is AWD, with a low gear option. Does anyone with the same/similar car have trouble driving on wet grass/mud? I got stuck half way up a grassy slope yesterday (much wheel-spinning) and have previously got stuck in mud (even more wheel spinning).

Having sought advice subsequently, it seems I did just about everything wrong! Firstly, I should have been in the Low gear option, which in hindsight seems obvious. I was also told that instead of creeping along in first gear, I should have been in second gear, because I had too much 'torque' in first. What does that even mean????

Just looking for some friendly advice (no women driver comments please!) about how best to negotiate slippery grass and mud in the Sorento, as I am pretty happy with it as a car for general use and towing and don't want to rush off and buy myself some sort of pick-up truck if I don't have to!!!
 
If you do a lot of mud/slope driving/getting stuck it might be worth asking your tyre dealer if there are any big, knobbly tyres that would fit your Sorento; tyres can make a huge difference
 
It is like snow driving.

In first gear your wheels try to pull hard (imaging you go into a wet field and try to move a water tank, if you try to pull fast your feet slip out from underneath yiou and face plant, that is the same as wheel spinning.

In second gear your wheels try to pull steadily as they don't have as much 'power' (imagine trying to move the same tank of water by taking up the slack on a rope and pulling steadily)

As the other poster says try to get up ome decent speed in 2nd gear, then you are 'on a roll' and don't need your wheels only to pull you up the hill there should be some push from the momentum. If you try and go up a hill really slowly in first gear it is only the engine power nad it will try and turn your wheels powerfully.

I hope that make sense!
 
I thought about off-road tyres, but then I was told they hike up petrol consumption massively? I use this car for everyday driving as well, not just towing.
 
Thanks Batgirl - that does explain it! Would I still need to have my car in the 'low' gear as well though?
 
If you have got one, definitely, that would be like having 2 or 3 people trying to pull the water tank gently, much easier :)

You can get mid range tyres that are not fully off road but not slick like road tyres that I have. I lost about 15 miles out of a full tank with mine but worth it for the saftey IMO
 
OK, switch to 'low' and keep to second gear, got it.

I'll make some enquiries about tyres. If the mid-range doesn't make too much difference to fuel consumption but helps with driving in fields, I'd happily swallow the extra to be safer and not get stuck!
 
One more point - not sure if this was the case but always worth mentioning - make sure you go straight up/down a slope and then turn if you need to, don't try to go diagonally or across it. For one, you risk rolling it if you're across a slope and for another, it's easier for the car will repsond better when it has an equal load on the wheels.

If you're concerned at all, don't load the horse until you've got to the top of the slope. We have one venue where there's a big dip in the parking field - you go in and down a steep slope before it then slopes up a bit more gently on the other side where you park. Lots of people drive up to the gate before loading up the horses.
 
Hi....
Your 4wd is only as good as your tyres:)

Try and look out for Bridgestone M&S (mud and snow) tyres....they last ages :)
Bryndu
 
No advice sorry as I currently have a large 4x4, however I have been considering purchasing a Sorento and would be interested in your opinion on it - also how much to you get MPG wise, I've a couple of widely varying figures
 
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