84 |May2019go! Drive&Camp
TOW TEST
ROUND.The digital
displaybetween the two
large analogue guages
is about the same sizeas
agolf ball,but it shows
youeverything that
matters including ambient
temperatureand which
gearyou’re in.NO PROBLEM.Theball assembly of
the hitch isremovable.You simply
drawapin andthe whole thing
pulls out of therear bumper.The
drop-plate has three sets of holes
so youcan adjust the heightto suit
almost anytrailer orcaravan.whichyoucan useas aguide.
This dotted lineis also static and
does notchangeangle when
turning thestee ring wheel.
TheD-Max ’s headlights
don’t have automaticheight
adjustment, but youcan set
the heightwithabuttonthat
sits to the rightofy our knee.
Dependingonhow much
weightyou load in theback –
includi ng the caravan’s nose
weight–you canchoo se three
more settingsbesides the
standardposition. At 4min
fron tofthe bakkie, thelight
beamdrops by up to 14 cm
when usingthe lo west setting.
Hold no sway over me
TheD-Max ’s trai lerswaycontrol
is automatically activated when
youswitchonthe bakkieand
workswhen youtow faster
than 50km/h, but thisfeature
is disabled whenyou turnoff
the electronicstabi lisercontrol
(ESC).In essence, this does not
preventcaravan sway,but helps
keep things incontrolassoon
as th etrailer beginsto dance
behindthe bakkie.
When theD-Maxdetects
sway,the engine willreduce
powerand also automatically
braketo countera ct theaction.
You, in the meantime,gradually
liftyour foot off thepedal and
driv estraightahead.Don’t
touch the brakesanddon’t turn
the steeringwheel to tryand
counterthe swaying.
As soonas the system detects
sway,the ESC button flashes.The
sway controlisdeactivated when
youengage lowrange 4WD.>