Owner`s manual

173
For this reason, when driving uphill do not
shift down into a low gear whenever the
vehicle ca n st ill c limb the hill in the h igh er
gear.
Die sel en gin e: On g ra dien ts of 8 % or mo re,
do not drive faster than 20 mph (30 km/h) in
first gear or 30 mph (50 k m/h) in second ge ar.
When coupled to a carava n/trailer the vehic le
requires more brak ing eff ort when driving
down long gradients, so select the same gear
as you would driving uphill and drive at
roughly th e same speed. W ith automa tic
transmission 3, en gage gea r 3, 2 or even 1.
Select D again as soon as driving conditions
permit.
If it is nece ssary to apply the brakes fully, in
particular to ensure short braking distances
wh en towing a ca ravan/trailer, de press the
brake pedal as hard as possible.
Remember that the braking distan ce for
vehicles towing caravans/trailers with and
withou t brake is always greater than the
braking distance f or ve hicles not t owing a
ca ra van/trailer.
St arting on inclines
Vehicles with manual transmission:
The most favourable en gine speed f or
engaging the clutch is
– for 4- cylinder pe trol engines
bet ween 25 00 an d 30 00 rpm.
– for 6- cylinder pe trol engines
bet ween 22 00 an d 25 00 rpm.
– for 4- cylinder die sel engines
bet ween 22 00 an d 25 00 rpm.
– for 6- cylinder die sel engines
bet ween 20 00 an d 22 00 rpm.
Keep en gine speed c on stant, enga ge the
clutch gra du ally (let slip), re lease the brake
and open the throttle. If possible, engine
speed should not drop during this procedure.
On vehicles with automatic transmission 3 it
is sufficient to open the throttle fully.
Before starting off unde r e xtreme conditions
(hig h combina tion we ight, moun tain ou s
terra in with steep inc lin es), sw itch off a ll
unnecessary ele ctrical loads (e .g. hea ted rear
window, heated sea ts).