Owner's Manual

169Driving an d Operation
When driving downhill, the brakes are
under considerab ly m ore load when towing
a caravan / trailer. For this reason, drive in
the same gear as if driving uphill and drive
at a similar speed.
In Automatic mode, the Easytronic 3
automatically selects the drive programme
with optimum engine braking effect.
The cooling fan is electrically operated. Its
cooling power is therefore independent of
the engine speed.
Since a considerable amount of heat is
generated at high engine sp eeds and less
at slower speeds, do not shift down when
climbing hills while the vehicle is still coping
with the gradient in the higher gear.
Diesel engines: On gradients of 10% or
more, do not drive faster than 20 mph
(30 km/h) in first gear or 30 mph (50 km/h)
in second gear.
Picture no: 14196s.tif
Start ing on inclines
For vehicles with manual transmission, the
most favourable engine speed when
starting-off on an incline is between 2500
and 3000 rpm for petrol engines and
between 2000 and 2500 rpm for diesel
engines. Hold engine speed constant,
engage clutch gradually (let slip), release
ha ndb ra ke and open throttle. If possible,
the engine speed should not drop during
this procedure.
For vehicles with Easytronic 3 in Automa tic
mode, sim ply apply full gas.
Before starting-off under extreme
conditions (high combination weight,
mountainous terrain with steep inclines),
switch off all unnecessary electrical loads
(e.g. heated rear window, air conditioning
system 3, heated front seats 3 ).