Driver afraid of ending up in the ditch

Dear Tom and Ray: We traded in a '97 Chevy Tahoe for a 2005 Cadillac Escalade. I told the salesman that we live on a ridge, and in the winter I sometimes had to put the Tahoe in 4-Low, First gear and let it "walk" me down the steep, gravel driveway to the main road. He said I should have no problem. Now that winter is upon us, I put the Caddy into first gear and went down the hill. It quickly got up to 20 mph. If it snows or gets a little icy overnight, I will probably wind up over the edge in the gully. I even tried turning on the towing package, thinking it might gear down a little. I think it actually went faster! Can you help me? I called Cadillac, and they were not much help.

Rosemary

P.S.: Don't get on my case about an SUV! We are in underground construction, and I seriously doubt a Mini Cooper could cart around a 12-inch DIP elbow or six 5-gallon tubs of oil.

Ray: How about two Minis strapped together, Rosemary? Actually, we have no complaints about SUV owners who actually need SUVs. It's the suburban commuters we're trying to talk some sense into.

Tom: Sadly, your dealer was not entirely honest with you. (That's a nice way of saying he lied to you, Rosemary.) When he said you should have no problem, he didn't tell you that the Escalade has no "4-Wheel-Low" setting, which is also known as a "low range."

Ray: The 4-Wheel-Low, as you know, is your "crawling" gear. It lowers all of the gear ratios. It's for climbing up walls or over rocks, or for controlling your speed when you're going down steep, uneven grades.

Tom: The Escalade is designed more with the highway in mind than the backwoods. After all, it's a Cadillac. And even though it has all-wheel drive, the Escalade's system is designed to get you through snow, slush and bad weather, rather than down the Grand Canyon. It's more than adequate for most people. But it's not the same as having a true low range, which your old Tahoe had.

Ray: So, what do you do now? Well, you don't have to end up in the ditch. You can ride the brakes down your driveway. We don't recommend riding the brakes on long, steep hills, because you can overheat your brakes and cause them to fail. But if you're talking about a driveway -- even a long driveway -- and you're traveling at a very low speed and your brakes are cold first thing in the morning, you shouldn't have any problem.

Tom: As long as you keep the speed down from the very outset and don't let the truck get away from you, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to keep the Escalade under control with the brakes.

Ray: But I would let the dealer know that you're disappointed he misled you in order to sell a car. And let him know that if you ever end up in the ditch, he's definitely going in next. Good luck, Rosemary.