4motion with diff lock or not?

Moots · Aug 9, 2013

Hello, I'm new to the forum and I'm wondering if anyone can help me come to a decision. I'm hoping to be owning a California soon. There are two available that I am considering. Both are 4motion. One has diff lock and the other hasn't. How important is it to have the diff lock, and does it make much difference? I have very little off road experience, so any knowledge would be greatly appreciated. It's a lot of money for me to spend and I want to make sure I get it right. Sorry if this is a topic that has been done before.

KernowLad · Aug 10, 2013

Moots said:
Hello, I'm new to the forum and I'm wondering if anyone can help me come to a decision. I'm hoping to be owning a California soon. There are two available that I am considering. Both are 4motion. One has diff lock and the other hasn't. How important is it to have the diff lock, and does it make much difference? I have very little off road experience, so any knowledge would be greatly appreciated. It's a lot of money for me to spend and I want to make sure I get it right. Sorry if this is a topic that has been done before.

Ours has it but I haven't had to use it yet (had ours 1.5 years)! So while I like knowing it's there, it's not essential. The 4motion system works very well on and off road but it's not the sort of van you'd do full on off roading in! However we've not encountered any snow - I used diff lock on our Defender a few times when it snowed to get me out of trouble!

shambly · Aug 10, 2013

We have a 4motion with diff lock (standard for my2012). I believe it became an option for my2013 and I can't find any sign of it for my2014.

The diff lock is for the rear axle only.

Even if you don't have the diff lock, you get EDL. This is an electronic system that brakes a spinning wheel so that torque is transferred to the other wheel on the axle. It is unclear if this operates on the rear axle on 4motion models but as it is listed as being standard for all models I assume it at least operates on the front axle.

A true diff lock (that makes both wheels on the axle spin at the same speed) is better than EDL but we are talking extremes here.

As an aside, we have used our diff lock only once to get off a camp site pitch in France after torrential rain and where we'd sunk a couple of inches into the waterlogged grass - I can't say we wouldn't have got off the site without it as we used it because we had it, but it was a reassurance as we didn't have time to wait for recovery to come AND still make our ferry.

In summary, I'd go for the vehicle whose other specification suits you the best. If diff lock has truly disappeared for my2014, it's because 4motion is enough without it.

Hope this helps,

Simon

Andresz · Aug 10, 2013

I do not have 4WD in my Cali, but I wish I had :sad

I have Suzuki Grand Vitara. With this one, I have been in several situations where I had to use differential lock, otherwise it would not go at all. It was in high snow or mud.
Question remains if you go into such place with Cali?, probably not. But you may find yourself in such circumstances without your will, probably not often or never, but it is so nice to have it as a ready to use support.
Also, with the total price of Van, this is probably the last option wich I would give up.

Moots · Aug 10, 2013

Thanks for your replies. I think I'm leaning more towards the diff lock. My reasoning is its better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it. The dilemma is that the non diff lock van has a higher spec. Zenon headlights, kenwood stereo etc.

mooro · Aug 11, 2013

Hi Moots, i am struggling to track down a 4 motion at the moment. when you have made your decision, can you let me know what the other one is? might be best to send a private message.

Cheers,
Mooro