Hold That Hill: 2012 Chevy Sonic Lends "Extra Foot"

[6 Shooter]

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MILFORD, Mich. – We’ve all needed an extra hand at one time or another – but what about an extra foot? The 2012 Chevy Sonic offers just that – an “extra foot” with standard hill-hold technology on all manual transmission models that can help novice and veteran stick drivers better manage hills.

Typically, car manufacturers introduce cutting edge technology and new features in luxury models and gradually filter them down to mainstream vehicles. However, Chevy is introducing hill-hold technology in the all-new Sonic, a sub-compact car starting at $14,495 including a $760 destination charge.

Hill-hold technology makes navigating hilly terrain with a manual as effortless as an automatic, allowing drivers to get started without rolling backward or forward.

In a Sonic equipped with hill-hold, a pitch sensor detects the tilt of the body when the car is stopped on a slope and sends a signal to the stability control system. This triggers the electronically controlled brake hardware to keep the wheels clamped for up to two seconds after the driver releases the brake pedal.

“It will retain the braking force that the driver applied with the chassis control system and hold the vehicle in place” said John Buttermore, lead development engineer for the Sonic. “That’s long enough for the driver to safely apply the accelerator and let out the clutch for a smooth start, always heading in the right direction.”

Hill-hold is like giving Sonic drivers a third foot, enhancing both the safety and the convenience of driving in hilly terrain.

GM Media

 

[Tuna]

Pretty good idea to use the stability control system to sense being on a hill and have it hold the brakes for a bit after taking the foot off the brake pedal. If it works automatically without the driver having to do anything, that would be very nice.

In my CTS V, I have to activate the "electronic emergency brake" switch to hold the car on a hill. Then when come out on the clutch, the electronic brake releases automatically and away I go.

 

[Hib Halverson]

It's another example of how current engineering philosophy at OEs is that most drivers are too stupid to be driving and, because of that, electronics will drive for them.

 

[Tuna]

Yea, maybe. I never use the "hill-hold" capability on my "V" but I have tested it to make sure it works. Of course with the "V", I have enough power to come right out on the clutch and make my getaway. I suppose the Sonic's engine would just bog and stall if the driver didn't get it right. So maybe Sonic buyers that can't handle a stick shift on a hill should just buy the automatic.