There's not a whole lot to describe. They're just different settings for ABS, traction control, throttle input, etc, to attempt to make the electronic nannies play nice with various levels of traction.
It's way more than that, each drive mode will transform the vehicle by changing the calibration for numerous functions including the traction control, stability control, ABS, powertrain response, steering feel, yaw response, AWD traction, driveline, HMI (cluster UI, gauges and graphics) and on ford vehicles that have active suspension (raptor) it changes the damping rate. The drive modes really will have a play a big role to enhance the driving experience for the terrain you are on.
Ehh. It doesn't enhance my experience to have to stop what I'm doing and consider what mode I'm in and wiggle a dainty knob around. I've owned 2 cars with a sport mode and it's always my least favorite part of a car to have to faff around with mode selections.
None are required. Some people will like the modes, some people won't use them at all. Other than the trans/engine/traction stuff, they mostly do things that you can do yourself in a different way.
It gives Karen and Ken a chance to pause and build their courage before turning onto that gravel road to the VRBO ski chalet ...
In Raptor, the rear diff is locked by default in both sand/mud and crawl modes. Raptor doesn't have a front locker (full-time Torsen). So Bronco may default to rear locked as well - although easy to turn off. I agree that the brakes are used when not locked.
I think to activate the “rock” mode you may have to have both lockers on. Like if your in 2H and open diffs I don’t know if the GOAT will even let you select rock.
I agree with you for most cars and SUVs. For Bronco, probably the one that will be most enjoyed is Baja mode for folks with auto trans that do high-speed offroading. Possibly also sport mode on street for younger crowd wanting it to "feel powerful". For low speed offroad, there isn't much value.
The biggest thing with “crawl” mode is - Maximizing power steering
I didn't deep dive the 2019 Ranger... but I'm pretty sure it doesn't lock the rear diff for Terrain Management. The Raptor very well could... but when looking for Ranger information... I stumbled on truth table for these modes buried in a post on a F150 forum that I don't think supported that the diff went active in those modes. I just wish I would have save that data.
This also may be true... but as seamless as they try to make these systems I would think you just select the mode and the electronics do the rest. Do you have any technical data to support this theory? I would love to get my hands on the specs for this new system.
The rock crawl mode will automatically lock the difs, disconnect the sway bar, and change the driveline to 4 LOW. The whole idea is for the system to quickly and seamlessly transform the vehicle for the best performance on each terrain. For example if you are offroading on some course that has multiple types of terrain you can quickly change all the vehicle settings on the fly with a twist of a knob instead of having to stop and press multiple buttons to adjust settings.
