Does the handbrake slip still work on modern cars? | Car

It is of course forbidden on public roads, but almost everyone used to have a father, or if necessary a crazy uncle, who was willing to show a handbrake slip after intense insistence. Light steering, preferably on a sandy or wet surface, off the gas, clutch in and a short pull on the handbrake usually made for a nice maneuver.

It’s bad for the car, bad for the tires and potentially life-threatening, but the fun is great. But what happens if you try the same with an electric button? Instead of a lever between the seats, which locked the rear brake via a cable. To prevent you from trying this potentially dangerous maneuver yourself, the men of 24Auto.de checked if it is possible.

The handbrake is now electronic. Yet something really happens when you put it on. In modern cars, however, the command to apply the rear brakes does not go directly to the brake hydraulics, but to the on-board computer. It interprets this as a request for immediate emergency braking and immediately starts doing so – just not in a way that is brutal and abrupt enough to lock the rear wheels.

The braking intervention, on the other hand, is smooth and effective. The ABS system also intervenes when entering a soggy field or sandy track. The car comes to a stop quickly, but not fast enough to start a panoramic braking distance with the rear wheels locked. So there’s one thing you can’t do with an electronic handbrake, and that’s drifting.

That might be a good thing. Because what else would happen if you accidentally use the handbrake button? For example, when you want to open a convertible roof while driving, don’t look closely and press the wrong button? Some cars – like the Audi RS3 and the Kia EV6 GT have a so-called drift mode to compensate, so that you can theoretically still drift by pressing the accelerator pedal. This is also prohibited on public roads.