If you’re like me and commit most of your Sundays to the NFL, you’ve probably seen GMC’s “Push the Button” commercial more than you’d like. I feel like I can hear that robot voice telling me to push the button in my sleep and I can’t handle it anymore. Annoying earworms aside, the 30-second TV spot also shows off GMC’s Crab Walk mode for both the Hummer EV and Sierra EV. Judging the new feature from TV ads alone, I initially felt like it was the most unnecessary, utterly useless function. But then I tested it and realized it wasn’t useless at all. It’s actually really cool.
I pulled up to the Crab Walk course during the GMC Sierra EV Denali press launch without any prior instruction on what it can do, what its limits are, or how to even use it. GMC just told us how to engage Crab Walk in the infotainment (which is followed by an obnoxious graphic and dramatic noise every. single. time.) and told us to go crab walkin’.
The course was a series of staggered cone gates that we had to navigate, and we were docked time for every cone we hit. We were also told that it disengages at 25 mph, so we had to keep it slow and use the surround view camera to judge where the back of the bed is. After that, I was on my way. The first gate was only a few feet in front of the starting line, and off to the left, so I had to begin my first slide pretty quickly, without any idea of how much it would slide as I turned the wheel. With the windows down, I instinctively said, “Oh, I don’t like this!” I’m positive the GMC people heard me.
Talking truthfully, I didn’t like it at first because feeling a car slide sideways, like you’re strafing in a video game, is an incredibly unnatural feeling. It feels wrong. However, after nailing the first two gates, I started to get the hang of it and actually enjoyed it. Since we were on loose dirt, the truck would even drift a little, adding to the challenge. It’s an entirely unique experience in a typically homogenous car market and that makes it fascinating.
During my second run, I felt more comfortable with it, almost flicking it through gates with one hand, using the cameras to make sure I didn’t clip a cone with the tailgate. It’s surprising how quickly your brain can adjust to such a foreign sensation. But afterward, I wanted more: a longer course, higher speeds, and trickier gates.
Even still I couldn’t think of a real-world use case for it. Maybe parallel parking, if there’s enough space? In the aforementioned commercial, the Hummer EV Crab Walks in between a dumpster and a truck, even though a normal turn would have sufficed.
I wasn’t convinced customers would ever use it, so I asked a GMC spokesperson. I was given a couple of scenarios that sound like logical problems Crab Walk can solve. For instance, if you accidentally veer off into a ditch on the side of a trail and need to get out, when you turn the wheels and accelerate you’re relying almost entirely on two tire sidewalls for grip. But with Crab Walk, you’re doubling that level of grip while only moving sideways, instead of moving forward and trying to rotate sideways. Backing up to a trailer can also be made easier if there isn’t enough room to turn the truck. It’s going to be one of those features that isn’t necessary all that often but when it does come in handy, customers are going to be glad they have it.
It’s also just fun.
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