Freelander 1 HDC in the snow

Anybody think that the HDC in a TD4 auto lets the vehicle move too quickly before cutting in? Took the FL up onto Dartmoor on New Year's Day with the family and the dog. We usually head up to Princetown but the road was chocabloc so nipped up a side road I know. Nice walk in the snow. Had to drive back down a mildly steep hill which was covered in snow and met the inevitable Ford Fiesta that had got as far as it could and was reversing back down the hill. I wasn't having any traction issues so had the idea to use HDC so put it in first and pressed the button. I expected the FL to be very slow but it very quickly ate the distance up between me and the Fiesta to the point where I had to brake. The ABS went nuts at that point getting trcation which it did and I was able to stop easily. The speed was a bit of a shock to be honest, I guess it's the downside of an automatic?

You need to hold it in first gear

HDC target speed is set to 6 MPH, which shouldn't be too fast. You can make it go faster, simply by applying throttle to your preferred target speed.

HDC only functions is 1st and reverse, so you have to have the gear selector in those positions, or HDC is simply in standby (flashing green light).

I've never found HDC too fast myself, but if you need to slow down, the brakes will function normally, even when HDC is active.

Thanks for the replies. I had it in 1st gear and the HDC light was constant, didn't touch the throttle. Thinking about it 6mph going downhill towards the other car would be about right .