For cyclists, I have heard a saying that, it all depends on 'time on the saddle'. The more often and longer you ride, you are familiar with your bike and able to extract all the performance that your bike can offer.
I think the same philosophy also applies to off-roading. The more you drive, you will know how-when-what etc and deal with it accordingly with your car. From my personal experience, whenever someone on the convoy tells me to press this, do that, drive this way and that way, I am always surprised with what my car could do. I am sure the longer and more regular we drive, we will discover the capabilities and limitations of our machines.