It does more than send the power to the front and rear. What it does is double the effective number of gears you have, by stepping down the gearing which in effect, provides significantly more torque to the wheels. So instead of being able to hit 23mph in first gear in normal high-range drive mode, it is limited to a 7mph crawl by the effect of the transfer case's gear ratio. This is one of the most essential components of a 4wd drive vehicle compared to all wheel drive like the Mercedes. With a low range transfer case, the power and control is increased exponentially.