APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING TRAVEL MODE OF FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE

An apparatus for controlling a travel mode of a four-wheel drive vehicle, the apparatus includes a heat generation amount calculation unit configured to determine a heat loss amount of a torque converter, a rough terrain travel start determination unit configured to determine, whether to start travel on a road having rough terrain conditions, a first travel mode control unit configured to control entry into a semi-off-road travel mode when a current travel mode is an on-road travel mode, a rough terrain travel maintenance determination unit configured to determine whether to maintain the travel on the road having the rough terrain conditions during the semi-off-road travel mode, based on the heat loss amount, and a second travel mode control unit configured to control entry into a dedicated off-road travel mode from the current travel mode when it is determined to maintain the travel on the road having the rough terrain conditions.