Maybe it is because I work for an automotive supplier on ESP systems that I am so picky about the terminology used and how it actually works. I really dislike some of Chrysler's design requreiments and terminology used.
You cannot fully disable ESP according to the owner's manual. Brake applied TCS is always availible for all three modes. Over 35mph, ESP is always enabled. ESP Off is usefull for 10-35mph speeds on sand and snow where you want to oversteer/4-wheel drift. If ESP were enabled, it would determine that the steering angle relative to how much lateral acceleration and yaw rate (how much the car is spinning) the vehicle has is not safe and apply brakes to "help" the driver along the intended (biased by steering angle) path. This has more to do with lateral grip than wheel spin. For low speed rock climing or 2/3-wheels teetering where you need help because of our open differentials, Partial ESP is probably enough. It seems Chrysler thinks no one should drift over 35mph. Probably a good speed to limit for most drivers, but I wish off were off!
Just because ESP is fully disabled you would not be left with 1 wheel violently spinning robbing power from the other. I know this first hand.
Which just proves ESP is not truely disabled, ever. The owners manual implies that all three ESP modes would apply brakes to try to get all 4 wheels spinning, not just ESP Off mode. In ESP normal mode, it may also cut engine torque (by retading spark and limiting the electronic throttle plate).
My own experiementing has questioned the accuracy of the owner's manual descriptions to implementation. I need more experience, though.
Homac, I don't mean to offend you. Just wanted to make sure we are reading and interpreting the same thing. It seemed quite clear how it is written that brake applie TCS is never disabled for any of the 3 ESP modes and that's how we get anything more than 1 wheel driven per axle.