A vehicle control system (10) for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle; the vehicle control system comprising a subsystem controller (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) for initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of different subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle. Evaluation means (18) are provided for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output to the subsystem controller that is indicative of the control mode which is most appropriate. This may be an evaluation means for calculating the probability that the or each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate. Automatic control means (20) may be operable in an automatic response mode to select an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.