I'm not in this situation often, but when mine was new, I took it off-road... above snow line to boot, on some dirt trails in the Rockies.
Like you, it was great going up, and I recall a little scary going down, and I didn't have cliffs, but I was on mud and snow and slush, and there were plenty of trees to hit. I think the FEH is very capable... remember, it has 4 wheel discs, and most vehicles only have front wheel disc.. so in theory, this car has some advantage... the "load" is more equally split over 4 wheels. But I agree, it "feels" different enough to be un-nerving.
Good Luck! And post back often how it does in the future. I'm so glad to hear when people are actually using this as a "Ute".

-John