We prove that in arbitrary Carnot groups $\mathbb {G}$
G
of step 2, with a splitting $\mathbb {G}=\mathbb {W}\cdot \mathbb {L}$
G
=
W
⋅
L
with $\mathbb {L}$
L
one-dimensional, the intrinsic graph of a continuous function $\varphi \colon U\subseteq \mathbb {W}\to \mathbb {L}$
φ
:
U
⊆
W
→
L
is $C^{1}_{\mathrm {H}}$
C
H
1
-regular precisely when φ satisfies, in the distributional sense, a Burgers’ type system Dφφ = ω, with a continuous ω. We stress that this equivalence does not hold already in the easiest step-3 Carnot group, namely the Engel group. We notice that our results generalize previous works by Ambrosio-Serra Cassano-Vittone and Bigolin-Serra Cassano in the setting of Heisenberg groups. As a tool for the proof we show that a continuous distributional solution φ to a Burgers’ type system Dφφ = ω, with ω continuous, is actually a broad solution to Dφφ = ω. As a by-product of independent interest we obtain that all the continuous distributional solutions to Dφφ = ω, with ω continuous, enjoy 1/2-little Hölder regularity along vertical directions.