Does the Eco mode give you better mpg or not? This is in your real life driving. I have been driving only in this mode and I was thinking of trying without any mode at all. Thanks for your input... Rich
ECO re-maps the accelerator pedal to force you to drive more economically. Acceleration is very gentle, getting up to speed is slow. Other vehicles may honk at you for driving in that manner.
eco probably helps if you have a lead foot. it might keep you from pressing too hard on the pedal. but if you're trying to go faster, and you mash it, it's not going to help mpg's. might be a good training tool for some people. i use it for electric driving in the pip, i think it helps me accellerate slowly. and yes, sometimes the critters behind me aren't happy about it.
In short NO. Please look around on this forum this is explained numerous times in details. ECO mode mainly an illusion ... you will have to push the throttle further for the same engine power... but you do not have more or less power, or limit. However ECO mode does save you something if you use the A/C in auto mode !!! It regulates that differently basiclly limiting the A/C compressor (which is a BIG load on the HV battery). So your traction battery charge will be depleted slower but your comfort may suffer :-(
I used eco mode for a year or so and now I use normal, or no modes selected, and get better milage. Just depends on how you drive.
EV Mode is a tool for better mpg. Mr. Miyagi says. "If you know not how it could help you then you are not likely to benefit from it. " Unless you are a heavy A/C user. In that case use EV Mode anyway. lol
Power mode will also change how quick the ICE is fired up. This is somewhat independent of pedal mapping. And this isn't ideal for FE in most cases. As a side note, when I took a long road trip a few months ago I went to very large towns where I didn't know the roads near as well as I do around home. I found having it in power mode really took a lot of the stress out of driving in busy, fast freeway situations where I always didn't know which lane to be in.
I feel the same way and do this all the time when I go to the Bay Area where traffic can be nuts and people nuttier!
One more stress lowering travel tidbit... When going through large cities where I know I will be on the interstate for a while I use cruise control set lower than what most people are traveling and stay in the far right lane (unless there are a ton of lanes and lots of onramps dumping more cars onto the freeway, then 2nd from the right. Yes, you may get tailgated every now and then, but I find people get much less angry if you are traveling at a constant speed and they can better predict and see what you are doing.
It depends on your driving style. For some, they can get better mpg in ECO mode and for others, it made no difference in mpg. The ECO Mode is there to help the majority of drivers learn how to accelerate gently and to drive in a manner that gets good fuel economy. ECO mode also helps reduce electricity consumption of the A/C compressor (but it will take longer to cool down on a very hot day of course) and in the winter, help reduce heater output to minimise the amount of idling the engine has to do when it's cold outside.
I leave it in ECO mode for 1 reason. Potholes. Hitting them often jams your foot into the accelerator accidentally turning the ICE on when you hit pot holes, or other random road irregularities while you are trying to remain driving with just HV battery - which I do quite often.
I drove in ECO mode for the first few months after I got my Prius. Then several folks here posted that they were getting better MPG in "normal" mode than ECO, so I switched ECO off, and guess what? I got slightly better MPG, so now I always drive in normal mode.
Eco re-maps the pedal to allow you to drive more economically. You can drive exactly the same in any mode, if you want. Nope, see above. If you are looking for max acceleration for a given amount of pedal movement, while at high speed, you want to be in Eco mode. Due to the said remapping, Power mode has max acceleration for a given amount of pedal movement at low speed.
You also learned how to drive the car better and temps may have rose. When i bought my car in early March the average daytime temps were lower and my car/tires were breaking in. It was a struggle for me to get even 50mpg. Now that the car has broken in and temps are higher and i have learned how to drive it better i am getting crazy high numbers. I use Eco Mode almost exclusively. For a true A B A testing you would need to now go back to Eco Mode for the same number of tanks and see how you do.
I can't stand ECO mode. I also agree with those that say it is entirely dependent on your driving habits. If you can be light on the pedal without having to think about it too much, you will do just fine in "normal" mode. I don't see how people average 60+ mpg over multiple tanks unless they do a lot of stop and start city/local driving. I have a 38 mile commute to and from work each day. I normally average around 57 mpg on the way to work and by the time I get home the average usually comes down to about 52-53. It must be more down hill on the way to work. I've done 60+ mpg on certain trips, but have never been above 54 mpg for an entire tank.
I do very little urban driving yet i routinely get 60mpg+ tanks. The key to great highway mpg is driving at 60mph or slower, properly inflated tires and using glide on every hill, overpass and offramp. Having a decently long commute helps as well.
If I were to drive less than 60 mph on I-4 I would either die/be in an accident or be arrested. Not an option for me unfortunately. I do agree that inflation is a MAJOR factor.
