What mode do you drive in? I've had my car for a week and set it in Eco the day I got it. Comparing Eco and Normal, what's the difference? Is it just throttling the a/c and fan speed? FYI, I'm in hot & humid South Florida. We hit 88 degrees today and the humidity is returning in advance of the wet season.
I try to stay in Eco, but summer afternoons need normal. It is not real important as i am using cruise control 95% of the time, and if your foot is not on the throttle, who cares what the throttle position would be?
The difference between Eco and Normal is primarily simply a less aggressive mapping of the accelerator pedal. It also changes how the AC works. I now use "Normal" more than 90% of the time. When I first got my Prius I used ECO, but now I appreciate the "normal" driving feel of "normal". And after a few years of driving a Prius, I also think I can get nearly as good, maybe in some cases better MPG's in normal. So for me, it's Normal most of the time, ECO occasionally. Power? I hardly ever use. It's kind of just personal preference.
I'm seeing many people on here state they get better mpg in PWR. I'm considering turning off Eco and just driving in Normal. I live in the suburbs with fast arterial roads (40-45) but tons of lights and stop and go with traffic. I live right near a highway I take often to avoid traffic too.
only way to know is to test the different modes. i have no problem staying in eco. it doesn't generally get that hot or cold here, and the pedal is just a meant thing.
You can also find people online claiming the moon is made of green cheese. If you want max throttle control, ECO mode is the way to have it. But you can easily repeat the same trip 3 times in the 3 modes and check the average for each trip. Straight/level roads give the best comparison.
You can achieve a wide open throttle in any of the modes. All they do is change the sensitivity of gas pedal in the intermediate travel. I like both buttons off, ie: normal.
Hi I'm new here, and just got my first prius v today(2016) . i see there only three modes, ECO, EV, and Power, can't seem to find "normal". Is normal one of them?? Thanks in advance.
If you aren't in one of the ones you mentioned, you are in normal. There is no button or light for normal; normal has no Eco, ev or pwr icon lit in the display.
I'm going for good fuel economy, but not to the point of driving my passengers (wife & daughter) crazy. I'm in South Florida so the a/c is on virtually every trip in the car. I never use Auto for a/c, I set the fan speed to somewhere in the middle, and the thermostat to 78. (I need to make sure my daughter stays cool enough in her rear-facing car seat in the back.) Does this mean I should be using ECO mode because of the a/c usage? Or, since I make sure to control the temperature (my wife is always cold anyway), do you think I could achieve the same mpg in Normal? I'm really confused as to which mode I should be in, how to accelerate, etc. Really learning to drive the car still.
The 'best' mode is just a matter of user preference. With climate control off, the machine can do the same in any mode, just pick the mode that works best with your particular combination of human foibles. For any given AC setting, ECO should use a bit less fuel. But while in the other modes, backing off the amount of AC ought to produce the same effect. If you are adjusting for the minimum AC for your comfort, then the mode should again not matter to the machine. Use whatever works best for the human occupants. I'm in the full-time-ECO camp. But the other camps are well represented too.
The eco light to the left is a response to how you drive, it goes out under hard acceleration. The eco light to the right is the one that indicates that you have the eco button pressed.
