What's everyone's favorite driving mode that they use regularly? Could you explain why and do you notice difference in feel, mpg, steering, acceleration, power, shifting, ride-comfort, etc. Thank you.
Most of the time we keep them in ECO mode. I keep a 3X5 on the visor with the procedure to disable Traction Control. I usually have to use that option 2 or 3 times each winter. I often shift to PWR mode on the on-ramp getting onto the interstate. I also use PWR when slush is piling up on the pavement.
ECO for me, to get finer throttle control in my normal power range. I haven't done any serious MPG comparison, that should be more a matter of which user interface best fits the driver's individual style, so people get different answers. No impact whatsoever on steering, acceleration, power, or ride-comfort. And there is no shifting within D to be considered. Or do you mean when you manually shift between D, P, R, and B?
ECO mode unless it's super hot out, which doesn't happen very often in the PNW. The AC is less powerful in ECO mode. It's my understanding that the different modes only effect AC and throttle response. It doesn't actually add or subtract power from the engine.
I love the fact I have a choice for starters, and though I fully realize the PWR mode doesn't really increase the total power available, I like the illusion! My daily commute takes me up an onramp that is near a Port of Entry, and it's sight line sucks due to the grade and other factors (poor Prius viz being one), and I am in PWR when I go up it. Same with pulling the 1200' of vertical up the mountain i live on. Used judiciously, I don't see any hit in my MPG. Averaging high 50's like I do, if there is one over staying in eco 100% of the time, I'm not too worried about it.
Over any meaningful distance, external carbon exhaust from other vehicles is unavoidable, no matter which air mode is selected. But mode does control how much internal carbon exhaust, from respiration, is allowed to build up. I'm also remembering back when death of a 'napping' child in the back seat, from CO poisoning by same-vehicle exhaust leaking in through holes and gaps in the floor and rear, was an annual news item. And I now very much wonder if that was a contributor to my own frequent childhood car sickness. Today's cars should put out far less of that (at least downstream from the catalytic converter), but I still prefer more 'fresh' air to help dilute any developing problems in older vehicles.
I've forgotten the ECO and PWR buttons even exist; haven't used either in about a decade. I found ECO required way too much pedal travel; hard on the right leg and ankle, and accordingly more difficult to modulate.
Feels the same, but need to press a little farther on the pedal. Never did a closed loop test, but I do have far better throttle control at city speeds when in ECO, which is where I keep it. Has nothing to do with the power modes. Also nothing to do with the power modes. The car has the same horse power in all modes. See above. I can shift from side to side in my seat just fine in all modes. That's about the only shifting that happens in a Prius. Suspension is not affected by mode either. Nor are the seats or sound insulation.
One thing: I’ve heard (somewhere…) that going from 3rd to 4th gen Toyota made all the levels more responsive; 4th gen ECO is sim to 3rd gen normal, for example.
I've also seen it said that it's been said that 4th gen ECO is like 3rd gen normal. No one has demonstrated that to be true afaik. As far as I could tell going from a PiP to a Prime, ECO felt like ECO in both, normal like normal, etc. ECO in my Prime takes considerable pedal movement to get moving from low throttle settings. ECO is not at all linear and normal is linear in my Prime. BUT ... 4th gen has less powerful MG1 and MG2 than gen 3, but they spin much faster, providing a torque multiplier effect. That makes it a bit snappier off the line.
I'm surprised at how many ECO answers we have. I always run on power mode because it's more similar to my other vehicle. I found the ECO to be exhausting to my leg by having to floor it every time the light turns green to keep up with the other cars on the road. However, this thread reminds me to use ECO mode in the summer when I am using my cruise control to save on AC.
Here's a little hyperbole to illustrate why I use ECO rather than PWR. Imagine a volume control knob with "off" at the 7 o'clock position and full volume at the 5 o'clock position. (About like most volume knobs.) It's very easy to change the volume from 10% to 20%. Now picture it with "off" at about 11:30 and full volume at about 12:30. Now try changing the volume from 10-20%. Not so easy. Most driving is in the lower range of throttle opening, so having less throttle change per unit of "go pedal" movement helps you to not be constantly accelerating and decelerating as you hunt between going faster and slower than you want to. Also, the resistance of the "go pedal" is very nearly linear so it's not any harder to push it all the way down than it is to push it a quarter of the way down. You move it farther, but it's not harder to move.
