Eco mode on or off?

I mostly drive in ecomode when I'm driving around town, but I'm a new Prius owner (about 2 weeks) so I haven't been able to tell a difference yet. I do have to take it out of ecomode for hills and red lights, as it takes way too long to reach the speed limit. Does anyone else notice this?

 

Mainly eco, but in certain circumstances, I revert to 'Normal' or 'PWR'.

'Eco' - main use
'Normal' - starting in mornings, cold, and gentle inclines
'PWR' - steep inclines, joining motorways, first off the lights
'EV' - showing-off to neighbours or colleagues on last section home or in work car-park.

 

I use eco in slow traffic or town/city driving. Normal mode on the open road or with slight hills and power for steep hills or entering motorways.

I find eco does make a slight difference but only a couple mpg over a 100 miles. It seems to hold the car in either electric or below the red power band and this helps economy slightly. It also switches the engine off quicker during warm up but also affects the heating and a/c by keeping them at a lower level (even when a/c is set on auto).

 

I am staying permanently in ECO until Ive got he first 600 or so miles on the clock. It DOES take a long time accelerating..........

To GrumpyCabbie

I was in harrogate on thursday morning (not in my prius) and saw a black Prius taxi going the other way (actually completely stationary in traffic on the Stray - ie normal conditions!)

I wondered if it was yourself ! (i think I clocked a YH prefix)

regards
Alan

 

Which mode is most similar to a Prius II which has no selection of modes?

Chucka

 

NORMAL is pretty much what resembles the Iconic model.

ECO is very much like the Classic model was all the time. Dropping the pedal to the floor and letting the computer decide the best way to achieve maximum acceleration became standard practice as a result. I find myself doing that quite often when needed to accelerate quickly while already in motion.

POWER is what I take advantage of when pulling out into busy traffic from a dead stop. It's nice having that extra punch from by informing the system you'd like to consume electricity at a greater rate than usual.

Of course, let's not forget that the Classic model only offered a 33 kW electric motor and the Iconic a 50 kW. The 60 kW in the 2010 combined with the highest voltage provides greater efficiency opportunity regardless of mode.
.

 

I drove for a tank on each during my normal commute and didn't see any noticeable difference ~ 44 MPG either way.

 

I leave it off. Acceleration is ridiculously slow until you press on the pedal. Whether it has MPG benefits remains to be seen. The weather and number of short trips is a far bigger factor. I drive PWR mode all the time and it helps with keeping up with traffic at launch. I still cruise +/-5km of posted limit and try to anticipate red lights to maximize coasting.

My calculated tank mpgs are 39,41,42,47 since delivery. The latest tank of 47mpg (51mpg on HSI) is due to balmy daytime highs of 50F.

 

Available power is exactly the same in all three modes. The difference is in the amount of power delivered per unit of travel of the pedal during the first half of pedal travel. At much over half throttle and certainly at full throttle they are all the same.

The advantage of ECO is that its slower rate of change gives you finer control of power being delivered and makes it easier to glide and keep the HSI where you want it. ECO also operates the AC in a more economical mode and allows the ICE to shut down more readily.

The advantage of the PWR mode is that it makes the prius throttle seem more like that of a non hybrid car and gives the impression of having more power because of the higher rate of change during the first half of pedal travel.

Normal mode is between the two and was the only mode available on the first two Prius models.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...on/74267-please-explain-eco-mode-gen-iii.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...75975-driving-in-normal-mode-necessary-2.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...discussion/77151-different-prius-modes-2.html

 

The same power is available in all three modes, so selecting Power or Normal won't help you accelerate or climb hills. Power mode feels like it has more power, but only because the power comes on earlier in the pedal stroke. If you put your foot in it, you will get the same power in any of the modes.

This same trick is used by most car manufactures to make cars feel sportier. The first part of the accelerator stroke changes the throttle position a lot, and then there isn't much change later in the stroke. It makes you feel like there is a lot of power available.

Tom

 

Thanks for info guys, amazing how much info you can learn on these forums

 

I've used ECO mode since about 2 months after getting my Prius. It seems to have increased my MPG by ~2.

 

I don't see any gains in eco mode. I believe I am a very eco driver and I find the fast accerlation to the desired speed and then cruise is the best method for me.
I did try eco mode but the MPG fell pretty fast so I switched back to normal. My wife drives Eco and she gets good MPG too at the sacriface of Battery.

Personally I only like the normal and the power mode the rest I hardly use.

 

Yep that would have been me - hope I was smiling?

 

I used ECO for the first 800 miles ... switched to Normal. Same milage, I enjoy the car more, and much more responsive if/when you need it.
Bart in SoCAL

 

I just got back from a 2000 mile road trip. I used cruise control a lot and had it in ECO most of the time. I did notice that it seemed that when I hit "resume" on the cruise control that the car took a lot longer to get back up to speed and the ECO light remained on a lot more when it was in ECO mode than when it was in Normal or Power mode. Also, it seemed that when in ECO and the AC was set to AUTO that the computer kept the compressor off, the fan on high more and the Recirc open to outside air almost all the time, trying to capitalize on evaporative cooling or the "ceiling fan" effect.

 

There is no point in staying in "normal" aka no mode. ECO mode allows for finer control of the accelerator which will most likely result in better gas mileage for you. So I say put it on and leave it on.