Driving in the ECO Mode?

I have just over 200 miles on my C. ECO mode modulates energy used by the climate control system and adjusts throttle responses to promote efficiency. If you drive a prius to obtain the best possible mpgs then you probably will be light on the throttle and have the climate control off for most of your trip so the ECO mode may not be needed. I drove my C for the first 200 miles just like I drove my truck, hard. I took my family of 5 on two 50 mile round trips with eco mode off and speeds of 55-75 mph. I averaged 42 mpg. Now I have eco mode on and no one in the car with me and I should do much better. The fun is testing everything for yourself!

 

I only have 150 miles on mine so far, but I've never taken ECO mode off. I havent seen a time when it was needed. Just going up/down seattle hills seems to modulate the engine enough that I'm not 'maintaining a constant speed'.

 

I leave my car always in ECO mode unless I really, really, really need to accelerate quickly. Even with Eco mode on, punching the gas has given me enough acceleration for most situations.

 

Does ECO mode prevent throttle modulation while in cruise and climbing a hill? Thanks.

 

to a point, not completely.


im experimenting with hills and eco mode. On the freeway it really helps.


steep hills not so much, but im on my third tank of gas and seeing whats easier to maintain 50mpg.

with eco off, you can jack rabbit foward a little quicker while being in power, so in some cases eco will drink more gas

 

ECO mode has the same acceleration as Power mode. Power mode feels faster, since you get more power earlier in the accelerator pedal, but it all evens out when you get to the end.

Tom

 

Hello - I just bought a new Prius C3, I just have a general question, there are (2) buttons near the shifter (ECO/EV) that can be manually pushed... my question, will the car automatically go between Power/ECO/EV mode, or is this something I should do manually? Should I always have the ECO mode button turned on or will the car do this on its own? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

For all practical purposes just leave it in Eco mode. I would avoid EV mode at all costs. One may think he is increasing mpg by using it, but he is not. The quicker the battery drains the sooner you need the motor to recharge it.

 

The vehicle won't automatically toggle between the three (actually, four with "Normal mode" which is nothing selected). Lots of people just leave it in ECO mode for best mileage, including me. I toggle to Power mode occasionally for quicker response, like on my favorite on-ramps and when I like to embarrass BMWs off the line.

 

Based on my experience with a Prius v, you'll get your best performance both mileage wise and performance by keeping it in the Power Mode.

 

Based on my experience with a Prius v, you'll get your best performance both mileage wise and performance by keeping it in the Power Mode....

Said "power mode" does not exist on the Prius C......

 

Although I am finding your statement to be true, there absolutely have to be conditions where this will not be true. If power mode was the best under all conditions Toyota would make it the default mode. I'd be willing to guess that in heavy traffic with the a/c on would be one of those conditions where power mode would eat your lunch.

 

Certainly is counter intuituive, but until I find the conditions where it doesn't apply, I'm sticking to the Power mode. I'd also encourage others to try it so that we find out what is actually going on. At this point, it's hard to say why Toyota doesn't have it as the default. It could be that under EPA testing conditions it doesn't perform as well. One thing that really surprised me the other day was when I took a 4 mile round trip to the grocery store in the Power mode. I got over 57mpg on a trip I had never gotten over around 47mpg. This was is the morning when the battery was at its lowest. I would have bet the mileage should have been lower.

 

Yeah I tried two exact same trips yesterday and power mode got 56 mpg and Eco got 52.1. I'm about to test it on the same trip one more time from a cold start first drive of the day point of view.

 

I got my C3 on last Sunday for commute, 10% local and 90% hwy (55-70mph). I have been sticking with ECO mode and getting 55mpg. I definitely will try more local driving during the weekend.

 

I find I get better (displayed MPG) in "power" mode versus Eco mode. I figure it's that I'm able to get up to speed faster, and then coast quicker. Spending less time at a higher RPM must use less fuel than more time at a lower RPM.

 

Well I did my test and Eco came out slightly better. I posted the results in the thread below. I used no mpg saving techniques whatsoever. I did not want to introduce any other variables. I just drove the speed limit. The conditions were exactly the same for each trial.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/106265-i-like-power-mode.html




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squall, what do you think about leaving it in eco and going a long trip that includes somewhat mountainous driving like up lookout mountain near chattanooga, folowed by flat on the way to florida. could you leave it in cruise control. would you be able to just drive without cruise. i respect your opinion thatw why i ask