Hi guys Just bought a 2010 Prius Tourer here in Adelaide south Australia and very eager to drive him. I know nothing about these cars except it’s soo smooth and small to drive. I ask, what mode is best to drive in and why The Toyota dealer just said leave it in ECO mode all day everyday and just use power if you need a boost, quick start off or are going up hill.. But is there a method that is best to charge the batteries and get good fuel economy By the way I have named him “Corvin” after Michael Corvin from Underworld movies as he was also a HYBRID Hahah
congrats and welcome! eco for best fuel savings, normal for normal drivers and power for the beast in you. but don'tswitch around, it's too much trouble after awhile. pick one and stick with it. ignore the sales weasel. all the best!
Just in case the article linked in Ed Beaty's post (#2) is too long ... Nearly all the change is merely user interface touch-and-feel of gas pedal, not real changes to the propulsion system, so the "best mode" varies by driver preference and personality type. Different drivers get their best results in different modes. So just use whatever mode feels best to you.
My priority is to optimize MPG. As such, I normally drive in "Normal", and use "Eco" only if I'm heavily using the AC. If find "Eco" to be more wasteful than "Normal" on two counts: - Its initial slow throttle response means it takes a lot longer to "press" through the battery range and activate the engine. Particularly in stop-and-go traffic, this drains battery life much faster and kills mpg. - For the times I really need to press the gas down to get some power, the "ECO" mode is so sensitive that its hard to navigate between "give me some extra gas to get up this hill" and "OMG, IT'S A TERMINATOR GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!", and extra gas gets wasted compared to the finer control of "normal" at high throttles. However, Eco does have the added benefit of doing some behind-the-scenes manipulation of the AC to use less energy, so if I'm doing steady highway driving with it on, I'll use eco.
I like "Normal" (neither ECO or PWR pushed): feels natural and linear, what more can you ask. ECO, way too much pedal travel required to get a reaction, actually harder to modulate. PWR doesn't actually increase power in any way, just makes the pedal a little more touchy. 4th gen, I understand they've made all the "modes" more aggressive, so might need to be revisited. But for 3rd gen, that's my pref.
