less power at the top of the accelerator curve. at the bottom, it is the same. prevents you from jackrabbit starts, unless you floor it.
Eco mode also makes the radar cruise too sluggish for me preferences. I therefore usually use Normal mode.
Selecting it also alters your Climate Control settings to more economical settings, but you can easily adjust them back afterwards. Each mode has it's own colour for the background of the multi-function display so that'll change.
There are no disadvantages; only preferences. Actually, it's the opposite. ECO is less responsive at the bottom of the curve while PWR is more responsive at low throttle. Wide open throttle is the same in all modes. And as noted, there are differences in DRCC and climate control behavior. I have heard that there is also a change in valve timing, but I have no confirmation of that. Pick the mode you like best and that best does what you want.
I am going to check that with my car if it does that. Although it's a Corolla the drivetrain is similar and so are a lot of the electronics I guess.
Now that's interesting. In my experience (always in ECO mode), the DRCC waits too late and brakes too hard. When I see traffic slowing ahead, I disengage the cruise and let it coast or glide and then lightly brake if need be rather than have the CC keep the power on and then wake up and realize there's a car stopped in front of me.
I notice that in a L-O-N-G on-ramp onto the motorway, ECO works fine to accelerate up to Motorway merge speed - unless there is an impatient driver behind. But most are a bit too short - so I flick it to PWR. On the motorway, the tighter the traffic, the more likely I'll use PWR, but in the slow lane, ECO is generally fine.
Try regular or power mode in your wife’s car with DRCC. I think it was @alanclarkeau here that caught my attention when he mentioned it. Your Prime may respond differently.
As an aside - I've "apparently" got an affinity and attraction to buttons. I well recall going from a TOYOTA COROLLA 1969 to this - a VOLVO 164 1973 - with ample buttons and knobs to play with all day. And my wife commenting - "can you drive without continually fiddling with knobs". I told her that's what they're there for - to twiddle with and turn off and on.
Mine doesn't even have knobs there. And it just awful. Eyes off road to find the spot on the piece of glass.
See? Nothing to fiddle with. Does not help keeping your eyes on the road though. I am still convinced the frequent full screen alerts on the MID should be banned as a driving distraction unnecessarily directing your attention away from the road. Most of them cannot be disabled either. Many times a small icon would suffice as an indicator.
I imagine I must have done that on our trip in October to Ohio. But if I did, I didn't notice a difference. One day I might get a chance to try it again while looking out for that. 99.9% of the time, I just leave them in ECO. They have just as much power there as in any other mode. You just press a little harder on the go pedal. LOL! Reminds me of what my pastor said when we went to Kennedy Space Center together. "We're the two guys who push buttons and say, 'What's this one do?'" (He's even crazier than I am, by the way.) Your car gots knobs???!!! The only knobs in mine are the shifter and the guy behind the steering wheel. Amen and amen!!!!
The dearth of tactile/ergonomic controls has likely caused accidents. I’d assume the manufacturers’ motivation (as always) is cost-cutting?
Not unless you keep the price the same or raise it. It is possible to cut costs & cut the price too. If they could raise the price to increase profit, they would likely do that before investing in reducing costs.
My hunch is they do both, as much as the consumers and regulators can stomach. It’s a jaded view admittedly, but I doubt they leave a stone unturned.
