Eco vs Reg vs Power Modes

As many have already said, I keep it in ECO mode 98% of the time. PWR mode is helpful when quick, responsive acceleration is needed for highway merges or quick turns. I've used EV mode a couple of times driving through the neighborhood for the last 1/2 mile of a trip, but that's it.

 

Boy, I must be the most lazy Prius driver on the planet. I put it in ECO when I got it and never even looked at the buttons again. I just can't be bothered with all that kind of fiddling. If I need more speed, pressing the accelerator will do just fine.

And, as I have read multiple times, flooring the pedal gives equal power in all modes. So I figured why bother with all those settings?

Although I have read that it also uses the A/C differently in ECO mode to save a few extra drops of gas. Whatever, where I live I rarely need the A/C.

 

EV mode is best for me only when moving the car to the driveway for washing, and there is no point in the engine coming on to warm up.

ECO mode is good training to accelerate slowly, it lets the preceeding traffic pull away to a safe level.

NORMAL is where I drive, I am just light on the accelerator unless needed. (Veteran Gen II driver so I was already used to it).

POWER mode fun to leave some smart nice person tailgater at the light when it turns green.
:car:

 

saying all modes are equal when you mash the pedal misses a nuance that maybe is only in my imagination

in power mode, when you are on the HSI screen (with the four zones - regen, battery, ice, red pwr) and are in the ice section all the way to the right, just at or before the red pwr zone, there seems to be a sweet spot where it zooms - where i believe the ICE is still relatively low RPMs but high torque, and the electric motor is zipping.

It is very different from mashing the pedal in any mode. I agree that if in power mode you mash, you end up in the same inefficient place as mashing in the other three modes. But the power mode gives yuo this sweet spot. try it - in power mode, with a good SOC, on a flat road, ease the HSI bar up to and through the barrier between ICE and pwr, slowly, and see if there isn't a spot where you get kicked back into your seat without the ICE revving up as high as a mash.

please someone tell me i am not crazy

 

Thanks fred, maybe I'll try it out one day (like I said, I am lazy).

I didn't mean to mash all driving modes. I have read for example that the Prius is more reluctant to switch off the ICE in power mode and I can very well understand why it does that and what the advantage is for a more sporty driving style.

My simple experience is that I can get along in traffic very well in ECO mode and that's enough for me.

 

Our Prius is now 6 weeks old (2600 Km) and 90% of the time, I'm on "Eco mode".

My 16 years old son usually switchs to the "Power mode" when he drives. He likes the extra kick it gives when the lights turn green. I did'nt notice a big difference on mileage but, as mentionned, it has not been on "Power mode" for a long drive.

I use the "EV mode" mainly in parking lots or in the street when I arrived at home! I just love driving around on Electricity and watch people looking at my car runing silently ! A couple of days ago, I followed a couple that was walking in the parking lot and the lady jumped when she saw me. We have to be careful because the car is very quiet and people or dogs don't always look both sides of the road before crossing !!!

In another tread, I found this link Toyota Prius/Driving tricks - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
which gives very interesting tips on how to use your Prius and how to get the maximum of it, like the "B" shift, acceleration, electric mode, etc.

Have fun !

 

If my battery is full, I've found that the EV works well while searching for parking spots. it switches off when you reach a certain speed, but in parking lots you're rarely going over 5-10mph anyway.