I started using ECO, assuming that the MPG would be better. Then I tried a tank with PWR mode and voila! the MPG was almost the same. Now I use PWR mode exclusively because the car is much more responsive in traffic. Question: I sometimes forget to change to PWR at startup because ECO is the default. HOW TO I MAKE PWR THE DEFAULT AT STARTUP?
I am still experimenting. I generally use normal mode. I try ECO mode sometimes but I don't really like it because I live in a hilly area and I find it kind of sluggish on hills. I sometimes switch to ECO on a highway and with cruise control. I prefer the general feel of PWR mode but don't keep it in that mode for long. I use EV mode at the end of a drive in my neighborhood or to go up ramps in a parking garage. I am sometimes able to engage it at the beginning of a trip if the battery has enough charge.
Hah! I have to say this is the first time I have ever, and I mean *ever*, heard anyone complement the driving habits of metro-DC drivers! (Don't worry, I include myself in this category, living in the same "Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area" ) to the question, I like to use ECO most, and then that way I get to feel a little extra juice when I put it in normal or power. ECO only really seems to make a mileage difference (I speak only for myself here) over normal when I use the AC. All this is anecdotal, of course.
ECO most of the time. I've only used PWR on short 'on' ramps(also turning off the a/c). I try to use the EV mode for the last 1/2 mile to my destination. This is the first i've heard of 'normal' mode, is this also available on the 2010? When it is beneficial to use the "B" mode on the 'shifter'? Long downhills when the car's speed is building above the speed limit? How about in stop-and-go traffic? How about when coming to an 'abrupt' stop at a traffic light that has just changed? Frank
At first I used Normal mode almost exclusively, but when I found Eco would give me better mileage at higher speeds, I started learning to drive on Eco. I had to learn to push the pedal a bit more for acceleration, and that has led to some near dangerous results when I start driving the Sienna! I use Power mainly for very steep hills (at low speed), for turning on to busy streets, for quick acceleration on freeway on-ramps, and, sometimes, just for fun. I use EV mode usually just at the end of the day or if I am moving between parking lots (or moving out of the driveway to park in the street). These days, I drive mainly in Eco, though my last tank was nearly exclusively in Normal mode.
I live very very close to Seattle downtown (Capital Hill if anyone cares ^^) and I'm having a difficult time to only use ECO mode to ride all the hills. I'm wondering if it's better to hit closer to the floor in the ECO mode or use the regular mode instead.
My (as always, anecdotal) experience is that if you stand on it, it goes all out, regardless of the mode it's in. Personally, in hilly areas I like the feel better of either normal or power. It seems to strain in ECO mode on hils, and doesn't 'want' to go past the vertical line in the middle of the display, whereas the other modes do, making it seem like more of a normal car.