Long trip drive, driver mode on eco or normal?

[King Crimson]

Hi everyone,

Going on my first long trip (736 km or 457 miles) with my 1.8 corolla. For anyone that has done a long trip drive with their corolla does using the eco mode make a difference when going at a steady speed? Propably going to stay at a relaxed 110 kmh or 68 mph with cruise control active. 

[TonyHSD]

Hi , 

I have done a long trip in eco mode and after that I realised how uncomfortable eco mode makes you feel your foot, constantly hard pressed to maintain speeds on motorways especially if there are hill climbing, just drive in Normal and you will be much better off. Efficiency is simply the same. Eco mode only ok in city with traffic jams.

Have a nice trip 🚗👍

[AndrueC]

All that ECO mode does is reduce the effect of the accelerator pedal. I don't believe it changes anything in how the engine actually runs. It just means you have to move the accelerator further/faster to get the desired response. It will save fuel for those who lack finesse and/or who struggle with fine muscle control but for everyone else it's just a way of making the driving experience more annoying.

[AJones]

In the Prius, the Eco drive mode also puts the air conditioning into Eco mode, so there's a small economy saving from that, I guess it's the same in the Corolla?

Certainly agree that the driving experience of going up hills in a hybrid in Eco isn't good, I put mine into Eco shortly after I got it and didn't pay much attention to the modes, then found myself with foot to the floor trying to get it up a hill, concerned I'd made a mistake going for a hybrid rather than a turbo-diesel. Normal is much better.

If you put it in Eco, just remember to change modes as needed when the road conditions need something more responsive.

[MyOpinionIsWorthless]

2 hours ago, King Crimson said:

Hi everyone,

Going on my first long trip (736 km or 457 miles) with my 1.8 corolla. For anyone that has done a long trip drive with their corolla does using the eco mode make a difference when going at a steady speed? Propably going to stay at a relaxed 110 kmh or 68 mph with cruise control active. 

Ac on eco mode. Car on power mode. Equals a relaxed drive

[Roy124]

ACC on motorway made for relaxed driving.

[Rambler56]

Just leave it in Normal and use the ACC where appropriate for a more relaxed journey.

[HybridLover]

Yup, I just did 600 mile road trip in normal mode and returned 67mpg (combined) in my 1.8 Corolla hybrid plus luggage and 2 other passengers. ACC at 70mph on motorways (reduced to 65 or 60mph for uphill stretches)

[Georgey Porgey]

1 hour ago, HybridLover said:

Yup, I just did 600 mile road trip in normal mode and returned 67mpg (combined) in my 1.8 Corolla hybrid plus luggage and 2 other passengers. ACC at 70mph on motorways (reduced to 65 or 60mph for uphill stretches)

Wow 😳 loving your mileage & mpg. Is yours a hatch back or estate?

Just ordered a 1.8 Corolla Estate.

[HybridLover]

It’s a HB. I usually get a hybrid driver score in the 80s if I just leave it in ACC.

[Luke717]

On 8/13/2021 at 4:31 PM, King Crimson said:

Hi everyone,

Going on my first long trip (736 km or 457 miles) with my 1.8 corolla. For anyone that has done a long trip drive with their corolla does using the eco mode make a difference when going at a steady speed? Propably going to stay at a relaxed 110 kmh or 68 mph with cruise control active. 

I'd stick with Normal as others have mentioned. I did a 700-mile round trip on an early June weekend in my 1.8 HB, just my wife and I plus a couple of small suitcases. Mostly motorway and sticking to the speed limits so major use of ACC. Climate control on, Android Auto for navigation and streaming music, averaged +/- 63mpg and hybrid driver score average across all segments of the trip of 84. Very acceptable.

If I'd turned all that off, I'm sure the numbers would be even better. But that's no fun!

ECO is focused on maximum fuel economy and minimising emissions embracing everything to achieve that, concisely described on page 408 of the PDF manual as: "Helps the driver accelerate in an eco-friendly manner and improve fuel economy through moderate throttle characteristics and by controlling the operation of the air conditioning system (heating/cooling)." I've not used ECO mode at all in the year since I bought my Corolla.

[frizzbee30]

I do a lot of distance driving, often 200 to 300 in a day, I find eco mode fine.

 

Others disagree,  but perhaps thats why a poor mpg in my 2.0 is 57 to 60 on a trip, and an average is a ridiculously easy 63.

 

I also have the clim control on eco too.

🙂

 

[Yorkie21]

I have a 2.0 and tried it in ECO mode briefly on a recent motorway journey. It was scary how the throttle response vanished almost completely when I wanted to overtake another driver at 68mph. Never again!

[TonyHSD]

Well, I had crossed Europe in eco mode and I felt like I was going around the globe instead, such a tiring thing. Normal mode ever since and I don’t get fatigued right foot from pushing accelerator like an idiot.🤣👌

[Roy124]

I let the ACC do the pushing. On a twisting A road and a slow truch I just switched to Sport abs and bided my time until the opportunity to overtake. Job done I took it out of burner and back to ECO. 

On motorways no issues 

[frizzbee30]

3 hours ago, Yorkie21 said:

I have a 2.0 and tried it in ECO mode briefly on a recent motorway journey. It was scary how the throttle response vanished almost completely when I wanted to overtake another driver at 68mph. Never again!

Never had that issue, 2.0, 1000 miles a week plus eco, loads of power when needed, and brilliant on the overtaking sections of the A69...

[Red_Corolla]

2 hours ago, frizzbee30 said:

Never had that issue, 2.0, 1000 miles a week plus eco, loads of power when needed, and brilliant on the overtaking sections of the A69...

This has been my experience too, loads of response in the Eco mode and keeping the speed legal in built up areas actually takes a bit of concentration because it's a featherlight touch on the go pedal!

It's also spooky how it seems to add the additional torque required for ascending hills all by itself - there is no need to put your put down much further like you would expect to do in a traditional car.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess!

[nielshm]

ECO in the 2.0 is no problem. I've been using that setting for the last 2000 km. 

The biggest difference is the acceleration power provided if ACC is used accelerate the car. That can be pretty slow, the actual acceleration it self may not be so bad, but there's a built in delay, some seconds with no action what so ever. 

[AndrueC]

11 hours ago, frizzbee30 said:

Never had that issue, 2.0, 1000 miles a week plus eco, loads of power when needed, and brilliant on the overtaking sections of the A69...

I'm a laid back driver and I found ECO mode to be horrible. You have to push the accelerator pedal so far and so quickly to illicit any kind of meaningful response. In any case I'm quite capable of moderating the accelerator on my own. I leave the car in normal.

[nielshm]

At moderate speeds the engine often sits with 1500 revs. It could be very interesting to know how much power the 1.8 engine and 2.0 engine delivers with low revs. It's no trouble to find out the peak performance and max. torque, but if the engine only uses the low rev range, output and torque must be very limited.

It could explain why some find the ECO setting horrible, and others find it quite laid back and pleasant with "enough" power.

[nielshm]

https://dsportmag.com/the-cars/2019-toyota-corolla-hatchback-xse-review/

Here's a review with dyno tests. It's the 2.0 non hybrid for the US market, but engines allmost identical. It's also Atkinson cycle with very high compression ratio. 

Notice how the engine must rev higher than 2200 rpm to make to make a proper amount of power. Higher than 2200 rpm, and power and torque builds up pretty fast.

If revs sits at 1500 rpm, engine performance must be extremly limited, and the extra boost from the Battery and electric motor is very import in terms of acceleration. 

[Catlover]

On 8/13/2021 at 4:31 PM, King Crimson said:

Hi everyone,

Going on my first long trip (736 km or 457 miles) with my 1.8 corolla. For anyone that has done a long trip drive with their corolla does using the eco mode make a difference when going at a steady speed? Propably going to stay at a relaxed 110 kmh or 68 mph with cruise control active. 

Best thing to do, having got opinions from others, is try it yourself on the run you going to do. Try Eco, Normal, Power and see what fits your driving style.

[Bozz]

On 10/24/2021 at 6:12 AM, nielshm said:

ECO in the 2.0 is no problem. I've been using that setting for the last 2000 km. 

The biggest difference is the acceleration power provided if ACC is used accelerate the car. That can be pretty slow, the actual acceleration it self may not be so bad, but there's a built in delay, some seconds with no action what so ever. 

Did my first longish run on the motorway yesterday (300 plus miles) and eventually got to grips with the ACC. Mostly this is a great system however in ECO its terrifying when you've been slowed by something in the same lane then pull out to overtake as it seems to take an age to accelerate back to the set speed. At one point, so as to avoid being rear ended, I just took over and booted it, not ideal.

I did notice that as soon as you activate the indicators the car seems to accelerate in anticipation of the lane change - or is that just my imagination???

MPG wise the trip computer is showing 58.5mpg and that's for cruising between 50 and 70 as conditions and limits allowed so not too bad. 

 

 

[Catlover]

Thing to remember is that all these “gadgets” are an aid to driving and don’t take over and drive the car for you…. So, if as Bozz says it was “terrifying” to him when he was using ACC and was slowed but but when he went to overtake it was, in his opinion at the time, slow to accelerate, do remember you are in control of the vehicle and next time use the accelerator as you would do if you didn’t have ACC. Aways be aware of changing conditions, and acknowledge that at anytime you are using the gadgets” they could fail to act as you would want.

[Red_Corolla]

1 hour ago, Catlover said:

Thing to remember is that all these “gadgets” are an aid to driving and don’t take over and drive the car for you…. So, if as Bozz says it was “terrifying” to him when he was using ACC and was slowed but but when he went to overtake it was, in his opinion at the time, slow to accelerate, do remember you are in control of the vehicle and next time use the accelerator as you would do if you didn’t have ACC. Aways be aware of changing conditions, and acknowledge that at anytime you are using the gadgets” they could fail to act as you would want.

Agreed. You can always push the pedal gently to increase the acceleration or go above the set speed, then release and let it take over again. Can use the same technique to prevent it from slowing down too much for the vehicle in front (at your own risk, of course).

Also, did you know that when you first turn the cruise on, holding the button down for a couple of extra seconds will put it into good old fashioned non-adaptive cruise control? Using this mode also disables the active LKA, but you still get the departure warnings if you turn it on.