Drive Mode

[G4MHJ]

I have a question about the uses of the Eco, Normal & Power setting on my 23 Plate Excel Cross with City Pack.

Since new in July and only 1200 miles I have always used ECO but recently I tried Normal and the car is now so much more responsive.  I will keep it there and monitor my MPG.  I have of course tried the Power position and I wondered when this should be used.  I have been told that people use it to increase acceleration for overtaking and then only for a short period.  I have the Speedo set to the Digital Meter and when in Power mode I see lots of Red lines and bars, a bit like a spiders wed.  Is this normal?  Is it warning me about something?  Just as a side issue does anybody think the position of the button needs to be improved.  In an overtaking manoeuvre the last thing you want to do it take your eyes off the road.  On the City Pack I have three buttons on the right side - The Magic Parking (never used) , Drive Mode and EV Mode and it would be easy to press the wrong button.

 

[Roy124]

Bob, the selected mode does absolutely nothing for performance. 

What it does do is give you a pretty green or red display as a visual indication if your selection.   

It also changes the throttle feel.  In Eco there is more resistance and in Sport less.  Normal is suggested as the best for most situations.

I think it also affects the AC Fans.

All that said, it is very satisfying when driving relatively slowly,  under 50, behind a vehicle on a winding A road.  Select Sport and wait for an opening and it 'seems' to go like the proverbial off a shovel.

 

[Mojo1010]

1 hour ago, G4MHJ said:

I have the Speedo set to the Digital Meter and when in Power mode I see lots of Red lines and bars, a bit like a spiders wed.  Is this normal?  

No it's not normal, sssshhh....it's a secret. You are the chosen one.......use the power mode more often and you shall turn into a Spiderman 🕷️

On a more normal note/mode the rest of us use during everyday driving. 

[TonyHSD]

Normal mode all the time for me. 
Eco throttle response is to sluggish, while in sport is too sensitive. In eco you get also limited work of the hvac while in all others this will not be affected. Performance like the car will deliver same results at the end but the faster response make some positive feedback and feelings of faster acceleration. 
Remember that when switching better modes there is a 2 seconds delay so not ideal to switch between modes while you are already pushed the pedal , switch before you need the extra power and then push accelerator to the floor. Also sharper you push faster will respond. 

[Mushu84]

Normal mode at all times for me as it more adapted to my driving style 

I fell like Eco is not responsive enough for me, in the MK4 Yaris that I have, I saw that the climate control goes in eco when selecting eco mode not sure what that is, but the air seems to blow slower and AC unit not engaging that much 

 

[G4MHJ]

1 hour ago, Mushu84 said:

Normal mode at all times for me as it more adapted to my driving style 

I fell like Eco is not responsive enough for me, in the MK4 Yaris that I have, I saw that the climate control goes in eco when selecting eco mode not sure what that is, but the air seems to blow slower and AC unit not engaging that much 

 

Glad you mentioned ECO on the climate control.  I drove this afternoon in Normal Mode and the Climate Control still said ECO so I believe this must relate to a separate system.

[Primus1]

Why don’t they show a smiling Greta thunberg in eco mode?, then , in normal she could be frowning a bit, but in power mode a hand comes out of the dash to slap you around a bit…!

[Cyker]

You're right - There is a button on the HVAC marked something like ECO FAST and it will change how fast it tries to change the temperature. TBH, it just seems to change how fast the fans turn, as on Eco they never blow that hard, but on Fast they go into tornado mode  

As for the driving modes, they just change how the accelerator pedal responds, but doesn't make any real change - I'm always in Eco mode and still take everyone at the lights with ease  

I've found if I stick to Eco mode when I'm on my own, I can put it into Normal when the car is fully loaded and it keeps the response feeling the same so I don't need to change how i drive so much, so that's a neat side effect  

[Roy124]

Just now, Primus1 said:

Why don’t they show a smiling Greta thunberg in eco mode?, then , in normal she could be frowning a bit, but in power mode a hand comes out of the dash to slap you around a bit…!

Some people would pay extra for that

 

 

[Primus1]

Just now, Roy124 said:

Some people would pay extra for that

 

 

Depends how high the hand comes out and what is being slapped 🫣

[Rhymes with Paris]

27 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

Why don’t they show a smiling Greta thunberg in eco mode?, then , in normal she could be frowning a bit, but in power mode a hand comes out of the dash to slap you around a bit…!

Or even a self slapping Greta, although it would be difficult to discern the difference between a normal expression, and a slapped one.

[skidlid]

7 hours ago, G4MHJ said:

I have a question about the uses of the Eco, Normal & Power setting on my 23 Plate Excel Cross with City Pack.

Since new in July and only 1200 miles I have always used ECO but recently I tried Normal and the car is now so much more responsive.

We had a Nissan Note DIG-S (not a hybrid) but the first car we had with a ECO button. Tried it twice, it made a good car rubbish, we called it the ******* button.

Current car Skoda Superb PHEV has 3 settings, ECO  Normal and sport. Normal is perfect but sport is great on short slips when you need to accelerate into traffic. Not tried ECO and never will.

[Primus1]

My last car , a Ford puma had sport, eco, normal, slippery and trail, used sport mode frequently and it did make a slight, noticeable difference, I used slippery a few times during hard frosts, but it was hard to distinguish if it was the mode or my driving as I drive at much lower speeds on the country road I use on the way to work, never used trail, as it was designed for very mild off roading…

[MikeSh]

8 hours ago, G4MHJ said:

Eco, Normal & Power setting

For those with limited movement of the right foot.

It's a sort of placebo I guess.

[TonyHSD]

“ Tornado mode “ - hahaha , cool . You had started again 😂

Now seriously the modes can help a lot new comers to Toyota hybrids. 
The best way for them is to start using the car in Eco mode for the first few weeks until they get used to the car, how it drives , how the hybrid system works, energy flow, acceleration, regen braking etc.  sluggish acceleration and not responsive throttle will teach for smoother and more linear drives, will prevent unnecessary engine kicks in and increase efficiency.
 Once they understood the whole Toyota magic they can go to Normal mode and now try to maintain same driving style with more precise accelerator control and less effort to push the pedal, more natural feel while achieving  the same results and good economy figures. Then at the end is the (power) sport mode- this is helpful for going uphill, overtaking, high speed drives as it requires less pressure on the accelerator pedal, but remember driving in sport all the time will affect efficiency as it will make those unnecessary engine kicks in happens much more often and your car will feel like a bigger Toyota or Lexus with 2.5 and above engine sizes where slightest push engages the petrol engine. 👍

[Cyker]

Yeah, while they don't change the power of the car, they do change how responsive the accelerator pedal is - Part of the reason I'm always in Eco mode is it gives more low-speed finesse for when I'm trying to weave through road islands and scrape past SUVs who are oblivious to the size of their vehicle.

However, Eco mode can be tiring on the right foot, esp. when maintaining a fairly high speed for a long time, as you have to put in a lot of pedal travel for motorway speeds; Normal or even Power mode would likely be more comfortable on the foot in that situation.

That said, I'm either pulse and gliding or abusing the cruise control so using Eco mode on the motorway hasn't been such an issue for me  

[Mushu84]

For me is simple I need to use the car normally like I would a normal petrol car 

The reason I use the normal setting is that if I wanted really eco I would had bought an electric one. I understand the ones that want to have the best economy but for me is not working like that.

 

For sure there is a difference in ECO but it depends on your expectations or needs for me is not worth it, I have better thing to do them drive eco

 

I would recommend driving in all the modes see what suits your best ignore everyone’s choice as it maybe wrong for you.

 

Still the fact that I get 70 MPG easily for me is a win.

 

[Paul john]

Been driving hybrids since 2005. I never leave power mode as i like the responsiveness. 

[Roy124]

31 minutes ago, Paul john said:

Been driving hybrids since 2005. I never leave power mode as i like the responsiveness. 

As @Mushu84 says, use what suits you.  I put better MPG over responsive feel.  That said, on the A157 out of Wragby the road is fast enough for a steady 60 in places but plenty of opportunity to overtake traffic at under 50 if you are nippy.  Then I go into Sport and for a few moments ZOOM

[HelloWorld]

Is there a difference in MPG in the different driving modes? Also, is there a particular time where one driving mode is preferable to another, eg city driving or motorway driving?

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, HelloWorld said:

Is there a difference in MPG in the different driving modes? Also, is there a particular time where one driving mode is preferable to another, eg city driving or motorway driving?

Hi, 

there is a slight difference in mpg between modes as a result of throttle response difference and how do you drive your car.
If you are a careful driver you can get very similar numbers between eco and normal modes but the later will be nicer to drive.
Sport mode particularly is useful when going long uphills or high speed motorway drives as all it does is make you push less the accelerator and the car respond quickly - more power from less pushing on the pedal. 
Eco mode might be suitable in snow and ice where you need to go slowly and smoother, plus it keeps the car in ev mode longer when starting from standstill unless you push harder the accelerator. It’s all about accelerator control and response. 

[MikeSh]

4 hours ago, HelloWorld said:

Is there a difference in MPG in the different driving modes? Also, is there a particular time where one driving mode is preferable to another, eg city driving or motorway driving?

Yes and no. If you don't change your foot behaviour then the acceleration in eco will be less. If you drive to keep up with the other traffic as usual then you will have to press further in eco to get the same acceleration, so economy will be similar.

The modes are largely a way to encourage or discourage heavier throttle use. Eco may also reduce the power of the climate control, but that's a trade off of comfort vs economy ... you can just turn it off entirely if you are that poor (but the savings aren't going to even put a chip in the depreciation on a 2023 car).

[Cyker]

Ultimately, it's you - the driver - that determines the mpg; The Eco/Normal/Power modes can help a bit by changing the pedal response, but they don't make the car any more or less on their own. For instance, in some EVs, Eco mode limits the maximum top speed and acceleration of the car, while Power mode can unlock some extra top-end, but here it does neither - It just changes how the acceleration ramps up as you push the pedal deeper.

In all 3 modes, flooring the accelerator has the same effect.

I'm in Eco mode 99% of the time but drive like I'm in Power mode most of the time  

 

[Primus1]

I used power mode on a slight incline when joining the dual carriageway…..I had scotty from Star Trek’s voice in my head…” if I give it any more she’ll blow captain “…

[Molybdenum100]

Yesterday I tried very hard finding the on-ramp of a state highway.  After three misses, three extra miles, and revving the engine up to 5500 rpm, I finally got on the highway I was looking for.  However, I received as many as NINE feedback for that three-mile stretch, merely due to the confusing directions of the on-ramp given by the GPS.  I wouldn't care about the Drive Pulse from this point on.