I have a 2020 HAH Ex for few months now. I used to have Econ mode on. But out of curiosity I turned it off and still getting high mpg. Now, I don't drive much and temperature changed a lot between these cases. Has anyone done any controlled experiment with comparable environments to measure the differences?
Does Econ Mode really help?
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personally tend to get better mpg with it in normal vs econ. I use econ when I'm on the freeway usually unless I'm passing quickly.
You are going to find more variation day-to-day than between ECON and NORMAL modes. I once did a 10-mile test under very controlled, urban circumstances. I got 55 mpg in ECON, and 54.1 mpg in NORMAL. (I was testing some other things in, but SPORT mode got about 49 mpg.)
But I find that ECON has one other advantage that I like. It reacts more slowly in Adaptive Cruise Control, so there aren't as many uncomfortable starts and stops in heavier traffic.
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The only way the econ mode will help is after 40 MPH. And it will help a lot. Below 40 it make the car sluggish and does not improve MPG>
I got tired of nickel and diming it in eco, trying to take off slow and squeeze all I could for gas milage, it was a lot of hard work. So one day after couple hours of driving for best gas mileage l, I hit sport mode and drove it like a beast for my last 30 miles home. And holy crap, I got almost exact same mpg, close to 50. Also, my battery power stayed at almost full allowing ev mode to stay on way longer. I guess it’s kinda cool, now I can drive fun and aggressive and still get killer gas mileage. Eco is a joke
You can't really judge mpg by one drive.
In ECON (is mine the only one with an "N" on the button?) mode, the car will try to maintain the battery's State of Charge in the 3 to 5 bar range. If it gets too high, it will switch to EV Drive ("EV Mode" is when you push the idiot button to force EV Drive, which doesn't improve MPG). If it gets too low, the engine will run a at higher level of power to increase SoC. This is good, since that higher level of power is more efficient than what you need to maintain speed. It will also retard the car's response to stomping on the gas pedal, to prevent jack-rabbiting.
In NORMAL, the SoC limits are a little higher, and the retarding is a little less, but otherwise the behavior is much the same.
The point of this low range for SoC is to partially have plenty of room for regen braking. But mostly because charging the battery is more efficient in that range.
In SPORT, the SoC limits and acceleration retard are pretty much removed. It will charge the battery up to 8 bars, or more, and hardly ever turn the engine off. The charging efficiency drops way down, but you have the most power available for acceleration.
If you want to save gas and don't mind the lag in acceleration, stick to ECON or NORMAL. I personally prefer ECON, since that also slows the response of ACC. In Sport, if somebody pulls in front of you, you can get a harder brake. The only time I change the mode, is when I anticipate the need to change speeds quickly.
In ECON (is mine the only one with an "N" on the button?) mode, the car will try to maintain the battery's State of Charge in the 3 to 5 bar range. If it gets too high, it will switch to EV Drive ("EV Mode" is when you push the idiot button to force EV Drive, which doesn't improve MPG). If it gets too low, the engine will run a at higher level of power to increase SoC. This is good, since that higher level of power is more efficient than what you need to maintain speed. It will also retard the car's response to stomping on the gas pedal, to prevent jack-rabbiting.
In NORMAL, the SoC limits are a little higher, and the retarding is a little less, but otherwise the behavior is much the same.
The point of this low range for SoC is to partially have plenty of room for regen braking. But mostly because charging the battery is more efficient in that range.
In SPORT, the SoC limits and acceleration retard are pretty much removed. It will charge the battery up to 8 bars, or more, and hardly ever turn the engine off. The charging efficiency drops way down, but you have the most power available for acceleration.
If you want to save gas and don't mind the lag in acceleration, stick to ECON or NORMAL. I personally prefer ECON, since that also slows the response of ACC. In Sport, if somebody pulls in front of you, you can get a harder brake. The only time I change the mode, is when I anticipate the need to change speeds quickly.
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