I've always found that when cruising on the motorway, keeping the revs at peak torque gives the best economy. If going slower, say through roadworks, use a lower gear to keep it at this 'sweet' spot.
@pierrelauwers8719 True, I do drive a turbo diesel, hence my personal findings. I would say that any n/a petrol engine, with a peak torque at around 5000 rpm, was tuned for its highest possible power figure, not economy. Honda Vtec - looking at you! 😉
@@SteveDull Not always; many a japanese or Fiat Engine have such high torque peaks, without any pretention to sport. I have an atmospheric Tipo SW 1.4 95 HP, so the contrary of any sports car, whose torque peaks officially at 4500 RPM, in reality a bit higher. It features an EGR at low revs, and the best efficiency I get between 1500 and 2500 RPM, while the power is concentrated beween 5000 and 6000.
@@pierrelauwers8719no it’s still true regardless. There’s effectively two power bands created by camshaft tech, one for economy and one for performance. Hondas have high rpm torque because the camshaft has variable valve timing. I’d say 2300 is going to be around the sweet spot in most petrol cars (without turbos). Iirc my dad’s old Passat 1.8 20V sat around 2.2k in 5th gear at 50 mph. My 2.0 TDI sits around 1850 in 6th at 70 mph
Automotive engineer here, and have to strongly disagree: What eco-mode does, is to shift up earlier in the rev band. This means that, in order to achieve the same amount of power at a lower rpm, the driver has to depress the throttle pedal more. This, however, does not mean that the fuel consumption will be higher, because of the accelerator pedal position. The contrary is true: Depressing the accelerator pedal more opens up the throttle valve more. The throttle valve, however, is responsible for efficiency losses of the airflow into the engine. Opening up the throttle valve reduces the losses and increases the efficiency. Revving the engine higher in sport mode will do the opposite: The same power output is achieved, but at a higher rpm and lower torque, meaning that the throttle valve can be slightly more closed. Hence the efficiency is lower. Higher rpm also cause more losses in the bearings of all rotating engine parts. Imagining that driving in sports mode would be more efficient than eco-mode is wishful thinking. If you prefer the engine response in sport mode, that's fine. But don't try to justify your preference with illogical claims about the efficiency.
Like I said in the video, a significant number of drivers report higher MPG when in sport mode on either a manual or automatic. I'm very curious to know why this happens and my main suggestion was driver behavior but I'm always interested to hear more points of view. BMEP is probably the major factor here and drivers can better exploit this on SOME models in sport mode. ECO on my car seems to significantly delay the throttle response and EGR is used more. I really can't say this is wishful thinking, my own tests on my car (a manual 1.4 TFSi) bear out an improvement in economy when I switch off eco mode and drive it properly. The cylinder on demand seems to kick in more often as well. Other comments below also bear out this strange phenomenon. The two areas are the gearbox in sport mode on an audo and how the ECU reacts to ECO mode when selected by the driver in the infotainment. Hybrid models and even different brands seem to have different strategies for "eco" mode.
@torquecars Well I have never heard of nor experienced anything that would support that. And all engineering knowledge speaks against it. I also don't see why manufacturers would implement a powerless and annoying eco mode, if it wasn't more efficient than a sport mode. I for my part drive a manual car without any mode selection. But I drive it in the most fuel efficient way, which would resemble an eco mode. And guess what: I input my consumption values on a website, where you can compare yourself to other drivers of the same car with the same engine and gear box, and I rank first in fuel economy, even with two different cars. So this is why I really don't see it.
Oh nice result, well done. Thanks again for your input and comments my friend. The best explanation for eco mode so far was that it was designed to compensate for bad driving habits. I'll be watching the comments here to see if there are any trends, it will be interesting to see if this is mainly the case in say German cars, then I can do some more digging.
Pumping losses and bearing losses are not the only losses though. There are also thermal losses. At very low rpm, the piston is not moving fast enough to absorb the energy from combustion and more energy escapes into the cylinder head and block. That is also wasted energy. At very low loads, it's important to minimize running losses (friction, pumping, etc) by keeping the rpm low. Once the engine is under an appreciable load, it's important to minimize thermal losses.
Forward Planning will get you better economy whatever mode you use. Modern ECM's cut fuel on coasting so just planning ahead and coasting more will significantly improve your MPG. I could get well over 60mpg from my E220 mixed mode driving by barely using the brakes. Most people absolutely suck at forward planning.
@@TheGalifrey I had a Prius for 3 years, and I would say I learned a lot from driving it (didn't do the super slow annoying mode, just normal and as you said looking ahead and anticipating).
@@ghostinthemachine76 Sorry, that is what I mean by coasting as I drive an Auto, although my current car is a mechanical diesel (OM606) and it doesn't cut the fuel when I lift off unlike a modern diesel/fuel injection.
I looked everywhere in my 07 Diesel Honda CR-V for a sport button and was just about to give up when I found it hidden under the dash. Delighted I pressed it, the engine stopped and the glove box opened to reveal a pair of trainers and a note saying "Jog home fat boy"
Everytime I get in the RS6 I engage Dynamic/Sport mode and disable the cylinder deactivation so it's awlays running on 8 cylinders. For driving around the doors it actually returns a decent MPG, I also keep the gearbox in semi-automatic mode so I can choose the best gear for the road, example when I'm going down a steep hill, I don't ride the brake I simply select a low gear that'll keep the car at the speed limit. Besides, it sounds awesome in sport mode, I'm addicted to the sound of the V8. On motorway journeys I put it in comfort mode, becuase this is when the Audi technology returns the best MPG, its fine blasting around the doors with the exhaust valves open and enjoying the pops n bangs but on a long trip I don't need the racket!
I've already tried this but not in perfect conditions. I listen to the BMW efficiency dynamics and get 4-5 stars. But when it's in sport mode, I tend to drive more aggressively. I find the eco-mode forces me to be a good driver, cause I enjoy getting all those stars 🌟
I drive an Audi A4 2.0 turbo. When I drive in Auto mode the transmission is always hunting for the highest gear possible even on long uphill roads. So it’s trying to stay in the 1300 to 1500 rpm zone which really bogs the engine and has a very hard time maintaining any speed. The car bogs then shifts down, then shifts back up and bogs again. It’s frustrating and obviously is not getting good fuel economy. So I drive in sport mode in the city which keeps the engine in a good power band and it drives much much better. On the open highway Auto mode is ok but not great either as I’m always pressing the gas to maintain speed. I wish I could remap the shift points somehow but for now I drive mostly in sport mode.
Really enjoy your videos they are very informative. I will give this a try in my a5 45tfsi stronic quattro. I usually drive in economy mode but will try dynamic mode to see if there is any improvement mpg and report back.
Very interesting, I will try it on my Toyota. I have a Mini Cooper S on order, that will always be in Sports (Go-Kart) mode 😂. Love your channel. I’ll send some feedback after I’ve tried, maybe after 2 tank fills. Cheers and Happy New Year
I have a 2019 35 tfsi A5 which I always drive in comfort mode. I’ve just done a 525 mile round trip from near Taunton to Norwich, where I achieved around 46mpg. This would have been higher had it not been for several very slow rolling hold ups. I’ll be doing the same trip in 3 weeks so I’ll try it in sport to see what happens. You mentioned a difference of around 5%, which is still worth having.
Excellent content again. 1999 s type 4.0 V8. It's an old 4 speed overdrive auto. 2nd is 1st gear overdrive ect. It has a sport mode button that stays on sport mode mostly. I also use the J gate to lock the gear or it rarely goes over 2k rpm even to warm up quicker. On a hot day long run it'll do 35 mpg but the average is around 24 mls/imp g. It's easy to get under 10 mpg with a spirited drive but with a 155mph limiter that doesn't happen. Many got restricted to 121mph in a recall. Sport mode seems to slightly reduce the sensitivity of the throttle input, going back to normal feels more peppy but it's only changing the input response and changing up sooner.
Eco mode and what modern cars recommend want to change down too early to too lower RPM. Keep RPM above 1800, 2k or so, keep the turbo active and that will help economy. Lower than 1800 or so is can cause the engine to labour. IIRC there is another TorqueCars video giving such advice.
With my Subaru Forester, when going uphill in ECO mode, the gearbox is forced to kickdown, sometimes aggressively making the car lurch, which I dislike. However, in sport mode, the gearbox holds on longer to the gear it's in, negating the need to downshift giving a smoother drive. The same is also true going downhill, I like the engine braking sport mode affords me, the car feels more controlled and safer.
This is absolutely right. I drive my Octavia vRS DSG in manual/Sport mode and engine break down hill. In ECO mode it coasts downhill using more fuel. Using manual/Sport vs ECO over the same route saw a 3mpg improvement.
In my Subaru Legacy GT sport mode is definitely more fuel efficient though perhaps not quite by 7%. This is even true in urban driving coditions unless traffic is heavy.
I have a BMW X3 30d. As it's the SE trim level it came with the basic transmission settings. I upgraded to paddle shift, and the upgrade meant that the transmission software also upgraded to "sports auto". The first thing I noticed was that without using the paddles the transmission shifts down earlier, and it holds the gears slightly longer before shifting up. I don't actually set "sport" mode either with the shifter, or the "driving experience" switch. I find that if I do, the transmission doesn't select 8th until around 80mph. However, in "comfort" mode - since the transmission upgrade - I'm getting around 4-5% better MPG.
Hi - on my diesel R172 SLK I drive in sport mode on the motorway and use cruise control to accelerate - with mixed driving over the last 5 years at 10,000 miles per year I have averaged 47 mpg - on a car with 500Nm used at traffic lights regularly
I have a 2020 SEAT Ibiza FR 1 litre. I don't drive aggressively and find that I get noticeably better fuel economy in Sport Mode than I get in Normal Mode. I suspect this is because here in the Pennines I climb a lot of steep hills, and in Normal Mode I have to be heavier on the throttle than in Sport Mode to prevent labouring the engine. Away from the Pennines I get the car's expected 50mpg or slightly more, so I can't say for sure whether Sport Mode makes much difference in places where the inclines are more gentle.
Have a 2018 Nissan Rogue with a CVT and I tried this in the past. Eco mode was better than sport mode for MPG. It seems to me the lower RPM's your engine in doing to achieve the same speed would result in the better fuel economy.
In Seats, Eco mode just seems to reduce throttle sensitivity and makes car feel sluggish. In DSG Seats, Eco mode declutches the DSG when lifting off. The 1.5 TSI used cylinder deactivation which does work at increasing mpg but needs a flat road and some effort to see results. My Cupra 300 sports tourer does 32mpg no matter what I do, if nursed on long motorway runs it can be coaxed up to 45mpg but requires extreme right foot discipline 😂
On my 2008 Skoda Octavia Scout (4x4) which has FSI 2.0 (BVX) engine coupled with manual transmission, I've also noticed that when I rev up my engine to the max torque region (~3500...4500 RPM) and keep it for some period, it seems that it's more easy for the engine to maintain the speed/thrust of my car and as a result, the fuel consumption surprisingly drops to about 1...1.5 L less comparing to keeping ~1500 RPM in the city cycle.
I drive a Mazda3 Turbo and I recently started driving with sport mode on, my driving style hasn't changed, I just switched on sport for the heck of it but I still drive normally only occasional high rev driving to make sure the engine is healthy. One thing that stood out the most to me was that the MPG was relatively the same and didn't drop much. This was just a few days of me observing however now after seeing this video I'll definitely reset the MPG and drive strictly on sport mode and drive more "eco" and let you know how it is.
I have a 1L Skoda Karoq DSG. I have had it almost 7 years and over that time I have averaged 44mpg. I have recently noticed that th rev counter stays around 1500rpm unless accelerating. The most economical rev range is 1500 -2000rpm which comes when in sports mode. I am now embarking on an mpg trial to see which is the winner ( but it won't be over 6 years) ;-)
In my B7 TDI Passat, I’ll use sport mode when going 50kph or below, but in 3rd hear it doesn’t want to upshift even at 3,100rpm with the most light throttle, so I’ll use control as it’ll then go back to eco mode when it’s in it, that way it’ll pick up and go good at lower speeds, then at higher speeds it’ll drop the revs. As soon as I tap the brake or accelerator it will go back to sport mode, so slowing down (or speeding up) will drop back gears.
Focus ST diesel here, I prefer sport mode on my automatic gearbox, I find the car handles better, is more responsive due to holding onto the higher RPM, I find it also warms up quicker. I particularly like the engine braking when cornering and hills. I drive it in wet conditions in sport mode and again the engine breaking ensures the car is always stuck to the road.
I have a22 Audi A4 45TFSI. My mileage is slightly better in sport (dynamic) mode plus the annoying start/stop system is automatically shut off and the cars performance is noticeably better. A win/win!!
I drive 2005 Saab 9/5 2.0lt auto, Except in urban traffic, it’s always put in sport mode. Definitely improves mpg, 2-3 miles. I do same journey every day, so took the opportunity to try both options, Whatever the ‘experts’ say on here, I know for a fact, that in my car, sport is the way to go. Can’t speak for other makes and models!
I think I've experienced this with a 2011 Lexus IS250 Auto. In Eco mode I was averaging 10.8L/100km in mostly city driving - I tried for ages to change my driving habits to improve the fuel use but I didn't get any results. Then I changed to power mode and within a few weeks my average dropped to 9.0L/100km. In Eco mode, the transmission won't shift into lower gears, and so I feel like I'm accelerating slowly (and therefore for longer) to get up to speed from the traffic lights.
I have this 1500cc Mitsubishi Sportwagon 2006 where the sport mode has a braking effect when your foot is not on the accelerator. And for this particular car, I think that is where the good economics comes in. In my experience, noting consumes fuel like the pedal brakes, not even climbing. My worry with sport mode is heat dumping.
so, Lexus 2015 rx 350. I recently did a 200 km road trip, running 130 km to 160 km an hour, and got a shocking 25% improvement in gas. I realized it all has to be about the power ban. The Lexus seems to drive best handling and gas wise at about 140 km an hour. Under about 80 to 100 km an hour it seems to get terrible milage.
I was talking with a friend about this the other day. I have a Audi S1 manual, I do a 15 min drive to work in the mornings, I have it set where it tells me my mpg for that journey. On dynamic mode I can get up to 36mpg but on efficiency I get around 31mpg, if I go very carefully I get around 34 but definitely better in dynamic.
It all comes down to the way you drive. For a hybrid - 2021 hybrid Corolla Sedan, 1.8 liter thermic engine - keeping the way I drive, even in Sport mode, does not impact the mileage on the trip. Though, car feel more snappy and more pleasant to drive - still, hybrid from Toyota are known as Death of Passion way of driving, because of eCVT behavior - but adopting same way of driving, difference between Normal and Sport mode is insignifiant - 0.1 l/100 km driven, so not really impacting overall mileage
I want to test this out on my BMW 435I. If I drive it the same way both ways, I'm 3tting the Eco mode wins out. I use all 3 modes minus the sport + mode quite often.
Ford ranger 2.0 biturbo 2019 with the 10r80 in manual sports mode makes the torque converter lock up so it makes feel direct drive to the engine and way more responsive when throttling up. When in Drive it likes to stay in 3rd gear dispite the engine speed below the gear speed. So there's a lot of slip in the torque converter when speeding up. This programming from ford can overheat the atf and burn more fuel to reach the desired acceleration.
My 2018 Volvo V90 D3 with a 195hp tune and a six speed manual gearbox has lower fuel consumption in Comfort (default drive mode) than Economy mode when driving at 120 km/h or more. In cities or low speed it dosen’t do much difference. Dynamic (aka Sport mode) always consumes more fuel but the car is considerably more agressive in throttle response. Gear box is manual so I guess my decisions on gear changes has the largest input on fuel economy.
Sport mode on my car changes shift points, throttle response and fueling maps including the VVT. Definitely not more economical on the VAG EA8883B. The most economical mode is cruise control, which can be used from 20mph. ECO mode is okay, but it coasts and idles on throttle lift instead of shutting off the fuel, though coast does mean you don't get engine braking. But cruise gives fantastic economy.
What about manual cars? I have a Focus Titanium 150TDCi. It does allow you to choose a drive style and I choose economy. However, this just tells you which gear to use. I do if it fits in with what I think is right bearing in mind I can see the road ahead but the car cannot. I assume that all this mode does is amend the gear recommendations. I doubt it alters suspension etc. But I do not have the handbook so do not know.
My car cuts to idle when I cruise in eco and in certain conditions in normal mode. With some road planning and looking ahead I can get some decent mpg figures out of my Gti, but in sport mode the car delays change ups and the engine revs higher. However I have found on a long cruise on motorway sport mode is 100% the most efficient way to drive as the throttle input is super sensitive so I have to press it less compared to the other modes giving me a better fuel economy. I travelled to the south of France in the summer and I got 450 miles out of a tank sat on Franch motorways @ 70 to 80 mph which I’ve never got here in UK in the 2 years I’ve had car. Usually day to day I’m lucky if I get 35mpg out of a tank
I had a FIAT 500 with manual transmission I found on long highway trips spott mode would get me 2-3 mpg better if put cruise control on and left itnalone. I was told it disengaged the power steering pump among other things. In town where I just needed more aggressive acceleration I didn't notice much of a difference in efficiency one eay or the other.
I have a 22 Acura RDX and I can attest to what some people have stated. I primarily drive Comfort Mode 28MPG or more. While in Sport Mode primarily on Highways I achieve the same or better MPGs. Driving in Sport Mode in the confines of the city will drop MPGs because of the constant higher RPM and lack of speed.
I always use S on MBs automatics. Only thing I like about C or W mode is the 2:nd gear start when driving in cities or bumper to bumper. You roll around more in 2-3rd instead of 1-2. A much smoother drive then. In all other cases you just want it to be responsive to inputs instead.
Driving my Ford Focus 1.0 litre eco boost (😢🤞) in Eco mode seemed to cause problems with the particulate sensors causing warnings and needing the replacement of the sensors. The Ford garage said they didn’t recommend driving all the time in Eco and that the engine need a good work out (thrashing 😂) to clear the particulate filters out. I gave up using Eco mode and used normal mode and the problems disappeared. Sports mode is much more fun…people don’t expect a Focus to accelerate so fast)
On the Lexus/Toyota hybrids, Eco mode dials back the (electrically driven) air conditioning compressor, stops the engine more often and so on - I suspect that this will result in different findings to a conventional car.
Ah interesting, I never knew that. Another little gem to file away. My Audi aircon actually has an eco setting on it which I have to manually switch on if I want to.
I noticed the Sport Mode on my 25 Subaru actually does give better mpg than the eco mode. Eco mode seems to vary much more say 1000-3000 rpm where Sport is usually in the 1600-2800 rpm and saves about 1 mpg. Maybe if my drives were perfectly flat, eco might actually perform better?
I drive a Dacia Duster 1,3 EDC , i don’t have sport only ECO mode but I can tell you that fuel consumption is much higher in eco and the gear box is constantly lugging the engine over the 3 rd speed.
I have an exprerience with getting better MPGs while using 98 octane fuel insted of 95. And the reason really was because of car was feeling more nimble and I didn't have to push gas pedal so hard. Car was BMW 525 e34 with m20b25 engine. But you have to keep in mind that if praticular engine can get out profit of higher octane. If not it will be just a waste of money.
I have a manual i30n. I always drive it in custom sport now (everything apart from suspension is in sport). I used to drive in normal but after doing a couple weeks running in sport i saw no difference in my fuel bill or mpg on the trip metre (when driving normally). When i would rag it in sport, i got high teens to low twenties. Driving normally i get around 32mpg, in both normal and sport mode. I dont even bother with eco unless I'm on the motorway, it kills the power and makes driving unenjoyable.
I don't own a car with automatic transmission, but I thought "Eco Mode" would at least change the ignition timing and/or injection timing of the car. I may be wrong but if all it does is change the transmission behavior during acceleration, then it is probably a good idea to drive an automatic in manual mode if that's not CVT, right?
In a manual there are some interesting things happening in ECO mode. The EGR runs a little more, fuel and timing are adjusted and on most modern drive by wire engines the throttle will be limited to slower responses. Sorry I didn't make this more clear, the video was aimed at automatic drivers mainly but I had mentioned the ECO mode on regular transmissions.
Tryed it 2 weeks ago and i reduced my fuel usage from 6,8/100km to 6.0/100km using the sport mode instead of economy. Diesel engine in cities seems to be much better in sport mode and also probably reducing clogging or egr problems. Economy seems much better at 120 kmh at least on highway and better at 140kmh.
RS3 2022 efficiency mode is okay for school run/city tootling but terrible on dual carriage ways. However, dynamic mode with careful throttle input but still good turn of pace returns around 31mpg on dual carriage way.
I tested this in my 2013 Volkswagen Polo 1.2tsi today. The car doesn't have an engine mode, just a transmission mode. I did two identical 8.4km circuits around my city back to back. While keeping my driving as similar between the two runs as possible and AC off. Normal: 15.7km/L Sport: 13.5km/L Conclusion in the city, my car uses more fuel to be in sport.
It's going to take you a lot of careful driving to get that fuel back you used testing the theory. I guess the best way to save fuel is to make less unnecessary journeys. 👍
We have worked out a great way to improve our cars fuel economy, we are moving closer to our work. We have estimated a saving of at least 2k a year on fuel alone. We could then just run one car, but I'm planning on keeping my convertible on the road as a fun weekend car, which I might SORN over winter to save on the tax.
@@TheMirrorGuy 22km all up with the travel time to warm up the car. Averaging 14.6km/L And fuel is about $2.80 per liter. This tells me it cost $4.23 to run this experiment. And doing an average of about 400km per week it wouldn't take long to gain back my losses if it turned out I saved money by being in sport mode. Unfortunately work requires me to drive lots. I wouldn't if I had another option.
I've only had my Skoda Kamiq 1.5 DSG a few months but I've started being more proactive by mixing Drive & Sport modes. quite often kick down seems like overkill so I put it in to sport mode which drops down a gear and I can accelerate away without having to boot it, I then go back to drive mode so that it goes back in to top gear (which sport mode doesn't want to do below 70mph). and has already been mentioned, I will use sport mode when decelerating for traffic lights or on longer down hills as you get a little more engine braking due to higher rpm, which also means it doesn't need to use fuel to keep the engine running.
BMW X1 F48 has better consumption on highway when ECO mode is used, because only in ECO the engine gets decuppeld from the gearbox when you dont accelerate. Ans the car is rolling on even roads for some 100m without much decreasing in speed.
My wife's mk4 astra 2:2 automatic has a sport mode, and it just seems to change gear much later. If you use it, it sounds like you are really thrashing it. Not sure how it would impact efficiency.
I drive a couple of different vehicles during the week. My car is a 2 litre 2000 Toyota Rav4 auto with an over drive button on the shifter I quite often switch modes on the fly depending on if the road is a hilly road or a fairly flat road. It also has a button on the dash to switch between normal and power mode to change the shift points most of the time I leave it in normal mode. When I volunteer my time I drive either a diesel 2021 Toyota HiAce commuter van auto with sports mode on the gear box at times I leave it in eco mode where the vehicle takes care of the gear changes and other times I'll use sports mode depending on the situation and change on the fly between the 2 modes as I feel it's needed. At work I drive a diesel Volvo B12 bus that has a 12 litre inline 6 cylinder with an 7 speed auto gearbox with a transmission retarder fitted it only has one mode but when driven properly it is good on fuel for what it is and the fact it weighs 10 tons.
I only drive my A5 in sport mode because I hate the delay when I want to accelerate and change lanes... So I leave it in Sport or manual ( it has automatic gearbox) but I can't for the life of me to not put down the foot, so I don't really know if it has better fuel economy on sport mode.
I always wonder whether the Sport Mode in my car increases the wear and tear (timing chain, turbo). It's a manual gearbox and in sport mode the throttle is much more responsive as you said. But is the Eco Mode better for the engine? It's a BMW F20 LCI
From my experience, in an automatic car, economy in sport mode is only possible in heavy traffic with lots of stops and starts. When driving on a highway at a constant speed, there will be no fuel economy
My dsg in my seat is always in sport mode so much more economical as it is in the right gear all the time in eco mode the cars always trying to be in 7th gear, in eco i get 37mpg in sport i get 44.7 which is a massive difference but i am a steady driver also lol 😅😅
its all to do with what rev range produces the most efficient combustion. eco mode just keeps the revs low which is less wear on the engine but not the best use of the fuel.
Rpm or engine speed sometimes is irrelevant when it comes to achieving the maximum fuel efficiency of the car for eg if you use a light throttle when accelerating to 2,500,2000 rpm when changing gear you can get great fuel economy rather than quickly accelerating putting foot all the way or using too low rpm to on that rpm range too low or too high rpms can waste fuel/precious mpgs in my car it’s a 2008 Clio tce 100 dynamique I get the best fuel economy by cruising at 1,700rpm on normal roads rpm to 2,700rpm on the motorway with 25% throttle that’s my cars sweetspot for best mpg since it’s 5peed manual also driving at the speed limit is not only safe for other road users but can save you money on fuel aswell
Far more enjoyable to drive the Rangie in Sport mode .. . I forget to sometimes .. unconcerned with the fuel economy, but I'm guessing it isn't that much dissimilar. Heavy car (2.7 tons) 8 speed etc. It,s better in low gears at under 40mph, which is where we're at most of the time.
Funny you made that video. I usually use ECO mode but drove a distance of just about 200 km (which I drive quite regular and also on my usual mixed city and highway) and I used normal mode instead of ECO and could see a significant difference (enough to be noticed by me) and from this point on I use normal mode. I am going to check sport mode (after our winter snow and ice roads) and will see if that provides another ECO boost. I hope I will remember (in spring) to update my findings in this video. I have a driving school and for most of my students the gas pedal is a light switch, so I am very grateful that I can switch them into ECO mode 🙄😳😲😉 (it's an CVT automatic).
Presumably this is auto gearbox. I have these settings on my Audi manual, have it in comfort and does everything I want. It goes when I want and gives economy as 60+mpg diesel.
Mine is a manual, I do get slightly better economy in dynamic mode, I set steering to auto as I like the light comfort when parking and greater steering feedback at higher speeds. ECO mode really does feel like there is a balloon under the accelerator pedal holding it back. Interestingly I get more clutch judder in dynamic mode if I'm not ultra careful. I can only really encourage you to record your economy and change the setting and compare, some of the results will depend on your driving style.
My previous Toyota hybrid was 2-5 mpg better in sport mode & acceleration was faster. Sadly they fixed the problem on my new hybrid and economy is now better 😢
My e61 530i is more economical in "D". I live at the end of a long road that climbs 600m and I can cruise up in top gear at 2000rpm pretty much the whole way. When I have put it into "manual" it uses more gas end of story. Lugging around in 6th all the time isn't great so I stretch it's legs often enough... but yea "eco" mode is for economy.
I learned by experience that "granny driving" is very wasteful. Get up to speed "smartly" and cruise. That yields the best economy. You basically said that, I think. I never use "Eco" because it makes my accelerator feel like there is a rubber band between the pedal and the throttle. A more responsive throttle gets me up to speed quicker and then I cruise. My car adjusts the throttle response, dampers, exhaust and steering when I go into sport mode.
Sorry I have to totally disagree, sport mode runs a lower gear and hence increases rpm to provide better response reduced turbo lag etc. I will always use more fuel. In addition tank to tank refills are not an accurate way to obtain fuel consumption unless carried out over many refills and then averaged. I have never had a car that has not provided a more accurate mpg from the on board computer with diesel engines in particular they return that much fuel to the fuel tank that the volume and fuel temperature are much greater when the vehicle has run any distance. If you refill at this time you will get less fuel in the tank. The correct way to determine fuel used is by measuring remaining fuel weight and specific gravity if your looking for accuracy.
No it’s not on modern auto boxes, last 15 years or so, they are better matched to revs speed gear ratio etc than you or I can do, why so many auto boxes have 7, 8 or 9 speed now very well judged thanks to modern ECU, why much better MPG than the older 4 or 5 speed boxes, many also have paddle shift which slows down the car just like a manual transmission, it holds the gear you are in, they are brilliant,mi would never buy a manual again, BMW and other cars use ZF autos, superb, as is my Mercedes 7 speed auto.
If you drive like a chauffeur and let the car coast instead of waiting to apply the brakes. I always drive in eco and on my last 315 trip managed 68mpg. And yes there is always a margin of error. Skoda Octavia 2ltr diesel.
I definitely believe that using manual shifting on my DSG yields far better fuel economy than Drive… I can keep it in the power band sweet spot. Drive just seems to upshift itself at ridiculously low revs.
It's probably the same as my friend 2.0 TDI A6 190 - he got better economy in sport mode when he drives it gently. Try it and let me know how you get on.
I've always found that when cruising on the motorway, keeping the revs at peak torque gives the best economy. If going slower, say through roadworks, use a lower gear to keep it at this 'sweet' spot.
But then what do you do if the peak lies at 5000 RPM ? I think this is true for turbo engines, but not necessarily for atmospheric ones.
@pierrelauwers8719 True, I do drive a turbo diesel, hence my personal findings. I would say that any n/a petrol engine, with a peak torque at around 5000 rpm, was tuned for its highest possible power figure, not economy. Honda Vtec - looking at you! 😉
@@SteveDull Not always; many a japanese or Fiat Engine have such high torque peaks, without any pretention to sport. I have an atmospheric Tipo SW 1.4 95 HP, so the contrary of any sports car, whose torque peaks officially at 4500 RPM, in reality a bit higher. It features an EGR at low revs, and the best efficiency I get between 1500 and 2500 RPM, while the power is concentrated beween 5000 and 6000.
@@pierrelauwers8719no it’s still true regardless. There’s effectively two power bands created by camshaft tech, one for economy and one for performance. Hondas have high rpm torque because the camshaft has variable valve timing. I’d say 2300 is going to be around the sweet spot in most petrol cars (without turbos). Iirc my dad’s old Passat 1.8 20V sat around 2.2k in 5th gear at 50 mph. My 2.0 TDI sits around 1850 in 6th at 70 mph
I find the sweet spot is the square-root of my shoe size.
Automotive engineer here, and have to strongly disagree:
What eco-mode does, is to shift up earlier in the rev band. This means that, in order to achieve the same amount of power at a lower rpm, the driver has to depress the throttle pedal more. This, however, does not mean that the fuel consumption will be higher, because of the accelerator pedal position. The contrary is true: Depressing the accelerator pedal more opens up the throttle valve more. The throttle valve, however, is responsible for efficiency losses of the airflow into the engine. Opening up the throttle valve reduces the losses and increases the efficiency.
Revving the engine higher in sport mode will do the opposite: The same power output is achieved, but at a higher rpm and lower torque, meaning that the throttle valve can be slightly more closed. Hence the efficiency is lower.
Higher rpm also cause more losses in the bearings of all rotating engine parts.
Imagining that driving in sports mode would be more efficient than eco-mode is wishful thinking. If you prefer the engine response in sport mode, that's fine. But don't try to justify your preference with illogical claims about the efficiency.
Like I said in the video, a significant number of drivers report higher MPG when in sport mode on either a manual or automatic. I'm very curious to know why this happens and my main suggestion was driver behavior but I'm always interested to hear more points of view.
BMEP is probably the major factor here and drivers can better exploit this on SOME models in sport mode. ECO on my car seems to significantly delay the throttle response and EGR is used more.
I really can't say this is wishful thinking, my own tests on my car (a manual 1.4 TFSi) bear out an improvement in economy when I switch off eco mode and drive it properly. The cylinder on demand seems to kick in more often as well. Other comments below also bear out this strange phenomenon.
The two areas are the gearbox in sport mode on an audo and how the ECU reacts to ECO mode when selected by the driver in the infotainment. Hybrid models and even different brands seem to have different strategies for "eco" mode.
@torquecars Well I have never heard of nor experienced anything that would support that. And all engineering knowledge speaks against it. I also don't see why manufacturers would implement a powerless and annoying eco mode, if it wasn't more efficient than a sport mode.
I for my part drive a manual car without any mode selection. But I drive it in the most fuel efficient way, which would resemble an eco mode. And guess what: I input my consumption values on a website, where you can compare yourself to other drivers of the same car with the same engine and gear box, and I rank first in fuel economy, even with two different cars.
So this is why I really don't see it.
Oh nice result, well done. Thanks again for your input and comments my friend. The best explanation for eco mode so far was that it was designed to compensate for bad driving habits. I'll be watching the comments here to see if there are any trends, it will be interesting to see if this is mainly the case in say German cars, then I can do some more digging.
Pumping losses and bearing losses are not the only losses though. There are also thermal losses. At very low rpm, the piston is not moving fast enough to absorb the energy from combustion and more energy escapes into the cylinder head and block. That is also wasted energy. At very low loads, it's important to minimize running losses (friction, pumping, etc) by keeping the rpm low. Once the engine is under an appreciable load, it's important to minimize thermal losses.
@Grafyte If your objective is fuel efficiency, you should be driving under low load conditions in the first place.
Forward Planning will get you better economy whatever mode you use. Modern ECM's cut fuel on coasting so just planning ahead and coasting more will significantly improve your MPG. I could get well over 60mpg from my E220 mixed mode driving by barely using the brakes. Most people absolutely suck at forward planning.
@@TheGalifrey I had a Prius for 3 years, and I would say I learned a lot from driving it (didn't do the super slow annoying mode, just normal and as you said looking ahead and anticipating).
@@dzmelinux7769 Hybrids are the best for teaching economical driving, EV's as well as you can see the impact of your choices and driving styles.
I found a way to explain this to non-professionnal people: The energy you don't waste in the brakes you do not need to take from the tank.
Coasting still uses fuel because the engine is idling. Leaving the car in gear and taking your foot off the accelerator cuts the fuel off.
@@ghostinthemachine76 Sorry, that is what I mean by coasting as I drive an Auto, although my current car is a mechanical diesel (OM606) and it doesn't cut the fuel when I lift off unlike a modern diesel/fuel injection.
I looked everywhere in my 07 Diesel Honda CR-V for a sport button and was just about to give up when I found it hidden under the dash. Delighted I pressed it, the engine stopped and the glove box opened to reveal a pair of trainers and a note saying "Jog home fat boy"
lol, Just sprayed my coffee over my screen. Thanks for sharing that tip.
Everytime I get in the RS6 I engage Dynamic/Sport mode and disable the cylinder deactivation so it's awlays running on 8 cylinders. For driving around the doors it actually returns a decent MPG, I also keep the gearbox in semi-automatic mode so I can choose the best gear for the road, example when I'm going down a steep hill, I don't ride the brake I simply select a low gear that'll keep the car at the speed limit. Besides, it sounds awesome in sport mode, I'm addicted to the sound of the V8.
On motorway journeys I put it in comfort mode, becuase this is when the Audi technology returns the best MPG, its fine blasting around the doors with the exhaust valves open and enjoying the pops n bangs but on a long trip I don't need the racket!
I've already tried this but not in perfect conditions. I listen to the BMW efficiency dynamics and get 4-5 stars. But when it's in sport mode, I tend to drive more aggressively. I find the eco-mode forces me to be a good driver, cause I enjoy getting all those stars 🌟
Ah smiles per gallon rather than miles per gallon eh?
I drive an Audi A4 2.0 turbo. When I drive in Auto mode the transmission is always hunting for the highest gear possible even on long uphill roads. So it’s trying to stay in the 1300 to 1500 rpm zone which really bogs the engine and has a very hard time maintaining any speed. The car bogs then shifts down, then shifts back up and bogs again. It’s frustrating and obviously is not getting good fuel economy. So I drive in sport mode in the city which keeps the engine in a good power band and it drives much much better. On the open highway Auto mode is ok but not great either as I’m always pressing the gas to maintain speed. I wish I could remap the shift points somehow but for now I drive mostly in sport mode.
Really enjoy your videos they are very informative. I will give this a try in my a5 45tfsi stronic quattro. I usually drive in economy mode but will try dynamic mode to see if there is any improvement mpg and report back.
Very interesting, I will try it on my Toyota. I have a Mini Cooper S on order, that will always be in Sports (Go-Kart) mode 😂. Love your channel. I’ll send some feedback after I’ve tried, maybe after 2 tank fills. Cheers and Happy New Year
I used to have a 2019 Jaguar XE with the ZF auto box and I too found it delivered better fuel economy in Sport mode.
I have a 2019 35 tfsi A5 which I always drive in comfort mode. I’ve just done a 525 mile round trip from near Taunton to Norwich, where I achieved around 46mpg. This would have been higher had it not been for several very slow rolling hold ups. I’ll be doing the same trip in 3 weeks so I’ll try it in sport to see what happens. You mentioned a difference of around 5%, which is still worth having.
@@ianlaccohee7180 commenting so I’ll be notified of the result 😂
So do I 🤞
Excellent content again. 1999 s type 4.0 V8.
It's an old 4 speed overdrive auto.
2nd is 1st gear overdrive ect.
It has a sport mode button that stays on sport mode mostly.
I also use the J gate to lock the gear or it rarely goes over 2k rpm even to warm up quicker.
On a hot day long run it'll do 35 mpg but the average is around 24 mls/imp g.
It's easy to get under 10 mpg with a spirited drive but with a 155mph limiter that doesn't happen.
Many got restricted to 121mph in a recall.
Sport mode seems to slightly reduce the sensitivity of the throttle input, going back to normal feels more peppy but it's only changing the input response and changing up sooner.
Eco mode and what modern cars recommend want to change down too early to too lower RPM. Keep RPM above 1800, 2k or so, keep the turbo active and that will help economy. Lower than 1800 or so is can cause the engine to labour. IIRC there is another TorqueCars video giving such advice.
@@kismetorisit not true. It depends. My car with 1.2Litre 3cyl turbo petrol. It gives best mileage off boost with rpm between 1200 to 1400.
No boost when you not accelerating
With my Subaru Forester, when going uphill in ECO mode, the gearbox is forced to kickdown, sometimes aggressively making the car lurch, which I dislike.
However, in sport mode, the gearbox holds on longer to the gear it's in, negating the need to downshift giving a smoother drive.
The same is also true going downhill, I like the engine braking sport mode affords me, the car feels more controlled and safer.
This is absolutely right.
I drive my Octavia vRS DSG in manual/Sport mode and engine break down hill. In ECO mode it coasts downhill using more fuel.
Using manual/Sport vs ECO over the same route saw a 3mpg improvement.
In my Subaru Legacy GT sport mode is definitely more fuel efficient though perhaps not quite by 7%. This is even true in urban driving coditions unless traffic is heavy.
I have a BMW X3 30d. As it's the SE trim level it came with the basic transmission settings. I upgraded to paddle shift, and the upgrade meant that the transmission software also upgraded to "sports auto".
The first thing I noticed was that without using the paddles the transmission shifts down earlier, and it holds the gears slightly longer before shifting up.
I don't actually set "sport" mode either with the shifter, or the "driving experience" switch. I find that if I do, the transmission doesn't select 8th until around 80mph.
However, in "comfort" mode - since the transmission upgrade - I'm getting around 4-5% better MPG.
Hi - on my diesel R172 SLK I drive in sport mode on the motorway and use cruise control to accelerate - with mixed driving over the last 5 years at 10,000 miles per year I have averaged 47 mpg - on a car with 500Nm used at traffic lights regularly
I have a 2020 SEAT Ibiza FR 1 litre. I don't drive aggressively and find that I get noticeably better fuel economy in Sport Mode than I get in Normal Mode. I suspect this is because here in the Pennines I climb a lot of steep hills, and in Normal Mode I have to be heavier on the throttle than in Sport Mode to prevent labouring the engine.
Away from the Pennines I get the car's expected 50mpg or slightly more, so I can't say for sure whether Sport Mode makes much difference in places where the inclines are more gentle.
Have a 2018 Nissan Rogue with a CVT and I tried this in the past. Eco mode was better than sport mode for MPG. It seems to me the lower RPM's your engine in doing to achieve the same speed would result in the better fuel economy.
In Seats, Eco mode just seems to reduce throttle sensitivity and makes car feel sluggish. In DSG Seats, Eco mode declutches the DSG when lifting off. The 1.5 TSI used cylinder deactivation which does work at increasing mpg but needs a flat road and some effort to see results.
My Cupra 300 sports tourer does 32mpg no matter what I do, if nursed on long motorway runs it can be coaxed up to 45mpg but requires extreme right foot discipline 😂
On my 2008 Skoda Octavia Scout (4x4) which has FSI 2.0 (BVX) engine coupled with manual transmission, I've also noticed that when I rev up my engine to the max torque region (~3500...4500 RPM) and keep it for some period, it seems that it's more easy for the engine to maintain the speed/thrust of my car and as a result, the fuel consumption surprisingly drops to about 1...1.5 L less comparing to keeping ~1500 RPM in the city cycle.
I drive a Mazda3 Turbo and I recently started driving with sport mode on, my driving style hasn't changed, I just switched on sport for the heck of it but I still drive normally only occasional high rev driving to make sure the engine is healthy. One thing that stood out the most to me was that the MPG was relatively the same and didn't drop much. This was just a few days of me observing however now after seeing this video I'll definitely reset the MPG and drive strictly on sport mode and drive more "eco" and let you know how it is.
I have a 1L Skoda Karoq DSG. I have had it almost 7 years and over that time I have averaged 44mpg. I have recently noticed that th rev counter stays around 1500rpm unless accelerating. The most economical rev range is 1500 -2000rpm which comes when in sports mode. I am now embarking on an mpg trial to see which is the winner ( but it won't be over 6 years)
;-)
In my B7 TDI Passat, I’ll use sport mode when going 50kph or below, but in 3rd hear it doesn’t want to upshift even at 3,100rpm with the most light throttle, so I’ll use control as it’ll then go back to eco mode when it’s in it, that way it’ll pick up and go good at lower speeds, then at higher speeds it’ll drop the revs. As soon as I tap the brake or accelerator it will go back to sport mode, so slowing down (or speeding up) will drop back gears.
Focus ST diesel here, I prefer sport mode on my automatic gearbox, I find the car handles better, is more responsive due to holding onto the higher RPM, I find it also warms up quicker. I particularly like the engine braking when cornering and hills. I drive it in wet conditions in sport mode and again the engine breaking ensures the car is always stuck to the road.
I have a22 Audi A4 45TFSI. My mileage is slightly better in sport (dynamic) mode plus the annoying start/stop system is automatically shut off and the cars performance is noticeably better. A win/win!!
I drive 2005 Saab 9/5 2.0lt auto, Except in urban traffic, it’s always put in sport mode.
Definitely improves mpg, 2-3 miles.
I do same journey every day, so took the opportunity to try both options,
Whatever the ‘experts’ say on here, I know for a fact, that in my car, sport is the way to go.
Can’t speak for other makes and models!
I drive a 2.0L 2016 Focus Diesel, pre wet belt. I know I'm lucky. I'm getting around 43-48 MPG, so will try this and come back with my findings.
I think I've experienced this with a 2011 Lexus IS250 Auto. In Eco mode I was averaging 10.8L/100km in mostly city driving - I tried for ages to change my driving habits to improve the fuel use but I didn't get any results.
Then I changed to power mode and within a few weeks my average dropped to 9.0L/100km. In Eco mode, the transmission won't shift into lower gears, and so I feel like I'm accelerating slowly (and therefore for longer) to get up to speed from the traffic lights.
I have this 1500cc Mitsubishi Sportwagon 2006 where the sport mode has a braking effect when your foot is not on the accelerator. And for this particular car, I think that is where the good economics comes in. In my experience, noting consumes fuel like the pedal brakes, not even climbing. My worry with sport mode is heat dumping.
so, Lexus 2015 rx 350. I recently did a 200 km road trip, running 130 km to 160 km an hour, and got a shocking 25% improvement in gas. I realized it all has to be about the power ban. The Lexus seems to drive best handling and gas wise at about 140 km an hour. Under about 80 to 100 km an hour it seems to get terrible milage.
I was talking with a friend about this the other day.
I have a Audi S1 manual, I do a 15 min drive to work in the mornings, I have it set where it tells me my mpg for that journey.
On dynamic mode I can get up to 36mpg but on efficiency I get around 31mpg, if I go very carefully I get around 34 but definitely better in dynamic.
It all comes down to the way you drive. For a hybrid - 2021 hybrid Corolla Sedan, 1.8 liter thermic engine - keeping the way I drive, even in Sport mode, does not impact the mileage on the trip. Though, car feel more snappy and more pleasant to drive - still, hybrid from Toyota are known as Death of Passion way of driving, because of eCVT behavior - but adopting same way of driving, difference between Normal and Sport mode is insignifiant - 0.1 l/100 km driven, so not really impacting overall mileage
I want to test this out on my BMW 435I. If I drive it the same way both ways, I'm 3tting the Eco mode wins out. I use all 3 modes minus the sport + mode quite often.
Ford ranger 2.0 biturbo 2019 with the 10r80 in manual sports mode makes the torque converter lock up so it makes feel direct drive to the engine and way more responsive when throttling up. When in Drive it likes to stay in 3rd gear dispite the engine speed below the gear speed. So there's a lot of slip in the torque converter when speeding up. This programming from ford can overheat the atf and burn more fuel to reach the desired acceleration.
My CRV MPG readout is about 1 US MPG(1.2 UK MPG) off from what I calculate. I see the UK is just as rainy and gray as my home state of Michigan.
My 2018 Volvo V90 D3 with a 195hp tune and a six speed manual gearbox has lower fuel consumption in Comfort (default drive mode) than Economy mode when driving at 120 km/h or more. In cities or low speed it dosen’t do much difference. Dynamic (aka Sport mode) always consumes more fuel but the car is considerably more agressive in throttle response. Gear box is manual so I guess my decisions on gear changes has the largest input on fuel economy.
Sport mode on my car changes shift points, throttle response and fueling maps including the VVT. Definitely not more economical on the VAG EA8883B. The most economical mode is cruise control, which can be used from 20mph. ECO mode is okay, but it coasts and idles on throttle lift instead of shutting off the fuel, though coast does mean you don't get engine braking. But cruise gives fantastic economy.
How is cruise control more economical if it uses brakes instead of engine braking when going downhill causing a loss of inertia?
I tried this in V- class.
11 miles- out of it 8 miles on cruise at 60 mph.
Eco mode gave me 40.9mpg
Sport mode. 35.7 mpg
What about manual cars? I have a Focus Titanium 150TDCi. It does allow you to choose a drive style and I choose economy. However, this just tells you which gear to use. I do if it fits in with what I think is right bearing in mind I can see the road ahead but the car cannot. I assume that all this mode does is amend the gear recommendations. I doubt it alters suspension etc. But I do not have the handbook so do not know.
My car cuts to idle when I cruise in eco and in certain conditions in normal mode. With some road planning and looking ahead I can get some decent mpg figures out of my Gti, but in sport mode the car delays change ups and the engine revs higher. However I have found on a long cruise on motorway sport mode is 100% the most efficient way to drive as the throttle input is super sensitive so I have to press it less compared to the other modes giving me a better fuel economy. I travelled to the south of France in the summer and I got 450 miles out of a tank sat on Franch motorways @ 70 to 80 mph which I’ve never got here in UK in the 2 years I’ve had car. Usually day to day I’m lucky if I get 35mpg out of a tank
I had a FIAT 500 with manual transmission I found on long highway trips spott mode would get me 2-3 mpg better if put cruise control on and left itnalone. I was told it disengaged the power steering pump among other things. In town where I just needed more aggressive acceleration I didn't notice much of a difference in efficiency one eay or the other.
I have a 22 Acura RDX and I can attest to what some people have stated. I primarily drive Comfort Mode 28MPG or more. While in Sport Mode primarily on Highways I achieve the same or better MPGs. Driving in Sport Mode in the confines of the city will drop MPGs because of the constant higher RPM and lack of speed.
Interesting. I drive a Golf 7 GTI and hardly put it on sport mode, it's always on normal mode. Will be testing this for a week
That'll be interesting to see how you get on with this.
I always use S on MBs automatics. Only thing I like about C or W mode is the 2:nd gear start when driving in cities or bumper to bumper. You roll around more in 2-3rd instead of 1-2. A much smoother drive then. In all other cases you just want it to be responsive to inputs instead.
Driving my Ford Focus 1.0 litre eco boost (😢🤞) in Eco mode seemed to cause problems with the particulate sensors causing warnings and needing the replacement of the sensors. The Ford garage said they didn’t recommend driving all the time in Eco and that the engine need a good work out (thrashing 😂) to clear the particulate filters out. I gave up using Eco mode and used normal mode and the problems disappeared. Sports mode is much more fun…people don’t expect a Focus to accelerate so fast)
Mitsubishi Mirage 1.2 CVT. The CVT will up the revs in sport mode by 1000 rpm on average. It uses around 10% more fuel than normal mode.
On the Lexus/Toyota hybrids, Eco mode dials back the (electrically driven) air conditioning compressor, stops the engine more often and so on - I suspect that this will result in different findings to a conventional car.
Ah interesting, I never knew that. Another little gem to file away. My Audi aircon actually has an eco setting on it which I have to manually switch on if I want to.
I had a 99 e55 amg once upon a time, fuel economy was always better when manually shifting the semi auto box
I noticed the Sport Mode on my 25 Subaru actually does give better mpg than the eco mode. Eco mode seems to vary much more say 1000-3000 rpm where Sport is usually in the 1600-2800 rpm and saves about 1 mpg. Maybe if my drives were perfectly flat, eco might actually perform better?
On speed awareness courses they advise sport gearing as you get better engine breaking
I drive a Dacia Duster 1,3 EDC , i don’t have sport only ECO mode but I can tell you that fuel consumption is much higher in eco and the gear box is constantly lugging the engine over the 3 rd speed.
I have an exprerience with getting better MPGs while using 98 octane fuel insted of 95. And the reason really was because of car was feeling more nimble and I didn't have to push gas pedal so hard. Car was BMW 525 e34 with m20b25 engine. But you have to keep in mind that if praticular engine can get out profit of higher octane. If not it will be just a waste of money.
I have a manual i30n. I always drive it in custom sport now (everything apart from suspension is in sport).
I used to drive in normal but after doing a couple weeks running in sport i saw no difference in my fuel bill or mpg on the trip metre (when driving normally).
When i would rag it in sport, i got high teens to low twenties. Driving normally i get around 32mpg, in both normal and sport mode.
I dont even bother with eco unless I'm on the motorway, it kills the power and makes driving unenjoyable.
I don't own a car with automatic transmission, but I thought "Eco Mode" would at least change the ignition timing and/or injection timing of the car. I may be wrong but if all it does is change the transmission behavior during acceleration, then it is probably a good idea to drive an automatic in manual mode if that's not CVT, right?
In a manual there are some interesting things happening in ECO mode. The EGR runs a little more, fuel and timing are adjusted and on most modern drive by wire engines the throttle will be limited to slower responses. Sorry I didn't make this more clear, the video was aimed at automatic drivers mainly but I had mentioned the ECO mode on regular transmissions.
Tryed it 2 weeks ago and i reduced my fuel usage from 6,8/100km to 6.0/100km using the sport mode instead of economy. Diesel engine in cities seems to be much better in sport mode and also probably reducing clogging or egr problems. Economy seems much better at 120 kmh at least on highway and better at 140kmh.
RS3 2022 efficiency mode is okay for school run/city tootling but terrible on dual carriage ways. However, dynamic mode with careful throttle input but still good turn of pace returns around 31mpg on dual carriage way.
It is fairly true in my 2013 Audi S7 3.0 TFSI, level 1 tuning, at least according to the computer, will test with resetting the trip meter.
s7 4 litre not 3
I tried in my Toyota CHR 1.2 liter turbo. the eco mode gave more fuel efficiency than the sport mode by about 2.5 Km/ L.
I tested this in my 2013 Volkswagen Polo 1.2tsi today.
The car doesn't have an engine mode, just a transmission mode.
I did two identical 8.4km circuits around my city back to back. While keeping my driving as similar between the two runs as possible and AC off.
Normal: 15.7km/L
Sport: 13.5km/L
Conclusion in the city, my car uses more fuel to be in sport.
It's going to take you a lot of careful driving to get that fuel back you used testing the theory.
I guess the best way to save fuel is to make less unnecessary journeys. 👍
We have worked out a great way to improve our cars fuel economy, we are moving closer to our work.
We have estimated a saving of at least 2k a year on fuel alone.
We could then just run one car, but I'm planning on keeping my convertible on the road as a fun weekend car, which I might SORN over winter to save on the tax.
@@TheMirrorGuy
22km all up with the travel time to warm up the car.
Averaging 14.6km/L
And fuel is about $2.80 per liter.
This tells me it cost $4.23 to run this experiment.
And doing an average of about 400km per week it wouldn't take long to gain back my losses if it turned out I saved money by being in sport mode.
Unfortunately work requires me to drive lots. I wouldn't if I had another option.
I've only had my Skoda Kamiq 1.5 DSG a few months but I've started being more proactive by mixing Drive & Sport modes. quite often kick down seems like overkill so I put it in to sport mode which drops down a gear and I can accelerate away without having to boot it, I then go back to drive mode so that it goes back in to top gear (which sport mode doesn't want to do below 70mph). and has already been mentioned, I will use sport mode when decelerating for traffic lights or on longer down hills as you get a little more engine braking due to higher rpm, which also means it doesn't need to use fuel to keep the engine running.
@@toqtoq3361 yes but I love the auto box when sat in traffic! and I can be lazy when I want to be
It is my practise too. Sport mode also used for faster warming up....
When I plug my iCarsoft diag tool into my R172, the 9G box shows as being in “Normal” mode when the Sport mode is selected….!!
BMW X1 F48 has better consumption on highway when ECO mode is used, because only in ECO the engine gets decuppeld from the gearbox when you dont accelerate. Ans the car is rolling on even roads for some 100m without much decreasing in speed.
My wife's mk4 astra 2:2 automatic has a sport mode, and it just seems to change gear much later.
If you use it, it sounds like you are really thrashing it. Not sure how it would impact efficiency.
Just filled up a full tank, will test it out.
On our Honda Pilot economy mode increased mileage by about 2mpg. Same with our son's CRV.
I drive a couple of different vehicles during the week. My car is a 2 litre 2000 Toyota Rav4 auto with an over drive button on the shifter I quite often switch modes on the fly depending on if the road is a hilly road or a fairly flat road. It also has a button on the dash to switch between normal and power mode to change the shift points most of the time I leave it in normal mode. When I volunteer my time I drive either a diesel 2021 Toyota HiAce commuter van auto with sports mode on the gear box at times I leave it in eco mode where the vehicle takes care of the gear changes and other times I'll use sports mode depending on the situation and change on the fly between the 2 modes as I feel it's needed. At work I drive a diesel Volvo B12 bus that has a 12 litre inline 6 cylinder with an 7 speed auto gearbox with a transmission retarder fitted it only has one mode but when driven properly it is good on fuel for what it is and the fact it weighs 10 tons.
What about CVT's? Pressed sport by mistake once & the revs shot up an extra 500rpm.
I should try my ST in sport mode more. Interesting video
See my comment, I've an st too.
I just like sports mode because it gets more engine braking in the automatic cars. But once i hif the open road am going into eco.
I only drive my A5 in sport mode because I hate the delay when I want to accelerate and change lanes... So I leave it in Sport or manual ( it has automatic gearbox) but I can't for the life of me to not put down the foot, so I don't really know if it has better fuel economy on sport mode.
I always wonder whether the Sport Mode in my car increases the wear and tear (timing chain, turbo). It's a manual gearbox and in sport mode the throttle is much more responsive as you said. But is the Eco Mode better for the engine? It's a BMW F20 LCI
From my experience, in an automatic car, economy in sport mode is only possible in heavy traffic with lots of stops and starts. When driving on a highway at a constant speed, there will be no fuel economy
Does that also include the DSG gearbox in a VW Caravelle
My dsg in my seat is always in sport mode so much more economical as it is in the right gear all the time in eco mode the cars always trying to be in 7th gear, in eco i get 37mpg in sport i get 44.7 which is a massive difference but i am a steady driver also lol 😅😅
Sport mode also often disables the annoying stop/start setting
I didn’t even kno that, I left my auxiliary battery dead for 2 years now because of it
Only on automatic gearbox? Choising the manual sport mode is the option ?
CX5 high way driving sport mode also returns better MPG i think the trick is being able to keep the same high speed longer😮
its all to do with what rev range produces the most efficient combustion. eco mode just keeps the revs low which is less wear on the engine but not the best use of the fuel.
Rpm or engine speed sometimes is irrelevant when it comes to achieving the maximum fuel efficiency of the car for eg if you use a light throttle when accelerating to 2,500,2000 rpm when changing gear you can get great fuel economy rather than quickly accelerating putting foot all the way or using too low rpm to on that rpm range too low or too high rpms can waste fuel/precious mpgs in my car it’s a 2008 Clio tce 100 dynamique I get the best fuel economy by cruising at 1,700rpm on normal roads rpm to 2,700rpm on the motorway with 25% throttle that’s my cars sweetspot for best mpg since it’s 5peed manual also driving at the speed limit is not only safe for other road users but can save you money on fuel aswell
I have a 2016 VW Passat Estate 2.0 TDi always use sport mode is a manual
I surely keep my cars on sport to stop gearbox shifting like crazy
I'll try it with a Z4 manual, thanks.
Far more enjoyable to drive the Rangie in Sport mode .. . I forget to sometimes .. unconcerned with the fuel economy, but I'm guessing it isn't that much dissimilar. Heavy car (2.7 tons) 8 speed etc. It,s better in low gears at under 40mph, which is where we're at most of the time.
Had my car remapped from 200bhp to 340bhp n fuel economy went from 18mpg to 26mpg.
Look honestly it's just depends where and what type of roads you driving on in a short explanation
Funny you made that video. I usually use ECO mode but drove a distance of just about 200 km (which I drive quite regular and also on my usual mixed city and highway) and I used normal mode instead of ECO and could see a significant difference (enough to be noticed by me) and from this point on I use normal mode. I am going to check sport mode (after our winter snow and ice roads) and will see if that provides another ECO boost. I hope I will remember (in spring) to update my findings in this video. I have a driving school and for most of my students the gas pedal is a light switch, so I am very grateful that I can switch them into ECO mode 🙄😳😲😉 (it's an CVT automatic).
Presumably this is auto gearbox. I have these settings on my Audi manual, have it in comfort and does everything I want. It goes when I want and gives economy as 60+mpg diesel.
Mine is a manual, I do get slightly better economy in dynamic mode, I set steering to auto as I like the light comfort when parking and greater steering feedback at higher speeds. ECO mode really does feel like there is a balloon under the accelerator pedal holding it back. Interestingly I get more clutch judder in dynamic mode if I'm not ultra careful.
I can only really encourage you to record your economy and change the setting and compare, some of the results will depend on your driving style.
Do eco mode normally drop a cylinder ie motorway driving?
My previous Toyota hybrid was 2-5 mpg better in sport mode & acceleration was faster. Sadly they fixed the problem on my new hybrid and economy is now better 😢
My e61 530i is more economical in "D". I live at the end of a long road that climbs 600m and I can cruise up in top gear at 2000rpm pretty much the whole way.
When I have put it into "manual" it uses more gas end of story.
Lugging around in 6th all the time isn't great so I stretch it's legs often enough... but yea "eco" mode is for economy.
I learned by experience that "granny driving" is very wasteful. Get up to speed "smartly" and cruise. That yields the best economy. You basically said that, I think. I never use "Eco" because it makes my accelerator feel like there is a rubber band between the pedal and the throttle. A more responsive throttle gets me up to speed quicker and then I cruise. My car adjusts the throttle response, dampers, exhaust and steering when I go into sport mode.
Sorry I have to totally disagree, sport mode runs a lower gear and hence increases rpm to provide better response reduced turbo lag etc. I will always use more fuel. In addition tank to tank refills are not an accurate way to obtain fuel consumption unless carried out over many refills and then averaged. I have never had a car that has not provided a more accurate mpg from the on board computer with diesel engines in particular they return that much fuel to the fuel tank that the volume and fuel temperature are much greater when the vehicle has run any distance. If you refill at this time you will get less fuel in the tank. The correct way to determine fuel used is by measuring remaining fuel weight and specific gravity if your looking for accuracy.
I’ve never owned an automatic but I guess it’s the same as lugging an engine in “eco” mode?
No it’s not on modern auto boxes, last 15 years or so, they are better matched to revs speed gear ratio etc than you or I can do, why so many auto boxes have 7, 8 or 9 speed now very well judged thanks to modern ECU, why much better MPG than the older 4 or 5 speed boxes, many also have paddle shift which slows down the car just like a manual transmission, it holds the gear you are in, they are brilliant,mi would never buy a manual again, BMW and other cars use ZF autos, superb, as is my Mercedes 7 speed auto.
If you drive like a chauffeur and let the car coast instead of waiting to apply the brakes.
I always drive in eco and on my last 315 trip managed 68mpg.
And yes there is always a margin of error.
Skoda Octavia 2ltr diesel.
I definitely believe that using manual shifting on my DSG yields far better fuel economy than Drive… I can keep it in the power band sweet spot. Drive just seems to upshift itself at ridiculously low revs.
I get more mpg on s mode than e mode in my 2013 mercedes c220 cdi. Only a wee bit more.
My car has 2 modes, engine on and engine off!
What about sport mode on a VRS diesel Octavia.? Please.
It's probably the same as my friend 2.0 TDI A6 190 - he got better economy in sport mode when he drives it gently. Try it and let me know how you get on.