Eco what?

[8cam]

I took a little drive today, one that I take a couple days a week. And I decided to try a little experiment. I drove up in Normal mode and drove back in Eco mode. I didn't drive any differently than I always do, mostly highway with the cruise set to 73mph and the windows down (hey it was a beautiful day). I live in a hilly area with lots of up and down. I know this isn't scientific and is only a single relatively short trip, but I would have expected Eco to have a slight improvement, not worse. Even if it does help on long drives, it's not worth the sluggish response. Dump Eco and make Sport the default.

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[SZairborne]

I see better mpgs using sport mode then any other one.

 

[Tricky Dick]

I get a significant increase from Eco, but you have to monitor your boost religiously.

 

[Bmadda]

Ya I think they tried to get better mileage by shifting the AT more conservatively, but what ends up happening is it takes more boost to maintain speed, and uses more fuel. Mine is MT and none of those modes do diddley...same mileage in all!

 

[taperunner]

Wouldn't you need to repeat that same drive the same way in each mode? It could be more uphill climb on the return? Just a thought.

 

[Big Boss]

I get a significant increase from Eco, but you have to monitor your boost religiously.

This ^

I've done similar experiments as the OP. You do have to change the way you drive in eco mode.

 

[ET13]

I plan to use sport mode for the first time today. was waiting until i hit 1k miles

 

[49faith]

I get a significant increase from Eco, but you have to monitor your boost religiously.

This has been my experience through my first 500 miles as well. The boost gauge is a better indicator of MPG than the MPG gauge. My 3.5TT F150 gets me 20+ all day without worrying about boost so it's taken a little getting used to.

 

[8cam]

This ^

I've done similar experiments as the OP. You do have to change the way you drive in eco mode.

What’s the point of that? I will bet if you change the way you drive the same way in Normal you’d see a similar improvement. Eco is silly fluff, just like auto stop. It appeases a certain group while making things worse in the real world.

 

[lapazleo]

I get a significant increase from Eco, but you have to monitor your boost religiously.

More boost =more fuel consumption.

 

[thatspecialbeat]

I'm no scientologist but I can't see how modes could possibly affect MPG on the freeway at a constant speed.

 

[lapazleo]

What’s the point of that? I will bet if you change the way you drive the same way in Normal you’d see a similar improvement. Eco is silly fluff, just like auto stop. It appeases a certain group while making things worse in the real world.

I've pointed that out on this forum multiple times. The biggest factor in fuel economy is the nut behind the wheel. You want to get better fuel economy you have to learn better driving techniques.

 

[lapazleo]

I'm no scientologist but I can't see how modes could possibly affect MPG on the freeway at a constant speed.

They don't but they can make a difference in city type driving but again it's ultimately the driver.

 

[Big Boss]

What’s the point of that? I will bet if you change the way you drive the same way in Normal you’d see a similar improvement. Eco is silly fluff, just like auto stop. It appeases a certain group while making things worse in the real world.

Basically it's like this:

most people flip it to eco then end up driving harder to make it drive like it does in normal bc eco sucks the fun out of it. When I did my experiment with eco and auto start on driving normal I got around 24 MPG. With driving eco minded, got 25.5, probably could have gotten 26 if I tried harder

Now in normal it's anywhere from 23 to maybe 24

 

[8cam]

Basically it's like this:

most people flip it to eco then end up driving harder to make it drive like it does in normal bc eco sucks the fun out of it. When I did my experiment with eco and auto start on driving normal I got around 24 MPG. With driving eco minded, got 25.5, probably could have gotten 26 if I tried harder

Now in normal it's anywhere from 23 to maybe 24

If you have a “mode” and you want to test the effectivity of that mode, you don’t change other variables. That’s what I did in my unscientific method. I drove the same way as normal, didn’t try to do any more. The only effect I saw was sluggish response from everything, and worse mileage. That tells me Eco was designed to satisfy a certain group/rule and doesn’t really do anything real. If a mode requires you to act differently then it’s not a mode. It’s a reminder.

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