ECO Mode ON/OFF experiment (with data) - Highway driving

[Mavster Mechanic]

Eco on the hybrid (2022) makes the cruise control LESS aggressive accelerating.

Only matters if you need to slow down then hit that "RESume" button.

Eco does not rev the engine to regain setpoint like the other modes do.

In steady speed driving, I would not expect any effects on MPG.

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[Maverick123]

... Also not sure how ECO changes the behavior of the eCVT. Or does it just change the regen and hvb usage?

Eco doesn't really change hybrids' gearbox behavior because there's no such thing; it's just seamless.

Eco makes the throttle less responsive, it cranks up regen and makes the HVAC less responsive.

I like it for city driving because it feels close to one pedal driving. YMMV

PS I feel sorry for OP having to drive the full length of the 401 twice every two weeks. That highway is BORING as hell. But at least you can enjoy Montreal while you're there

 

[Ecorydr]

Out here in Utah, Nevada when driving the terrain I usually use slippery mode. I don't want a lot .of regenerative breaking going down so I can build some speed for the next Hill.

Here's the mileage I got freeway driving. Using slippery mode, when I came back from San Diego to Las Vegas on the 28th of June.

Even if it's adjusted down to 38 MPG it's still damn good for 336 miles.

Havent got around to using slippery mode.... but, I do keep a 37.7 MPG (fuel eco display) on US 65 going thru hilly MO Ozark (Springfield/Branson) highway runs in normal non-cruise mode. Will try slippery mode next time down.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Last time I did a 4 hour straight highway drive at 75mph, I got about 37mpg, it’s less than my 50mpg in town driving, but I’m not mad at 37 either

That must be nice, I think its because Texas but I would get 31-34 on the same trip. The AC really does use a lot of gas. In reality I would get 26-29 to the gallon because the highways are a choice of sticking to the right lane and going 68 in a 75 or the left lane going 80 to 90+ to avoid having to constantly shift lanes back and forth.

 

[Ecorydr]

........
PS I feel sorry for OP having to drive the full length of the 401 twice every two weeks. That highway is BORING as hell. But at least you can enjoy Montreal while you're there

We got our own "boring" hell.... driving thru KS on I70..

 

[ramori]

It's amazing how badly you get punished for driving 75mph instead of 65mph.

Would be interesting to run my experiment alternating between 65mph and 75mph, to test any difference in MPH vs speed

 

[ElTejon]

Eco mode seems more useful in city or variable speed driving than on a flat highway. Ford says it softens accelerator response and can make adaptive cruise regain speed more gradually. Those changes help most when you are repeatedly accelerating or dealing with traffic.

I have done some testing in my own Maverick too. My impression is that Eco helps more around town, where it smooths out throttle inputs. During steady highway cruising, I have seen little difference between Eco and Normal. Once the truck is maintaining a constant speed, both modes require about the same power.

Your results seem consistent with that, although rain, traffic, and adaptive cruise activity make it difficult to compare the segments directly. I would not say Eco provides no benefit. I would say its highway benefit is probably small, and cruising speed will affect MPG much more than Eco versus Normal. Your AWD hybrid results may also differ from my 2.0L EcoBoost AWD.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Havent got around to using slippery mode.... but, I do keep a 37.7 MPG (fuel eco display) on US 65 going thru hilly MO Ozark (Springfield/Branson) highway runs in normal non-cruise mode. Will try slippery mode next time down.

If you drive the terrain. You may be surprised with slippery mode.
I find coasting in slippery mode is as close to neutral as you can be and still be in "gear"

 

[Tall Hobbit]

If you drive the terrain. You may be surprised with slippery mode.
I find coasting is as close to neutral as you can be and still be in "gear"

Yes, slippery all the way for me, for that and two other reasons:

1) even in Normal, the brakes are about as grabby as a billionaire. If I was to snap my neck, I'd rather do it using the go pedal than the brakes. Slippery seems to seize much more gently.

2) on short trips or at other times I want to try my luck at electric-only, slippery is a good mode unlike tow/haul or sport that forces the ICE to run any time you're in drive.

 

[GenMaster]

What value does driving in ECO mode actually provide? Sometimes I forget to turn ECO mode on, and I wonder how much MPG I lost during the drive.

Any experiment to compare ECO on/off must maintain minimal variation in all the other driving conditions, which isn't easy to do.

Last week I drove between Detroit and Montreal, along the 401 through Canada. 10 hours. The highway is practically straight and flat the whole way. Point east and drive. Traffic is really bad when I hit Toronto, but very light for hundreds of miles (or kilometers) before and after Toronto.

So I took data for a 150-mile segment that was extremely straight and flat. 50 miles with no ECO, then 50 miles with ECO, then 50 miles with no ECO. I had my adaptive cruise set to 75 mph, and avoided lane changes unless I absolutely had to. A/C was on, fan set at speed 2. With only three 50 mile segments, my data set is limited. I'll make this drive again in a few weeks, and I plan to take data for a much longer segment, and then run a paired t-test to see if ECO makes a statistical difference.

My preliminary data is below. With only (3) 50-mile segments, and attempting to keep all conditions as consistent as I could, the best MPG was with ECO OFF. However, that was also the segment with the least traffic (low adaptive braking) and no rain.

This very small data set says that there is no difference between ECO on and off: On=34.4mpg vs Off=34.4mpg (average) . But the data set is too small to make this claim with confidence! I'll repeat this experiment next week on the same drive for a much longer distance and report back.

Edit: I forgot to say I have the 2.5L Hybrid with AWD

Cruise and anything over 70, eco makes zero difference from I've been testing. I reserve Eco mode for stop and go city traffic. But of course your mileage may vary.

 

[ramori]

Cruise and anything over 70, eco makes zero difference from I've been testing. I reserve Eco mode for stop and go city traffic. But of course your mileage may vary.

I had to find out for myself

 

[GenMaster]

I had to find out for myself

Don't worry. I did the same..

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

We got our own "boring" hell.... driving thru KS on I70..

People think Kansas is flat.
Ever see Nebraska?(excluding the panhandle)

Fun line in the Clint Eastwood movie "Unforgiven":

To Gene Hackman: "I thought you were dead!"
Gene Hackman: "Hell even I thought I was dead. Turns out, I was just in Nebraska."

Florida... now THERE's a flat state. My driveway has more elevation change than the whole state of Florida.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[hdave]

I doubt it would be any noticeable difference.
ECO allows the ICE engine to turn off while coasting/slowing at highway speeds, where normal does not. Those types of situations typically last a couple seconds here and there.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I doubt it would be any noticeable difference.
ECO allows the ICE engine to turn off while coasting/slowing at highway speeds, where normal does not. Those types of situations typically last a couple seconds here and there.

Let me be the first of many to say normal does. (At 81 MPH and under I have seen. Anyone observe engine shut off at any speed higher than 81?)

As a general rule, sport and tow mode do not shut off the engine from spinning while coasting (but often fuel is cut off).

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