How often do you drive without ECO?

[goofyfoot808]

Hi I drive with e pedal on and in b eco mode or is it the same just with d range and e pedal on

I’ve switched between d/b several times at speeds under 50 mph but the power indicator didn’t show any discernible difference.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I agree totally. I like to drive carefully and ECO mode suits me perfectly so it's on the whole time. After service it tends to be left OFF and I don't like it to be so responsive!

Torque steer does keep one on one’s toes. The engine is so powerful it twists the metal drive shaft and the longer one therefore gets twisted less. A car that has torque steer is by definition more powerful that useful for city driving.

 

[Deleted member 37757]

I never use the eco mode and don't understand the why anyone does but I always use the e pedal. Not sure what the eco mode does that the e -pedal and a person with a good central nervous system can accomplish working together?

I don't understand why anyone does NOT use ECO. Is this car still not fast enough for you? You choose for an EV with environment and climate in mind, didn't you? I did. Aggressive driving is not part of that.
BTW with my relaxed driving style I always consume as little as 15kWh/100km (in summer, measured each time over a month).

 

[Bombastinator2]

I don't understand why anyone does NOT use ECO. Is this car still not fast enough for you? You choose for an EV with environment and climate in mind, didn't you? I did. Aggressive driving is not part of that.
BTW with my relaxed driving style I always consume as little as 15kWh/100km (in summer, measured each time over a month).

I did not buy an electric car for environmental stuff. They are about 20% better than a gas car, not nothing, but it’s not a be-all-end-all for me. but the reason I bought it is low continuing costs. I didn’t realize they would be quite as good as they are, I said once I would have to stop laughing at gas car drivers if gas ever dropped below $2/gal. I don’t think it will happen myself. At $2 electric cars still win but not by the ridiculous numbers they currently do.
I don’t remember where the break even point is. It’s over a dollar a gallon, but not by much.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I’ve switched between d/b several times at speeds under 50 mph but the power indicator didn’t show any discernible difference.

The one that got me was the e-pedal. I think it may actually use more. I used it for a while but turned it off.

 

[SueC56]

I love ECO as it keeps my economy high. I also use e-pedal both are on all the time. When I think about it around town I use B instead of D too. All will increase the range

I love ECO as it keeps my economy high. I also use e-pedal both are on all the time. When I think about it around town I use B instead of D too. All will increase the range of the EV.

I used to do that until I read in the manual of that. B or d makes no difference if you're using e pedal.

 

[stevereel]

I always use E-pedal and "B", never use ECO mode. I like the response of one pedal driving with those settings.
My average efficiency is 4.5 miles/kWh.

 

[deathplaybanjo]

for my 2013 leaf, ive found Eco just changes the acceleration curve, just makes it easier to drive/accelerate slowly. top speed is the same.

 

[frontrangeleaf]

2019 here so Eco mode all the time. I haven't turned it off in years.

 

[Marius25]

Eco most of the time, sometimes normal mode when i want it to be quicker out of corners and have some fun. (slighly less delay).

 

[Yodrak]

... I was wondering the other day how often people drive without ECO mode on their Leaf ...

Never.

 

[GordStewart]

I always use E-pedal and "B", never use ECO mode. I like the response of one pedal driving with those settings.
My average efficiency is 4.5 miles/kWh.

Be careful of using epedal all the time. My breaks seized up because I never used them. 80% break pads are useless if the calipers can't pull them in.

 

[Deleted member 37757]

That is no point at all: e-pedal also operates the mechanical breaks.

 

[hradek]

The one that got me was the e-pedal. I think it may actually use more. I used it for a while but turned it off.

I guess it takes a while to get used to but I like the fact that you can slow the car down to a slower speed for going around corners without using the brakes.

 

[timbowix]

That is no point at all: e-pedal also operates the mechanical breaks.

The hydraulic brakes are only operated using e-pedal when the car comes to a halt.

 

[LeafNissan1]

I did not buy an electric car for environmental stuff. They are about 20% better than a gas car, not nothing, but it’s not a be-all-end-all for me. but the reason I bought it is low continuing costs. I didn’t realize they would be quite as good as they are, I said once I would have to stop laughing at gas car drivers if gas ever dropped below $2/gal. I don’t think it will happen myself. At $2 electric cars still win but not by the ridiculous numbers they currently do.
I don’t remember where the break even point is. It’s over a dollar a gallon, but not by much.

As far as your comparison to operating costs, ICE (gasoline) vs EV (electricity), you're just factoring in the cost of gas, but you forgot to consider the cost of electricity.

Here in the San Diego area, where we're forced to buy ours from the rip-off company SDG&E, (the highest price of anywhere in CA and the nation, including Hawaii), it's a much different equation. I'm a hyper-miler and started driving a Prius over 10 years ago and was able to average about 70 mpg on the non-PHEV Prius hybrids that I owned (a 2013 and 2016). In 2019 I decided to start buying a new EV every year to take advantage of the state and federal incentives and since that time I've owned a Prius Prime, Honda Clarity, and a 2022 and 2023 Leaf. With my driving techniques I'm able to average 5.6m/kWh with the Leafs. This is the indicated miles per kWh, i.e. from the car's computer, my actual is 4.7m/kWh.

I only use the Leaf for local driving and I'm able to charge at home during super-off peak hours, but were I to drive a distance necessitating charging on the road, the price per kilowatt runs as high as $.58 in SoCal. Last night I bought gas for the cheapest I've paid in 3 years here in our area, $3.99 per gallon at Costco. So if you crunch these numbers, I was getting over twice the miles per gallon with the Prius hybrids, including the plug-in Prime, compared to my Leafs if I were charging away from home at peak times. When gas was around $6 per gallon and I was buying electricity at home for around $.25 per kilowatt, the equation, gasoline vs EV is much better.

Of course I realize that most Leaf owners will be getting closer to the 3.1m/kWh that FuelEconomy.gov rates the 2nd gen Leafs at. I'm able to get the 4.7m/kWh using my techniques and living in a moderate temperature area of the country and not having to use climate control, which is a much bigger factor for any EV compared to gas vehicles.

 

[Ancient1]

We have always left ECO on as well as driving in B range. I believe the tires will wear much better without using all the torque available, and since we are in a basically rural, low traffic volume area, we are not concerned with the amount of power available. I now find myself using E-pedal for most of my driving, as well, as I rarely have to use the brakes. Once you get used to it, one-pedal driving really spoils you!

 

[ArmyMutt64A]

I don't understand why anyone does NOT use ECO. Is this car still not fast enough for you? You choose for an EV with environment and climate in mind, didn't you? I did. Aggressive driving is not part of that.
BTW with my relaxed driving style I always consume as little as 15kWh/100km (in summer, measured each time over a month).

I chose an EV for the low maintenance. I definitely didn't think that strip mining battery components was good for the environment.

 

[Bombastinator2]

As far as your comparison to operating costs, ICE (gasoline) vs EV (electricity), you're just factoring in the cost of gas, but you forgot to consider the cost of electricity.

Here in the San Diego area, where we're forced to buy ours from the rip-off company SDG&E, (the highest price of anywhere in CA and the nation, including Hawaii), it's a much different equation. I'm a hyper-miler and started driving a Prius over 10 years ago and was able to average about 70 mpg on the non-PHEV Prius hybrids that I owned (a 2013 and 2016). In 2019 I decided to start buying a new EV every year to take advantage of the state and federal incentives and since that time I've owned a Prius Prime, Honda Clarity, and a 2022 and 2023 Leaf. With my driving techniques I'm able to average 5.6m/kWh with the Leafs. This is the indicated miles per kWh, i.e. from the car's computer, my actual is 4.7m/kWh.

I only use the Leaf for local driving and I'm able to charge at home during super-off peak hours, but were I to drive a distance necessitating charging on the road, the price per kilowatt runs as high as $.58 in SoCal. Last night I bought gas for the cheapest I've paid in 3 years here in our area, $3.99 per gallon at Costco. So if you crunch these numbers, I was getting over twice the miles per gallon with the Prius hybrids, including the plug-in Prime, compared to my Leafs if I were charging away from home at peak times. When gas was around $6 per gallon and I was buying electricity at home for around $.25 per kilowatt, the equation, gasoline vs EV is much better.

Of course I realize that most Leaf owners will be getting closer to the 3.1m/kWh that FuelEconomy.gov rates the 2nd gen Leafs at. I'm able to get the 4.7m/kWh using my techniques and living in a moderate temperature area of the country and not having to use climate control, which is a much bigger factor for any EV compared to gas vehicles.

Oh no. I factored that in. At least I think I did. Electricity at my house is 18¢/kwh, so filling my car is about $6. The “tank” is a lot smaller though it’s a whole lot bigger than 2 gallons. At 20mpg, which is about what a car of that size and performance level would get, (I had a GTI that did about that and this thing is quicker than that was) it comes out to between 5 and 6 gallons - for $6 so it’s like gas costs a bit more than $1/gal. Like I said if gas prices ever get to $2.00/gal. I’ll have to stop laughing. If they get to $1.00/gal I’ll have to look sheepish. If I ever move to Dubai (they won’t take me, I checked) where gas is like 65¢ a gallon an electric car just wouldn’t make sense and I’d leave the thing here.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I guess it takes a while to get used to but I like the fact that you can slow the car down to a slower speed for going around corners without using the brakes.

Oh, I’m not saying it’s not nice. I’m just saying I saw a reduction in “fuel economy” using it. I think it’s the glide. You can’t coast very far with the e-pedal. My memory is it was 2.4 vs 3.3 or something. I turned it off and the numbers got higher. I think no eco was like 2.5 or something. I do try to not brake too hard. The mechanical brakes are for emergencies. Theres that whole “the next light is red so until it turns green there’s no point anyway. Ideally you want the light to turn green just as you reach it to save momentum” so who cares if I’m creeping along at 7mph behind a red light? I’m just as fast as the guy who pulled up at 4 times my speed and is waitin at the light already. Light ahead of me turns red, I glide. Usually I brake slower than the e-pedal reduction anyway. One weirdness with the e-pedal was I kept coming to a stop lik 20 feet behind the car in front of me. It annoyed other drivers, and it obnoxious when they pull in in front of you when you stop.

Maybe I just drive weird. I do hate waiting at red lights.

TLDNR: in which I try to figure out why I do it
It’s a thing I picked up driving the vanagon (which I learned to drive on) it was a diesel wasserboxer. Had 48hp. Was designed as a night bus for German villages and got 32mpg city which was crazy high for a van at the time. You really didn’t want to completely stop that thing if you could possibly avoid it. 0-60 was I **** you not 18sec. Freeway on-ramps were flat out dangerous. If I grew up in the twin cities with its stop&go on-ramp lights I probably wouldn’t have lived to be writing immensely long posts now. I couldn’t hit 45 by the end of the ramp. In the twin cities I would have gotten a 318i in the Fanny in the early 80’s. I learned to heel-toe and clutch pop in that thing and I still couldn’t keep up with traffic.