Eco Mode

[Nubo]

Really? That is so odd. I got mine in Nov 2014, unlikely they made a change since then. Am I missing something?

Eco button on the steering wheel.

 

[DesertDenizen]

Okay, you can all have a good laugh at my expense. (Be kind though, I am an old guy.) It is in Eco, that was already set when I picked up the car. I would have set to Eco anyway, so I just kind of blocked it out. I feel silly.

 

[DesertSprings]

Difference between Eco and Eco+B? Just more engine braking in B mode?

 

[dgpcolorado]

I drive in Eco mode all the time. It now feels normal and D feels like sport for the few times I want it.

I find Eco is better for coasting because it's easy to hold 0 power in/out without switching to N.

I agree. I do use D with cruise control because it uses less regen when going down small hills on undulating terrain. And I use D when switching between Eco and D to adjust regen for descending mild hills. But, in general, it is much easier to drive efficiently with the accelerator pedal mapping in Eco than it is in D.

Another thing the OP should consider is that Eco dials back the energy use of the heater (except defrost, which is always full power for safety reasons). If the car is too slow to heat up in Eco, switch to D for a bit until the heater is warmed up, then put it back in Eco.

 

[minispeed]

My commute is half stop-and-go local streets and half Interstate. I've been using B-ECO exclusively, but based on your 2nd paragraph I might try going with D on the highway.

The B-ECO regenerative braking is so aggressive that I'm a bit concerned about getting rear-ended, especially at highway speeds. Although it's nice that I can control speed variations pretty much with the throttle only, doing it that way doesn't alert the drivers behind me when I'm slowing down.

With a light foot on the brake you can get the same regen as B without using friction brakes and have the safety of your lights coming on. You can learn to feel the point that friction brakes will come on. The best way to describe it is that regen will feel almost linear with a very light brake pedal application and then there will be a point where it tops out and the pedal moves a bit more without adding more regen. If you push beyond this the car slows again. That's the friction brakes coming on. That's why I never use B unless I'm going down a hill.