I am newbie, having only had the 2010 Prius a shot time. At first, I had been operating in the car's standard driving mode. That was fine. Mileage is good. Now, however, I have begun experimenting with the driving modes. I find constantly tapping their use makes for the best ride at great MPG. (It varies greatly depending on city/ highway/ cold weather, etc., but remains outstanding when compared to just the standard driving mode.) So, my pattern is: Keep ECO mode permanently on. Hit PWR for start ups at lights, merging traffic, etc., while pressing EV whenever under 25 mph (approaching lights, entering housing development, etc.). Right hand stays busy in city traffic. That is what is working for me now.
Just to indulge us a little, try a day or two of simply leaving it in NORMAL mode and drive without worrying about which button to hit when, pay attention to the HSI, and see how that compares? . _H*
And being careful when you use EV mode. Sometimes it is best to never use it unless you really know what you are doing and have a game plan for recovering that energy.
sorry, couldn't resist the "thanks". OT: I have, over the extensive two-week experience I now have, gone from using ECO mostly to using Normal mode mostly. I switch into ECO when I'm feeling especially mellow. And I use Power mode when the situation demands it.
Except the 'Power Mode' I think and Toyota Belgium recommends it : just drive the car carefuly and let all the thinkings to the system. EV mode is use under 48 km/h (2? miles/h). Use PM only when you need power - for a going beyond for example. Friendly, Guy
I predominately use Power Mode for two things: (1) when I'm merging on a highway and the on-ramp is uphill and (2) when I feel like showing someone that "hybrid" doesn't necessarily equal "slow". As far as ECO mode -- meh. And, with respect to EV -- it seems it's only useful for parking garages and the like. I typically leave it in normal mode and let the computer sort it out.
He's a Prius owner. He's on the left: . . and his worldview has been slightly broadened as of this morning. . Jack Chen from Enginer is in the middle, wailin' up and down on my hand pump and helping bring Dave's tires up where they should be. We were all joking "...doing some real work for a change!" but that was also after he and I had sat down and talked about bidirectional buck/boost converters for a while. Kempton, PA, mid-September. It was a good time. . _H*
