EV-ECO-PWR and NONE ?

It works just fine without monkeying around with the EV-ECO-PWR buttons.
Just drive the damn thing.

 

No mode is actually called Normal mode, with no mode lights on.

The only difference between Eco, Normal and Power is the remapping of the accelerator. Eco will require more pedal travel over the first half for the same power output. Power mode requires less pedal travel for the first half for the same power output. Normal is in the middle of theses two. You get the same total power output in all modes. It just depends on how far you have to move the pedal to achieve it.

Eco also adjust the AC for more efficient use and mpg. Eco is also easier to use for high mpg and for feathering the pedal to get in to what is known as glide mode with no regen at all when letting up on the accelerator.

 

Yes there is a graph showing pedal position vs power output. Unfortunately it is buried among all the old threads and I don't remember it's name. We referred to it quite a few times when the Gen3 first came out in the summer of 2009.

The graph shows pretty much what JD said in his post. Power mode tries to make it feel sort of like a lot of non-hybrid cars with most of the power delivered during the first 1/2 of the pedal movement. ECO takes more pedal movement for the same result during the first 1/2 of the pedal range and is good for finer or more delicate control. Normal is between the two and about the same as the Gen2 Prius. As JD said the amount of total power available at full throttle is identical in all 3 modes. EV mode doesn't have much (if any) value due to the speed and operating temperature restrictions placed on it.

 

I was initially told that the Eco vs. PWR vs. "Normal" modes also affected the cruise control settings. In that while in "power" mode the car would maintain the set speed no matter what the conditions, whereas the "eco" mode would allow the car to slow a bit more on the uphills, and coast out a bit more on the downhills. (And "normal" would be somewhere in between, like a regular car.)

From the various threads on here I've deduced that this may well be incorrect, but it sure sounded good to me!

 

The graph. From this thread. ( I found it with this google image search-- site: priuschat.com accelerator map graph )

It's interesting to hold the accelerator pedal steady and press the Power or Eco button. It smoothly adjusts the power within a few seconds to match the new mode's settings.

 

This is wonderfully helpful: Thank you!