Eco vs Power - which do you use ?

95% of the time I use ECO. I find it useful for more precise throttle control when hyper-milling in town. My wife who has a more aggressive driving style stays in normal mode with occasions of power mode to really screw up my MPG.

To properly break in the car Toyota recommends the following: For the first 200 miles avoid sudden stops. For the first 600 miles do not drive at extreme speeds, avoid sudden acceleration and do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods of time.

 

Have mine for 12 days with 600 miles exactly tonight. 48.5mpg over that time (a V). I'm quite pleased with the mpg as I am quite careful with the right foot and believe I'm doing "OK" hybrid-driving.

I typically keep it in 'normal'. Then when I'm up to speed on highway or streets I shift to ECO. The A/C does a great job and I notice no difference in cooling when in ECO. I do keep it in ECO sometimes as in stoplights etc - but I have "this thing" about crawling from a stoplight with cars behind. But I do notice that I definitely accelerate "less quick" with the Prius which is a good thing. I've tried out EV but seems to be tricky keeping it in that mode. However I once traveled almost 1/2 mile at 23 and it stuck in EV...as I watched the battery bars drop... I have on many occasions pulse-and-glide. That's very cool - going 45, foot on the gas...lift up then slightly keep speed with the pedal, and the instant mpg is 100 with the ICE off. I have used Power on about 15 occasions so far and I'm extremely impressed. Much more punch, believe it or not, than my old Lexus RX. Absolutely no fear for highway entrance ramps. I'm still finding it a bit odd when the ICE kicks in, very subtle however. I do B brake when slowing for lights etc.

I like where the Mode buttons are on the console - for me fall right into hand. Again 48.5 with a new engine and a rookie hybrid operator - I'm REALLY happy. It's a fantastic vehicle and I'm proud to be a Pri-guy.

 

Break-In Tips, page 151. (Prius 2010 Owner's Manual)

For the first 200 miles, avoid sudden stops.

For the first 600 miles, do not drive at extremely high speeds, avoid sudden acceleration, do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.

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I'm using ECO almost all the time. While occasionally experimenting with PWR, it is easy enough to push the pedal far enough to get power without changing the switches.

394 miles, 57.1 mpg so far, according to the display. The first fuel refill will happen sometime in the next three days.

 

Ours is pushing 2800 miles and has been in Eco mode for about all but 5 miles of the total. 2.6 miles of that was in EV to see how far it would go before depleting the battery. From the dealership it was driven about 750 miles in two days. With it in ECO, my wife got 54.8 on the last tank. In the gen II, she was only good for about 46 to 47 mpg.

 

Eco mode 99.9% of the time on a 2010 Prius V. Power mode going up hills.

 

When I brake lightly for a long distance, intending to get regeneration, will the friction brakes be completely off? And if so, can the friction be reliably kept off?

I'm finding that the Prius glides so well that on slight downgrades I'm frequently rolling up past the speed limit, in situations where my prehybrids did not due to their engine pumping loss (a.k.a. compression braking). If the Prius always combines friction with regen, then I'm wondering if the brake pads may not last quite as long as my prehybrids (90-100k miles). In this case, I'd lean towards greater use of B.

I'm quite aware that the battery power limit caps how much braking can be achieved by regen alone, and at highway speed, this limit is fairly low, around 0.06 g.

 

Using ECO mode about 95% of the time. Have used EV mode in my subdivision and in bumper to bumper traffic.

Prius IV ---- first fill up today. 479 miles (from zero, came with 37 test driven miles on it, so I lost some mpg's there I would assume), 8.10 gals -----

An astounding 59.12 miles per gallon. I am impressed.

My 2005 Prius record was 62 mpgs on my next to last fillup before trading it in.