Better mpg in Sport than in Eco...

[pmath1]

Here's a puzzler: After 2,000 miles of mixed driving I felt the car was fully broken in. So two tanks ago I decided to drive an entire tank exclusively in Eco mode and used the car almost exclusively for my work commute, which is 50 miles rt, with half being on the highway and half on back roads. I was impressed to receive 46.2 mpg for that tank. So... I then chose to drive my next tankful entirely in Sport mode and, again, almost exclusively for commuting to work. The result? 48.1 mpg! I tried to drive the same way for both tanks (not aggressive, not too tame). Any thoughts? Anyone have a similar experience? Thanks.

[wicked1]

Dood, read the forum.. Every 3rd thread is about this .

[pmath1]

Sorry. Will read. Thanks.

[pmath1]

Took some time last night to review the forum. Lots of good info. I see a number of people have experienced this outcome. In my case, the roads travelled, amount of traffic, daily temperatures, etc. for the two tanks of fuel were very similar. About as close to a controlled environment as you can get in the real world. And in both cases I used the pretty close to theentire tank before refueling: 430 miles for one and 445 for the other. So I guess what I'm asking is, what would cause mpg in Sport to exceed Eco? Getting up to cruising speed sooner? Other theories, ideas? Thnx,

[varoom]

Originally Posted by wicked1

Dood, read the forum.. Every 3rd thread is about this .

I'd disagree. I've found very few posts about this specific matter. I've posted myself about this a number of times because it seems counter-intuitive, but its precisely my experience and the reason I keep mine in sports mode almost exclusively. I'm gonna guess pmath that yours is 6mt? I'm led to believe that manual seems to have the least variance in mpg between the modes.

[atteSmythe]

Originally Posted by pmath1

So I guess what I'm asking is, what would cause mpg in Sport to exceed Eco? Getting up to cruising speed sooner? Other theories, ideas? Thnx,

That's what I'm guessing - that by getting up to speed sooner, you get the 'pulse and glide' effect more than with the slower, steadier acceleration in other modes.

I'm not looking at it too closely, because as far as I'm concerned, if I can get better fuel mileage in the mode that's most fun, I'm going to just leave well enough alone!

[pmath1]

Yes, I have 6MT and love it. Been driving stick most of my life.

[varoom]

Originally Posted by pmath1

Yes, I have 6MT and love it. Been driving stick most of my life.

Supposedly the cvt adjusts rpm within each mode for maximal mpg, whereas you'll note with the manual there is no variation if you shift between modes while maintaining same speed with identical terrain, and thus little change in mpg. All the more reason to love stick.

[midnight8]

I actually drove mine in Sports mode for more than 2 minutes last night and it seemed to do better going up bridges and things like that the mileage did not drop as much. Now my trip home from work it tailwind. I just got to thinking about how with the cruise st in eco mode how the car slows down 2 or 3 mph and the mpg falls on hills and overpasses and flt it was struggling so I decided to try sports. For that half hour trip I average almost 40 mpg. Today's trip to work is going to be into a 15-20 mph headwind and I plan on driving it in Sport mode to see what happens. If it does better that maybe what I try next time I make a trip with my bike on the car in 3 weeks. The Mpg just didn't seem to fall as much in sport. Like I said though Tailwind and no traffic. In sport going through the small town I have to drive through at 45 mph it was getting 44 mpg or so for that 3 or 4 miles with a couple of redlights

[pmath1]

Originally Posted by varoom

Supposedly the cvt adjusts rpm within each mode for maximal mpg, whereas you'll note with the manual there is no variation if you shift between modes while maintaining same speed with identical terrain, and thus little change in mpg.

That's intriguing because I have found that with my 6mt when going up a hill I can switch from Eco to Sport and get a burst of power without further depressing the gas pedal. It's a big help from time-to-time when driving mostly in Eco. But if my mpg results hold, I'll be driving a lot more in Sport.