Eco button ?

[Jeff15]

When in Eco mode what differences are going on under the bonnet.?

[Bristol_Crosstar]

When in Eco mode what differences are going on under the bonnet.?

I use it all the time now as it does seem to give better mpg with it on. I believe it reduces the effect of "putting your foot down" to save fuel although in my opinion the performance is still good. It also reduces the power consumption of the climate control system, although mine still functioned ok in the very hot spell we had recently

[nowster]

When in Eco mode what differences are going on under the bonnet.?

Its obvious effect is to tame down the climate control fan and AC. More subtly, it reduces the acceleration pedal aggressiveness a bit.

In the hottest part of the mini heatwave we had in the UK in the middle of July, I only had to turn off Eco once (for about 5 minutes) to rapidly cool the car interior down when it had been sat in full sun for several hours.

[Jeff15]

I have tried being in Eco mode for three days at not really noticed any advantage in mpg

[toolroomboy]

I leave mine in Eco. Can’t swear its more economical, but I think it is.
I agree with the comment that it makes acceleration less ‘fierce’, but general performance is excellent. I haven’t needed to switch it off for performance reasons.
Air Con seems perfectly OK, but then again I haven’t used the climate control at all yet, I just leave it in Lo.
The Mk4 is a pleasure to drive, I love it.

[Jeff15]

Don't get me wrong, I love the car but just think that particular control is not good.

[nowster]

Don't get me wrong, I love the car but just think that particular control is not good.

If you have a naturally light right foot its usefulness may be less.

[guest9814]

Mayby that this my subjective fellings but with econ on regenerative bracking not strong as with normal drive mode.

[Jeff15]

I always stick to speed limits and I am too long in the tooth to thrash a car...

[Bristol_Crosstar]

I have tried being in Eco mode for three days at not really noticed any advantage in mpg

I thought the same when I first had mine, then I left it on once I'd filled up with petrol until it needed another refill and I'm sure it makes a difference (in my case 10% or so), but you need to give it a longer trial to notice the benefit.

[Kremmen]

It sounds like they've fixed the Eco software.

On my Civic,  Eco kills acceleration quite dramatically and almost totally kills the aircon.

I tried it once and even though I had the climate control set to 19c the temp inside the car just kept rising and rising beyond 27c. As soon as I turned off Eco the cold air came through as expected and started cooling the cabin.

[John Ratsey]

The more obvious effect (which I think is mentioned in the handbook) is to allow a bigger difference between target and actual cabin temperatures which reduces the use of the aircon and, more significantly, the engine running to provide cabin heat during colder weather. It could well also make the engine more reluctant to operate inefficiently (ie very high revs). I've always had Econ enabled and there's plenty enough performance for my needs. I doubt that it affects the regenerative braking.

[nowster]

I doubt that it affects the regenerative braking.

For that you want to be driving in B any time you don't need cruise control (which only works in D).

[John Ratsey]

For that you want to be driving in B any time you don't need cruise control (which only works in D).

Regenerative braking happens in D mode the brake pedal is used  (up to the limit of the system's ability to absorb the power) but in B mode it may also occur when pressure on the accelerator is reduced which, overall, results in more gradual regeneration so more of the energy can be recovered.

[guest9814]

No, regenerative braking occur also in D mode when gas pedal released but it not strong as in B mode, checked with OBD scan - battery getting around 14 amps charge current when gas pedal released in D mode.