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Is "ECO" Mode Misleading?

tsedge said:
It is entirely plausible that eco mode may cause some people and not others to drive differently and therefore affect the total range for some only. There's no monopoly on facts, two people can have different experiences and both be right, because they drive differently.
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The ONLY thing that will produce any discernable improvement in the range of your ZS EV is driving it slower. ECO, NORMAL and SPORT modes do not govern the speed you drive the car at, you control that.
 
Nibloprice said:
There is a noticeable difference in eco mode, in the power and the aircon. It doesn't magically increase the range of car, but it does make it more efficient, and get the most out of the battery. It's impossible to test unless you are in a factory, but I would put money on it giving my Gen 1 Exclusive and extra 10/15 miles, in good conditions.
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What Eco mode is quite simple and I find very useful. It alters the 'map' for the accelerator pedal. In other words in Eco the pedal delivers softer power delivery than in Normal or Sport. It makes slow speed driving smoother and more pleasant; this in turn means you use less 'juice' in urban areas in Eco.

Re the aircon, many people believe that the HVAC and particularly Aircon are in some way reduced when in Eco mode. I have tested this in detail and on my Gen 1 car it makes NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever in terms of fan speed, volume of aircon cold air or hot air. No change in amps used either.
 
Thebiglad said:
I have tested this in detail and on my Gen 1 car it makes NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever in terms of fan speed, volume of aircon cold air or hot air.
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There will not be any difference in the blower fan speed, because the fan motor is powered by the 12 volt battery.
There is a resistor in the circuit that will reduce the speed of the motor, giving you your different speeds.
The level of heat produced to the cabin is gained via the HV battery / inverter.
If the demand for heat is low, then it will be the same output in Eco driving mode or normal.
If however, you want MAX heat to the cabin, this can not be gained in Eco mode.
Eco mode ( by its very nature ) is trying to conserve your battery range.
The MAX heat setting is hungry on range, so it does not go hand in hand using MAX range and Eco mode at the same time.
It just defeats the object.
Using Eco mode will prevent full MAX heat from being piped to the cabin.
 
Lovemyev said:
There will not be any difference in the blower fan speed, because the fan motor is powered by the 12 volt battery.
There is a resistor in the circuit that will reduce the speed of the motor, giving you your different speeds.
The level of heat produced to the cabin is gained via the HV battery / inverter.
If the demand for heat is low, then it will be the same output in Eco driving mode or normal.
If however, you want MAX heat to the cabin, this can not be gained in Eco mode.
Eco mode ( by its very nature ) is trying to conserve your battery range.
The MAX heat setting is hungry on range, so it does not go hand in hand using MAX range and Eco mode at the same time.
It just defeats the object.
Using Eco mode will prevent full MAX heat from being piped to the cabin.
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Itym "prevent full MAX heat being generated"....
 
From the horses mouth for the MG5, according to the gospel of the manual.

Modes as below.

1664786958277.png


Heater setting (this may only apply to the Exclusive)

1664787193802.png
 
It may change things on an MG5, but on my gen1 ZS there is no heating button labelled "Econ" and the output of the HVAC is unaffected by driver mode selection.
 
Well done! That shows that speed is a factor in efficiency. If you can do it again in normal mode you should see the same efficiency :D
 
This is the accumlated total, over 5k miles. I cant get he same efficiency in normal mode. Belive me ive tried - would prefer to have better aircon.

I'll just reiterate it again for the last boring time - I'm not saying Eco mode magically invents more battery capacity. It just makes it easier to reach the batterys full potential. It makes you acceleate slower, maybe use a little less aircon.
 
Nibloprice said:
This is the accumlated total, over 5k miles. I cant get he same efficiency in normal mode. Belive me ive tried - would prefer to have better aircon.

I'll just reiterate it again for the last boring time - I'm not saying Eco mode magically invents more battery capacity. It just makes it easier to reach the batterys full potential. It makes you acceleate slower, maybe use a little less aircon.
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Good points.

No, Eco mode does not magically change the laws of physics but in modern cars it often has some real effects.

The principal point of Eco modes has always been psychological: useful prompts for some people to change their driving behaviour.

Some people naturally drive economically, so they think Eco mode is useless.

Some people drive the way they want to drive regardless of mode, so they think Eco mode is useless.

But guess what, for some people it is useful and they are not lying.
 
Absolutely brilliant 👏

The slower average speed also demonstrates that speed is an important factor. This as well as hills. In the UK, drivers in Lincolnshire and Norfolk get far better range figures than us over in the Royal Forest of Dean where every 10 miles driven averages 1,000ft of climb.

The BMW has a mode called ecoPro. This reduces throttle response and HVAC output, but is also limits the maximum speed at which you can drive. This does give more range if you normally drive at speeds above the ecoPro max.
 
MichaelJHunt said:
Absolutely brilliant 👏

The slower average speed also demonstrates that speed is an important factor. This as well as hills. In the UK, drivers in Lincolnshire and Norfolk get far better range figures than us over in the Royal Forest of Dean where every 10 miles driven averages 1,000ft of climb.
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For every uphill, there's a downhill :)
 
Thebiglad said:
What Eco mode is quite simple and I find very useful. It alters the 'map' for the accelerator pedal. In other words in Eco the pedal delivers softer power delivery than in Normal or Sport. It makes slow speed driving smoother and more pleasant; this in turn means you use less 'juice' in urban areas in Eco.

Re the aircon, many people believe that the HVAC and particularly Aircon are in some way reduced when in Eco mode. I have tested this in detail and on my Gen 1 car it makes NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever in terms of fan speed, volume of aircon cold air or hot air. No change in amps used either.
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Agreed. I've been driving a Mk1 ZS EV for about a year now. Despite all the OCD reviewer comments I'd seen earlier & prior to buying the car, I find that the various Eco, Normal & Sports modes function exactly like the same modes on basic ICE vechicles - in the latter, this just tweaks the gearbox ratios a little; in the EV does the same to the accelerator pedal curve & responsiveness.

Otherwise in day-to-day driving I detect no apprciable difference in the HVAC, steering, handling or anything else (despite the silly claims by reviewers). I drive in Eco mode almost always and am almost always using the car for city driving, always charging at home etc. Likely right from others about 'no magic' bullet, but clearly the car's range is indeed improved because at the very least, it tames the use of the pedal.
 
MichaelJHunt said:
...

The slower average speed also demonstrates that speed is an important factor. This as well as hills. In the UK, drivers in Lincolnshire and Norfolk get far better range figures than us over in the Royal Forest of Dean where every 10 miles driven averages 1,000ft of climb.

...
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Interestingly then manual also suggests:

Note: It is recommended to choose the Sport Mode when driving on special road conditions such as mountain roads .

Not saying Forest of Dean is mountainous but would be interesting to see what you think if you want to try. :)
 
My little experiment same journey to work this is mixed speeds 70% probably at 70 ish mph and use about 10% battery the biggest thing I noticed is on eco I had to use de fog quite a bit but the way I see it eco mode is useless for my commute to work BTW eco was least efficient and probably only any good round town?
IMG_20221003_213309.jpg
 

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