Better Economy In Sports Mode? You Must Be Kidding!

[@SamuelRWB]

I drive sports mode everywhere not for fuel efficiency but because the exhaust notes give me that tingly feeling in my tum tum

[@adamuk5037]

🤘🏼

[@BintyMcFrazzles]

🤣

[@johnb8956]

@@SamuelRWB the noise is nice of course, but the slightly more dynamic gear changing and throttle response is really quite good if you know how to use it.

[@Dumfries474]

It's heartburn jim

[@EvilGav]

Sport mode in that car, along with all the magneto-suspension adjustments, increases the boost pressure in the engine from the turbo. Which means for the same speed (as you would have on the motorway), there's more air going in and the fuel burn can be done more efficiently than in normal mode. It counter-intuitively means that the engine now needs less fuel to burn to get the same power needed to maintain the same speed. As for start/stop, if the stop is < 6 seconds (give or take), the engine will use more fuel to restart than if it was just idling for the same amount of time. This is where, in a manual car, if you can see the light sequence about to change in your favour as you come to a stop at lights, you will be better holding the clutch down and leaving in gear so stop/start doesn't kick in for maximum efficiency.

[@radishpea6615]

no, don't hold the clutch down, it is not good for the clutch.

[@vilkku792]

@@radishpea6615 Couple of seconds won't do anything. The clutch is made to handle slipping and it's not even doing that when it's fully pressed down.

[@Landrassa1]

...that is not how turbos work, they don't just conjure more power out of thin air. If you're pumping in more air you also need more fuel to still get the right ratios.

[@EvilGav]

@@Landrassa1 modern low pressure turbos increase power throughout the rev range, rather than the old peak power only from the slower spinning ones. That means that at a given RPM, the engine is producing more power. If it takes 100bhp to maintain 70 mph and eco mode produces 100 bhp at 4,000rpm and sport mode produces 100 bhp at 3,500rpm, sport mode is more efficient at maintaining that speed (numbers made up, obviously, but the calculation is still true for whatever the real numbers are).

[@DareDevilPhil]

​​@@Landrassa1 more efficient combustion would for sure save fuel, but as you were getting at, turbos aren't free power and it would need more energy from exhaust gasses. My guess (and shower-thought theory), is that throttle mapping is more important. I've always found turbo engines quite like to be ripped up to the speed limit and then ran at the highest load possible (highest viable gear). As far as I know, turbo engines are more efficient (when setup and driven appropriately of course) than NA engines. (There's also energy lost in the suspension from anything that moves or deforms, stiffer suspension might be more efficient)

[@chrisl1797]

8:38 reminds me of the time when my car was serviced and they said that one of the front tyres was close to the limit, but the other was OK for another few months. I asked them to change both for safety as I knew I was going on holiday in a couple of weeks. They seemed reluctant as "one still has several points of a mill still legal" and didn't want me to "waste money changing it too soon"..... anyway they changed both. On my trip to Anglesey later that month the rain on the motorway was like a monsoon... was I glad I had had them both changed.....

[@malccraven5276]

I'm glad you mentioned the various factors that affect your experiments results. The only way to be sure is to measure across multiple journies under similar conditions. The altitude change probably has a bigger effect than most people would think. I regularly travel between North Manchester (high ground) and Sunderland (sea level), trying to get the most efficient run I can (without compromising driving standards) and the difference is significant. From Manchester to Sunderland, I almost always achieve at least 50mpg, regularly get close to 60mpg and once managed 70mpg. The reverse journey, the best has been around 55, the usual is just below 50 and sometimes drops to 46-ish

[@DAF.driver]

I’m a driver trainer within a company that operates HGVs. I’m quite interested in fuel efficient driving. In my opinion, the conclusion that sports mode is potentially more fuel efficient than standard, would have been more valid if in your little experiment the drive to the airport was in sports mode and standard mode on return . More weight and upward gradient overall can easily make a difference of 1.4 mpg.

[@Pystro]

To be maximally scientific, you should probably do the same drive on two days. On the first day do it down in sports mode and up in eco, and on the second day do it down in eco and up in sports mode. That way you can determine the difference between up and down, the difference in temperature (and maybe tire wear and tank filling level or something), and the difference of eco versus sports mode. Then the only two factors you have to make sure to have comparable between the two days is the traffic level and the wind.

[@law44uk]

Drop off charges are criminal.

[@gav2759]

Yep, there are more thieves outside prison than in right enough.

[@rainbowevil]

It’s infrastructure that needs maintaining for cars - it just isn’t coming out of our taxes like normal I presume since it’s run as a commercial business.

[@makemebad1978]

@@rainbowevilfair enough but the drop offs aren’t being paid by people using the airport, it’s the people dropping people off. To make things worse, at Gatwick they got rid of a free bus from the local industrial estate so ended up with far more people wanting to be dropped off.

[@RikAindow]

Like dominoes, one brings in the charges, they all follow.

[@TheVicar]

There's a free drop off area which also provides a free shuttle bus to whichever terminal you want to use

[@CarlosFandango73]

I disagree with you on the weight of the 2 passengers and bags. Weight is the biggest variable in this experiment I would say

[@AnthonyTeasdale]

Weight is going to have more effect on pulling away and getting up to speed. less on maintaining a speed. So stop and start driving around a city having passengers and bags will make a difference, but cursing at 70 next to nothing.

[@Gobbbbb]

Starting and stopping, yes. On a motorway run it's negligible.

[@BlazeFirereign]

Once you're up above ~40mph, drag dominates over rolling resistance. The increased weight will increase rolling resistance, but that's going to be insignificant once you're up to motorway speeds.

[@andyp315]

Only 45m difference in elevation wont impact it much, Wind will have a much bigger impact depending on speed and direction, at 70mph its by far the largest drag factor on your car and it rises to the square of speed so it increased rapidly.... Using Ford focus Mk4 info - may differ slightly form Ashley's focus - drag coefficient - 0.273 and frontal area - 2.23m² with rolling resistance estimated at 0.012... Simple scenario it needs 16.6kw (22.3 bhp) to maintain 70 mph, Add on the current 12 mph wind speed in Manchester and it rises to 20.1KW (28.1bhp) - 21% more energy required. On return trip with tailwind takes only 13kw (17.4bhp) to maintain 70mph So for the headwind run the car needs 61.5% more energy to maintain the same 70mph speed than in does in the tailwind run. MPG though will vary depending on engine efficiency at different combinations of speed/rpm and of course wind shielding or slip streaming from other vehicles. But still looking at a significant difference. Would notice it more in an electric car.

[@insightphoto]

absolutely agreed. It's also the biggest factor in affecting performance, handling and braking

[@douglasreid699]

weight of a passanger could be between 50kg and 100kg, so that times 2 plus luggage you are looking at possibly 150kg, and as a van man, that makes a difference at every acceleration zone as it is extra weight to get up to speed and keep moving when needing to slow down. sports mode: my brothers Volvo V90 t5, he found a way to make a customised setting for himself rather than the standard Sports, normal, and eco modes. there might be one for your ford which means you can have sports mode with soft suspension? personal experience, on holiday in 2019 in Canada, we got given a Dodge durango suv with a 5ltr v8 as a hire car. it had a sports mode and normal mode. most of the time we kept it in normal mode with the aim to save fuel but on the highway, it would use 6th gear in normal mode out of 8gears. when we drove from Toronto to Montreal to go see the F1, i drove for that day. we filled up near where our family stayed, then drove to Toronto then went north, i had it in sports mode so i could pick the gears and stayed in 8th majority of the time, just outside Montreal we filled the tank. most of our time there we used the train so only a few miles of town driving on that tank of fuel, my brother drove on the way back to toronto ( i feel i am a smoother driver than his lead foot lol) and he stayed in normal mode. we had to fill the tank back up just before Toronto. sports mode can be more fuel efficient but it is all down to how you drive. with sports mode you get the full power of the car but if you drive smoothly you are not using all the power so not buring through fuel. top gear got a BMW M5 to follow a Toyota Prius around the test track, the Prius was to go as fast as it could, the BMW to keep up and it had a higher mpg than the Prius. the hard part about a powerful car is trying to behave and not use all the power all the time as it can be fun.

[@wirdy1]

You discount the weight of your passengers but mention the difference in fuel carried on the way back. Your 2 passengers +luggage are equivalent to 3 or 4 tankfuls of fuel in weight! It makes a big difference.

[@davidhowe6905]

My personal experience, with a regular drive across the Pennines, suggests that a difference in altitude between the end points, which Ashley mentioned, can make a big difference, especially if long sections of gentle gradient are involved. On the way up these sections, MPG is quite low, on the way down them, one may hardly need to use any fuel at all. On days of light traffic I typically get a journey-average of about 55 MPG going 'up', 60 MPG going 'down' (as it is a cross Pennine route, there's a lot of up and down either way!).

[@Kromaatikse]

This is undoubtedly true, but the route between Manchester and Liverpool is pretty darn close to level, even if there is technically a difference in elevation. On the railway, most of the climb is in the first mile out of Lime St to Edge Hill. After that, it's practically level aside from the climb to Rainhill and back down again. It was this hill on which Stephenson proved the utility of steam locomotives over horse traction, but it's the same on both sides.

[@54356776]

​@@Kromaatikse The rail line isn't the same path as the motorway though as far as I know.

[@davidhowe6905]

@@Kromaatikse Thanks for your response, (including the historical info!). I see your point about the difference between the two routes.

[@oliver90owner]

Agree with David Howe. Not a “fair” test. Both ways under the same conditions. Windage differences and rain conditions will also affect the comparisons. Designing and organising fair tests is not trivial. Poster admits differences in weight and inclination differences. So practically a waste of space, as a scientific experiment. Sorry, but doubt the significance of these two tests is of any great use. I have travelled just 14 miles each way, regularly, over several years. In the last two, it has been in an EV. There has always been a difference (in miles/kWh) between the two legs.

[@TheGalifrey]

@@Kromaatikse Manchester airport is lower in elevation than some areas of Liverpool so overall the downhill "home" would not have made much difference as you suggest.

[@BadDriversOfNapa]

Did you start your first trip on a cold engine? That will absolutely skew this experiment. During the time that it takes the engine to fully warm up (can be up to 15 minutes), the ECU programs the fuel mixture to run extremely rich, burning an awful lot of fuel. I've noticed an enormous difference in MPG between the same length trip starting out on a cold engine vs the same trip on an already warmed up engine. You also have to factor in prevailing winds. A tailwind on one trip will give you a different result than a headwind on another trip. I'm not convinced that sport mode will result in better mileage. Sport mode hangs onto the lower gears so that you're always in the meat of peak torque in the power band. Staying in a lower gear should always result in worse mileage than being in a higher one.

[@15bit62]

Airport dropoff is free here in central norway. Even better, the short and long term carparks have an automatic license plate ID system, so you just drive in and drive out, no faffing with ticket machines or barriers.

[@RikAindow]

It used to be free here, but then the airport groups got greedy. Manchester Airport and a couple of others are actually owned by the the council's of Greater Manchester which in my opinion, makes it worse.

[@iainreeve4522]

Apart from the weight factor, one possible explanation is that you will be sub-consciously revving more in normal mode to get the amount of acceleration that you want. I remember seeing car comparison reviews where a car with a smaller engine gets poorer mpg than a car with a larger engine because you need to rev harder in the smaller engined cars to get similar performance

[@ibs5080]

Just watching this now during my hospital stay. I'd like to stay connected to this fabulous community. Oh and watch out for Storm Ashley!

[@TimmyTonk]

2x passengers plus luggage must be over 150Kg added to travelling down hill would definitely have a factor. Like you said, it's not scientific, but still interesting to see a rough idea of what we could expect from that engine. Could be interesting to see what the opposite return journey would look like too, with the passengers in on Sports mode.

[@Wolfy11188]

Honestly the weight of 2 passengers plus their luggage more than likely totals at somewhere around 200kg basing it on the average weights of people. I last looked into it when I read about Boeing reducing the weight of paper and stuff they carry on board their planes to save fuel. For cars it was estimated that they use 1-2% more fuel for every 100 pounds of extra weight they carry. If you are planning on picking them up from the airport upon their return it would be good to know the results for it then.

[@Sigma33sailor]

It does not matter which mode you choose; it is all in your right leg/foot. This experiment ignores the fact that wind, weight and amount of water of the road are of (big!) influence. I've been driving EV's for 10 years now (thus have been closely monitoring energy consumption); I am amazed of how much influence wind, weight (like in passengers) and rain have on your range.

[@320iSTWEdition]

Weight especially is a very small factor in a highway driving scenario...... with lots of start-stop it is much more of a factor but not here. Once the car is rolling there isn't much of a difference, if you have 100 kg more or less. You can even try that with your own car. Pick a level road, stop your car, getout and start pushing. Onceit isrolling there is very little effort needed to keep it rolling. Now ask two people to get in the back and repeat and you will realize that there is not much more effort needed (if at all) to keep it rolling once it is rolling. Uphill/downhill is another thing entirely. On a level road it won't make much of a difference, even in an EV.

[@jinx20001]

I have a Ioniq 5 awd (325bhp 600nm) and although i mostly agree with your assessment, it does ofcourse come down to simply how long you are on the gas, i do find for whatever reason that economy seems to improve in sport and i cant pinpoint why exactly, the throttle response becomes so quick its jerky to drive in that mode but perhaps i just spend less time on the throttle while in normal of eco you are asking for a longer sustained load from the battery and that makes the difference. But you are also right to say other factors play a big role, i sometimes even think that i see improved economy from just giving the car a wash, improved air flow over the car no doubt but the difference in theory shouldn't be huge but i notice it... which means its big enough.

[@gray100]

He mentioned the wind though. AND he made it clear he was using cruise control for the majority of the journey. 🤷‍♂️

[@recklessrogue9027]

I would say the elevation was the reason for higher mpg on the return journey as between where I live and Exeter I end with about 25% less battery on the way home than I do on the way out.

[@davem9204]

At that airport has barriers and an obvious way to pay the £5 charge. When they introduced it at Gatwick, they didn't put any signs there was a charge or how you could pay it. You just drove in, dropped-off, drove out like you used to. You only found out they'd introduced the charge was when a letter for a £120 fine (or charge as they would call it) came through the door a few days later. I've not driven in there for a while, but the last time they'd only introduced a small warning sign on the way in that's easy to miss when you're busy avoiding being cut-up by mini-cab drivers. So I just use the short-stay where it's clearer how to pay and less chance of getting a fine. It costs the same if you're quick, but long enough to help your family/friends with luggage and have a proper goodbye to them.

[@mda5003]

There are signs at Gatwick both North and South and the charge was announced on the media a while ago now. However, they have recently upped the charge to £6 for 10 minutes although paying online is so much easier than at a barrier.

[@skylarius3757]

i drive a toyota corolla which is a petrol/ electric hybrid. I have eco, norrmal and sport mode. I use sport mode on higher speed roads where the acceleration is faster to get past slower vehicles. I mostly use eco mode for day to day driving.

[@paulbertram3610]

Very interesting. I've got a focus 1.5. I did the exact same trip 3 days running and tried to drive in the same manner as near as possible. Eco mode =42.4mpg. Normal mode =45.8mpg. Sport mode=45.4mpg.. Trip was 37.9 miles.

[@320iSTWEdition]

More torque from the engine in sport mode at the same revolutions per minute.

[@TheGalifrey]

@@320iSTWEdition Makes no difference as you have to burn more fuel to achieve that higher torque. Sport mode is not instant free power, it just makes the throttle, boost and timings more aggressive My experience of driving in sport mode vs economy is that they are pretty much identical but in sport mode the car just has more get up and go so you generally use less throttle to get a similar drive.

[@myfriedrice]

I would guess in sport mode any valves opening up in the exhaust make it more free flowing so your turbo can work more effectively. I dont own a focus st, or any car with a "sport mode". But i do know the massive performance gains available from a better flowing exhaust and would assume that it would also increase efficiency when its driven sensibly.

[@daviddunmore8415]

When I was living in Hertfordshire and working in Bournemouth Staying in a hotel during the week) , I tried something similar - one week I drove at 70 on |dual carriageways and motorways), next week Max of 60, third week a max of 50. It made about 10% difference in fuel use each time, and about 10-15 minutes difference in journey time.

[@andyfisher1911]

Ashley l used to own a Mk4 Focus ST 2019-23 and on a round trip of just over 408 miles down to Kent from where l live in Gloucestershire l achieved an MPG of 42.4 and got 412 miles range out of a full tank. The trip was mainly motorway and like you l used cruise control for most of the trip, not bad for a car with a 2.3L engine and 280BHP on tap!👍

[@johnb8956]

The good old £5 for a Manchester drop off. The worst thing is, the exits for the drop off and the long stay are right by each other, so it’s easy to take the wrong route and still get billed for driving right through!

[@madmuppet8039]

That’s nothing, i picked up my son and his mates from Luton Airport last summer and fell asleep while waiting in the multi storey ( the one that later burnt down) it was £5 for the first ten minutes, £1 a minute there after ! I’d slept 45 minutes when they woke me up 😭😂

[@j.tann1970]

The £5 drop off fee is in all the major airports as far as I know. It's certainly at London Heathrow where I recently flew from/to.

[@MrNeeds]

shame really because you can drop off at the jetparks for free and they can catch a shuttle bus for free straight to the terminal as well.

[@A2KLAU]

At least you have a barrier which makes you pay it. Heathrow doesn’t so APCOA will happily let you drive in and out and encourage you to forget to go onto a website and manually type in all your personal details to pay for a visit. Because then they can issue you a fine (a.k.a and invoice) for the privilege. Obviously they chose the cheapest way to implement a solution. At least Manchester you can’t forget and then get “charged” for forgetting

[@matthewturnock8725]

At least at Manchester there are a few hotels etc nearby you can do a rapid drop off at. I'm all for discouraging car traffic and parking where possible in favour of good public transit usually, but it's a bloody airport, £5 to not even park is an absolute disgrace

[@richardharvey1732]

Hi Ashley, first to say how much I admire this new storm with your name on it, you must be so proud!. I started this comment to advise you of the immutable laws of physics that state categorically that additional weight to the vehicle must cause greater effort to be made by the engine, this increment will be very closely linked to the relative ratios involved, so that an extra ten percent in gross weight must require an extra ten percent in effort all other things being equal. The start stop economy issue is similarly closely related to the duration of stop, it always requires some extra effort to re-start the engine that is quite stable but the stop duration is much more variable. Given these variables as well as the gradients each way the least you should do is repeat the exercise in the opposite direction, alternatively next time you do the same trip with the same weight of [passengers set the car in sport mode first normal on the way back and properly integrate the results. Sadly this 'experiment' of yours while quite entertaining is of no scientific value!. Cheers Richard.

[@BlazeFirereign]

If you assume that efficiency is approximately flat with power output at any given RPM, and that all oppositional forces besides rolling resistance are negligible, then yes, the engine will be working 10% harder if the vehicle is 10% heavier. Fortunately, Earth has an atmosphere. Unfortunately, that means that moving vehicles have to fight against drag. Rolling resistance is close to constant relative to speed, as a force that the engine is working against. Aerodynamic drag scales with the square of speed. At low speeds, drag is negligible and rolling resistance dominates, but drag increases *very* quickly with speed, and once you're at motorway speeds, drag dominates and rolling resistance is negligible for most vehicles. Drag does not scale with weight. Yes, the extra weight will have impacted fuel economy, but if motorway driving was the largest contributor to the trip, it's unlikely that the effect of the added weight is statistically significant, and it's going to be practically impossible to distinguish its impact from other factors such as ambient temperature, surface conditions, and wind.

[@markfox1545]

Oh my God, you're dull. Was there ever a time when you weren't talking?

[@richardharvey1732]

@@BlazeFirereign Hi BlazeFirereign, thank you very much for this response, it is not often that I get the benefit of genuine constructive criticism, I had to read it quite carefully!, you are entirely correct!. that atmospheric drag factor remains the same! I am very happy to be reminded that just like every one else I am prone to simple errors!. I do still think I had a good point but made it badly, my only excuse is that I am too lazy to find the formulae and make the relevant calculations, as you suggest the atmospheric drag does vary much more dramatically with variations in speed. There was one other factor that I thought of later relating to the whole subject and that is the difference that harder suspension can make in terms of the energy required to squeeze the dampers in 'sport' mode!. Many times in this situation I find myself reluctant to actually do the work and settle instead for the reasonable assertion that each and every relevant factor has its part to play and we never get our free lunch!. Just to let you know I have got a reply from Ashley!, one of those standard acknowledgement ones so he will be giving it some thought. Cheers, Richard.

[@stevo1970]

I hypermiled to tenby 245 mile trip, in a small mercedes 220d gla, eco mode and like you I used cruise control where possible. Also eco coasts the car down hill and on some flat roads. I managed 68 miles per gallon. On the journey home I put it in sport used the same driving technique and only managed 59 miles per gallon. So i think it may depend on different manufacturers.

[@paulrobinson3528]

So when you pick them up (maybe) do Sport to go there and eco on the way back then average it all out? As for Start/Stop the engine has to be off for 7 seconds to achieve a gain.

[@steamhammer2k]

A few years ago i made many journeys from Devon to Berkshire and returned using my then Focus 2.0 Diesel. I changed no settings (it did not have any to change) and found that it was always more economic heading to Devon than heading to Berkshire. The biggest thing that influenced to MPG was the ambient temperature. I had much better MPG in the warmer months.

[@androidcaller7902]

Colder denser air should be better - but maybe it was weather related?

[@moonbaby6134]

Looking at the earth shape, going to Devon is also downhill so you could just coast.

[@Hitperson]

the higher boost when running in sport will probably also help, when cruising i would expect that the car is running leaner at cruise which would give you better MPG figures.

[@smilerbob]

My current car has three driving modes with three very distinct fuel economy values The first is normal suburban and urban driving gives ~33mpg The second is motorway driving which gives ~39mpg And lastly there there is heavy traffic where it gives ~10mpg My previous one which was diesel had values of 45 / 55 / 8 respectively from the above list My cars know nothing of these Sport and Eco modes you talk of 😉 Interesting you talk about cruise control giving better economy. I always found my MPG would decrease with cruise control on compared to me manually keeping speed. Perhaps that is an advancement of the cruise control technology Don’t forget, the best economic driving speed is somewhere between 55 and 60 mph which is why it is nice sometimes to find a lorry in lane 1 and follow them at a safe distance

[@makemebad1978]

I thinks it’s two things, the cruise control tech has improved but I think some people are just better at being light footed when it comes to cruising at a constant speed, I knew someone that would get to 70, gradually drift back to 60 then when they realise accelerate back to 70 again, rinse and repeat.

[@davem9204]

I've only ever owned one car with cruise control and only ever used it once as I never liked it. But I did have a hire car with it for a trip and tried to compare the fuel economy with and without using cruise control on a motorway run. I found I was getting much better economy by not using cruise control. I think when I'm using the pedal I'm got more subtle control over the speed and it's easy to anticipate when I need a bit more power and when I can back off to keep a steady speed.

[@123MondayTuesday]

My car has 17 modes, all finely tuned to suit my individual needs. They all do the same mpg except Mode 12 which gives a slightly lower mpg for some reason

[@smilerbob]

@@123MondayTuesday Mode 12 will keep the brakes on 20% so they don’t freeze in the winter

[@wheeely99]

I Drove from Glasgow to Basingstoke last year in. BMW X1 1.8D 416 mile's. I topped up in Glasgow and reset mpg when I got home I still had 1/4tank of fuel. It was on Eco all the way using Cruze control as much as possible. Mpg was 79.9. I stopped twice.

[@laurence9618]

you need to do the same direction twice with the same conditions (and speeds) in order to get an accurate comparison, however if you drive without cruise control going uphill, you can fairly easily improve the mpg by taking your foot off the accelerator for a second or 2 depending on the speed and repeat this a few time for each uphill and notice a decent saving of fuel

[@Conrad_Verner]

I travel 4 miles a day for work, and live right by the coast, so do 2 miles there (uphill) and 2 miles back (downhill), over the course of 3 weeks i took notes on the fuel economy of these short runs, the averages are as follows Eco - Up 19.5 MPG - Down 21.6 MPG Sport - Up 16.0 MPG - Down 17.1 MPG Sport + - 12.2 MPG - 13.7 MPG Gearbox is automatic and i tried to drive the same way each day with very silimar traffic on all days. Engine size is a 3.0 - 6 Cyl Eco - disengages clutch and freewheels when not under acceleration, Sport - keeps between 3rd and 4th at 30mph Sport+ - stays in 2nd under any acceleration under 30mph, but will click to 3rd when holding 30mph

[@hairywol]

I tow a caravan which does of course reduce mpg drastically, but it also shows some things because it magnifies differences. First, weight isn't an issue if, once inertia is overcome, one can maintain a steady cruising speed. But speed changes kill economy. Second, wind resistance is a huge factor, and a cross or headwind can make a big difference to mpg. Third, a motorway gradient gradient that is imperceptible when driving only my (quite powerful) car makes a big difference while towing. When a caravan newbie it was extremely puzzling why on a long stretch of dual carriageway that I always assumed to be level, I got 28mpg towing south but 23mpg towing north. But I will try your experiment next time I have a trip.

[@MK-1973]

Interesting video Ashley. One thing that might have helped your economy on the way home was that it would have thoroughly warmed up. Maybe if you're picking up your family members after their holiday you could repeat the experiment with sports mode first? I wonder if fitting cross-climate tyres might make a small difference?

[@75WW75]

Can confirm same in VW Tiguan. Noticed some months ago. I do 50k miles a year. 45mpg in Eco, 50mpg in Normal, 55mpg in Sport?? Not a fluke or one off either!

[@user-hdjddj3j]

'sports' mode merely just changes the throttle mapping in the majority of cars. granted some cars have the ability to adjust suspension, and electronic steering feel. BUT can take a big hit in start stop traffic as the idle revs may hang higher. also could run richer if the mapping tables are slightly different for sport/race modes. so as hes stated, this is tested in the ST, and may not apply to all cars

[@colinpotter2795]

I've got the fiesta which has eco, normal and sport mode. I always put it in sport mode as the car is so much better to drive. Using sport mode deactivates the stop/start however you can reactivate it manually using the button by the mode select button. That way best of both worlds

[@markukblackmore]

My audi A3 has a 2 cylinder mode. It comes on for short periods when the throttle is only open a little way. Now I have a theory, backed by a small amount of observation via onboard consumption readout, that sports mode leads to more frequent 2 cylinder operation. And therefore better fuel economy. I think it’s because the use of higher gear leads to being able to maintain speed with less throttle. And the ECU therefore switches to 2-cylinder mode more often.

[@Strider9655]

I imagine that works well until a load is applied to the engine, IE in a lab, it's a bit like cycling with one pedal, you can do it to maintain momentum, but as soon as you hit a slight gradient you're screwed. In most cars what the ECO mode actually does is it trades efficiency/power for better emissions by dialing back the ignition timing, it's how they get around the regulations, only slight;y less dishonest than dieselgate. When in sports mode they advance the ignition timing by a few degrees (or more), so it's igniting the fuel at maximum compression, but this doesn't provide as a clean burn as igniting the fuel further into the pistons down stroke.

[@Manu-Official]

(I own 3 Audis and get great mpg overall, surprising considering the weight of those cars) - went to Germany and back in my A3 this summer, including a bit on the Autobahn, flat road, great weather conditions, no wind, tarmac a lot better than the UK over long distances - couldn't believe to see over 70 mpg average on an 800 miles journey keeping it steady, car went out with a full tank and came back with a quarter tank so after doing the full maths, got a figure of 72mpg - was quite a surprise.

[@Strider9655]

@@Manu-Official I own an old Ford and I have a kitcar as a weekend blaster (which is why I know engines), my barge cost me £4000 8 years ago, it's never gone wrong, it's cost me next to nothing bar fuel and tyres, I honestly don't care about MPG, it's still much cheaper to run than a financed car that does 80mpg or even 150mpg.

[@quinndexter]

Similar to the Scirocco R I drive, sport mode doesn't alter the engine map. It modifies throttle response, steering weight and in the case of the VW, the suspension mode. Base MPG isn't really changed through efficiency, just how you drive it.

[@AM-qb8zg]

I drive a GLE 450d - newer version with the soft hybrid motor. It's a 3 litre diesel 367bhp. The car weighs just under 2,200kg. I use eco on almost all driving unless I need to 'press on'. I also use cruise control as much as I can. The car has a 'coasting' facility in eco mode (only) which saves on engine use, plus regerative braking to recharge the battery which serves as a supply to auxiliary items instead of using crankshaft power. I also use the stop/start almost always. Over a tankful range of 700+ miles I get 37.5 mpg, and this has been consistent over the 10,500 miles I have driven. I think economy savings can be made useing technological features, but only in conjunction with gentrler driving and using the features often.

[@alanc9644]

Interesting. Also an ADI I drive a Mercedes 180B…. Hardly ever driven on sport mode but will try next time I’m on a motorway trip. I’m always on comfort mode and just a point on cruise control, I often do an airport run of 50 odd miles. Couple of times I used cruise control I used significantly more full than without it. Will update after sport mode. Thanks Ashley

[@Mat0305]

I have a Hyundai i20 with DCT, I've noticed when non motorway driving, in eco mode it is selecting 7th gear at just over 30 MPH and you can feel the engine slightly labouring, whereas in sports mode it would be in 4th gear. I haven't seen a noticeable difference in fuel economy between sports and eco mode but performance is very noticeable

[@MrAdopado]

Having done comparisons for EV energy consumption, which are generally more sensitive to the variables, you are correct to point out the myriad factors which are going to affect your measurements. Based on my own experience I have never ever seen the same consumption when measuring journeys in different directions so I'm afraid the methodology falls at the first hurdle. The first requirement is to do back-to-back round trips of an identical route in the same weather and traffic conditions ... which, of course, is a big ask! However, you have certainly shown that (for your make of car) Sport mode doesn't automatically mean wild fuel consumption unless you choose to use the extra available performance.

[@shaunsautorepairs5410]

Years ago when then the children were young i used to commute a lot between folkestone in kent and manchester. it was always the case that it was more economical coming back down south then traveling north. Didn't matter whether you were loaded or unloaded.. so i could only put it down to elevation differences over the distance.

[@laughing_gnome]

When travelling from Glasgow to Birmingham, my jag xe r240 sport gives me 80mpg in eco mode 60 mpg in sports mode and 56 mpg in drive mode

[@gregg.d]

We had a 2017 Ford Kuga AWD auto - the gearbox was quite lazy and felt laboured when doing anything above 40mph and the mpg seemed to suffer, so I always had the ‘box in sport mode and it made it more flexible and nicer to drive on the faster roads, and the mpg seemed better as the ‘box wasn’t having to kickdown.

[@jimmyrussell9264]

11:45-11:49 interesting editing! 😀

[@ianmason.]

Petrol engine (Otto cycle) efficiency varies with revs per minute and roughly ramps up with revs to a certain point and then falls off again. For a typical normally aspirated car engine the peak efficiency will be at about 3500 rpm, lower for a turbo. Sports mode tends to shift your driving range to higher rpm - in an auto by moving shift points, in a manual by faster throttle response - so putting you closer to the engine's peak efficiency. In a car without any fancy modes you can achieve the same effect just by staying in gear a bit longer before shifting up or shifting down. Diesel cycle engines behave similarly but the peak efficiency is at much lower rpm.

[@LoopyToon1]

for a fun little experiment it wasn't bad but things like weather, engine temps, weight etc all play a part in getting a good read on your mpg. Taking an average of around 80Kgs per passenger and 20Kg each for luggage that's 180Kgs extra weight your carrying on a sleepier (colder) engine, with cooler weather. This would affect the amount of acceleration needed in the journey around town before getting on the motorway (constant 70 mph weight wouldn't be a big factor but it is still something to consider and not just dismiss). Now the reverse journey is 180Kgs lighter, in slightly warmer weather and a more awake (warmer) engine (not taking into account the weight of the burned off fuel from the first journey). You have to remember that the colder the air temp (denser so more drag etc) the more fuel you'll need to do the correct ratio for combustion which the ecu works out and adjusts the injectors accordingly, also a warmer engine is better for combustion than a cooler/colder engine. This is why most mpg claims are nearly always from lab results where every variable can be set correctly/removed and once the car is out in public it doesn't always get the claimed mpg, Most noticeably nearly ever EV on the market at the minute has an *upto mpg claim as they only work from lab results and in the small print it says as much or words close enough to get around the advertising rules and regulations.

[@SiWeeMann]

I just got back from a round trip to London from Shropshire and after filling up again and checking the figures, I reckon I got about 10% better economy than normal. Not a totally scientific test, but I do keep track of my fuel usage and mileages so can easily check back against times when I did similar journeys.

[@DV8Rx]

What about doing it in eco mode though? My Fiesta ST of the same year seems to do the best in that on the motorway, so I would assume that mode would be best for you as well. You should also have a button in the centre console to turn back on the auto start-stop. I am surprised sport is better than normal as well, but I do think the weight is a bigger factor than you think

[@dlevi67]

With a PHEV that uses the battery for 'saving fuel' in normal mode vs. 'going faster' in sports mode, in my case there is no doubt where I get the best fuel economy (and that includes the cost of electricity for charging: in sports the petrol engine is always on, even when the car is stopped or coasting down a hill).

[@arealscotsman]

My mk8 gtd golf did a 464 mile journey to Devon at 84 mpg. When I arrived at Barnstaple it took £33 worth of diesel to fill. Thats on eco mode. It was roughly the same on the way home on normal mode.

[@Retset]

In my recent VW DSG cars, Sport locks out top gear, make it change down gears with relatively little right foot and hold on to revs. I find this makes the car too 'hyperactive' and inefficient for everyday driving. It would be OK to make the car more responsive on a twisty, empty B road but, in these circumstances, I prefer to choose the gear so use the paddles. This is true whether the car be a Golf R (now gone) or something a bit more prosaic. As such, I virtually never use Sport mode.

[@TheGalifrey]

Start/Stop is only any use when stopping for longer than 30 seconds as the electricity used from the battery has to be recharged causing increased drag on the alternator and more fuel used. It is a balancing act. If you're the sort of driver that coasts in gear a lot that saves far more fuel than start stop. The downhill overall journey is worth a lot of MPG when using cruise control as well. Do the next round trip in sport mode there and normal mode in return (keep start stop off) and see what difference it makes. The passenger and luggage weight will also make a significant difference. All things being equal and with your smooth driving I doubt there is actually any difference between the 2 as you will tame your driving to suit the sportier throttle response. In an Auto there is a difference as it will hand on to lower gears for longer.

[@fredsmith1970]

it was uphill on the way there and downhill on the way back. 🙂 I used to work near manchester airport (20+ years) and did that drive from north Liverpool pretty much every weekday until Covid/Lockdown... with all of my cars (mostly diesels) it was almost always more efficient on the return leg home. And you;ve got a lot less weight in the car - 2 people and 2 cases!!

[@moonbaby6134]

Two adults, say 150kg plus baggage and more fuel in the tank, it could add up to 12% to the total weight. Force equals mass x acceleration. I’d bet you’d save 3-5% fuel on the return compared to the out journey if the route and conditions were identical.

[@R04drunner1]

Fascinating and very honest video! I think the altitude difference, where you drive overall downhill from Manchester to Liverpool, plus not having two passengers and luggage (which you are carrying up that altitude difference on thecway out) will make the car more economic and thus will naturally favour the return journey. So I'd put the economy difference more down to that to be honest. Still, great way to turn a routine journey into an interesting challenge and I enjoyed the video! I drive an automatic car which offers Sport mode on the gearbox. It affects the gearbox only (more inclined to hold lower gears). However, my car also has a drive control and if I slide that into Dynamic I get: - even more savage downshifts. - faster shift changes. - remapped throttle to get a faster response for any given accelerator pedal movement. - stiffer suspension. - steering firms up. On cars with Configurable Dynamics (like mine) once the driver has pressed the Dynamic Mode button, he or she can tweak the settings. You can choose to have dynamic or normal mode enabled on throttle, steering, gear shifts and/or suspension. Factory default is to enable dynamic mode on all of them but you might, for example, want to keep a more comfortable ride and so you could program the active suspension to remain in normal mode when Dynamic is pressed. Your settings are remembered until you change them. Your Focus might have the same facility?

[@paulgreen758]

Audi? I drive rs3 a s5 and find the same thing

[@R04drunner1]

@@paulgreen758 nice cars. Mine is a Jaguar XF S Supercharged.

[@DavidNewmanDr]

I don't know what sports mode does on an old-fashioned oil burning machine. On my Energica Experia, it allows faster acceleration and more fierce regenerative braking. Since regenative braking only gets back 30% of the energy, I use less at nearly constant motorway speeds in any mode. But I don't use sports mode on long journeys, as high acceleration and high speeds eat the battery.I get 8 miles/kWh.

[@OldSkoolLover1996]

Interesting this! I always thought the thing that affects your fuel economy the most is just your driving style combined with all the other factors like the weather, how much weight you're carrying, wind direction/speed, traffic conditions etc... All this rather than the driving mode you would select. Maybe you could leave it in sports mode over an extended period of time and see how it would affect your long term economy? If you can live with the stiffer suspension.., I know it's not very pleasant on these roads😅

[@PedroConejo1939]

Well _that's_ counter-intuitive. Must try it. The best I've had with my current car (2.0 Hdi) is 70 mpg over 200 miles, but that's HGV speeds, a/c off, cruise on, almost all motorway and dry, mild weather. I normally manage about 55 mpg, but that best figure was when diesel was over £2/litre.

[@smilerbob]

My best economy was also in a diesel, Ford C-Max and still got ~55mpg at 70mph with over 250,000 on the engine. Didn’t need much work doing either except the usual suspects, oil , filters, tyres and the odd ball joint if I hit one our nations many potholes a little too hard

[@scragar]

Sport mode is rarely more efficient, it just ups the revs and response which makes the car accelerate faster and feel more responsive. Normally that's less efficient, but there are a few situations such as holding a consistent speed for a long time as the higher ends of normal speed(so motorways) where it pays off.

[@justinclayton3022]

What was the wind? It can make a massive difference. Plus there looked to be heavy rain on the roads on journey to Manchester. Based on trip from Est coast to west in very heavy rain I would say heavy rain causes a lot of drag and so lowers fuel efficiency.

[@peterclarke3300]

Very interesting video I had a Audi S5 and i could get 48mpg, no cruise control and keeping to a average speed which is the most important part plus, I wasn’t surprised by your results mainly because the engine will react better with less throttle input 👍

[@guReMcO]

I've got a Mazda with an automatic. The sport mode will try to keep the revs higher so you're at the range where the power comes in so you'd think it'll use more fuel. But I haven't used it enough to really say how it behaves on a commute. I'll give it a go though, this video made me curious.

[@Diamus101]

I collected my 2020 Orange Fury Focus ST from the dealership drove it home in normal mode. Thought how appaling the handling, response and softness was. In the four years since never driven in anything but sports mode, that includes on ice and snow, through floods and around town. After 1,000 miles she went upto Mountune M330, still sports all the time.

[@wolvoman1]

Minus weight of fuel, minus weight of passengers and luggage, less traffic congestion, plus as you say 'down hill'

[@clivewilliams3661]

The two trips in different directions will have had more variables that could easily account for the difference in fuel consumption. To get a true assessment the two journeys must be identical, one thing that has not been discussed is at the start of the journey to the airport was the car fully warmed up. If not, then the ecu will have added extra fuel on the cold engine. I have my car's readout showing the oil temperature that is a direct indication of when the engine is up to temperature (not the water temp gauge). It can take my car up to 8 miles to reach operating temperature of 85degC with the oil. The return journey will have been with a fully warmed engine for the whole way. One point of concern with the Ford Ecoboost engine is that it is a wet belt design that defies logic and raises big questions as to the reliability of the system. The wet belt design is not exclusive to Ford but others like Peugeot and VAG engines.

[@dominicr4740]

I drive (at the moment but not for much longer) a Honda HR-V hybrid and find similar outcomes. Economy mode has too little power and is only good for traffic moving below 20 mph. Normal is fine and can give upto 65mpg on the motorway and A roads. Sport on country roads gives around 60mpg and motorway similar to normal mode. I just don’t use economy as it does exactly the opposite!

[@phyphor]

I found that keeping my MP3 530 in Eco mode was fine around town but really suffered on routes that were at higher speed. If I kept my speed down to 55mph on motorways it was fine but at about 65mph it was both more economical and had better responsiveness in Comfort or Speed so I just switch modes as I'm waiting at the lights to enter or leave the slip road and that seems to work out best for me.

[@raymondbenjamins5884]

Honestly, two single trips probably aren't enough to say anything conclusively, but it's certainly interesting to see that there really wasn't that much difference. This video inspired me to check out the different modes in my own car during the coming weeks. I normally only drive in normal mode, but it also has an eco and sport mode (in eco mode, the car coasts, instead of using regenerative braking (I have a mild hybrid, so it just uses it to assist the fuel engine), so I'll have to use it for a bit to get used to that for a fair comparison). I'm interested to see if I can find a difference between the modes.

[@iangordon5354]

Interesting. I’d try the same experiment, except that the manual for my car (a 2009 diesel Discovery 3 auto) says not to use cruise control when I have the car in sport mode - but that’s because in my car ‘Sport’ mode is (at least mostly) down to where the gear changes happen, unlike what it means in a manual Ford Focus. Like you, I try to use cruise control when it’s appropriate (we tend to go for holidays where I have several hours of motorway driving to do to get there and back), and I do think I get better fuel economy when I use cruise control compared to doing the same run with my foot on the accelerator.

Many cars with dual clutch transmissions will oftentimes get better economy in sports mode, but it depends a lot on your driving style and how you drop your speed. When in D, the transmission will attempt to coast in neutral to preserve speed. At first I thought that is truly asinine because coasting in neutral is unsafe. However, it does so because the clutch control mechanism actually has the clutch ready to engage as soon as the driver or the ACC demands power or braking. When is S, it does not coast in neutral, only engine brake. If you're doing lots of stop-start traffic, it will downshift when ACC is turned off to increase engine braking and give better throttle response at the same time. Be mindful that the transmission control module learns from your speed fluctuations and tries to optimize fuel economy based on that. If your speed on motorway fluctuates a lot, it will be better in S due to engine braking, but if it's very minute and gentle, D will prove better because while coasting in neutral it still runs quite lean.

[@MarkoOBE]

When it comes to actual measurements of car modes there are likely way more factors taken into consideration for the cars brains than simply the mode itself, what they would be is beyond me but I've done the same myself on various routes in various modes and nothing really makes a great deal of sense and doesn't always result in eco or normal mode being more economical. It does make a difference if you travel slightly uphill one way then downhill on the way back (as you would expect) but for a reasonably short journey it's unlikely you'll get an accurate reading. A full week on one mode then another week on the other would probably give you a better idea of what's happening, even if the conditions are different. Stop/start, in my opinion, isn't as economical as one would expect, as I was always led to believe that unless you expect to sit any longer than a couple of minutes then stop/start isn't worth it, if anything, it increases the fuel consumption as it takes more fuel to restart the car than it would to idle for a few minutes and let's be honest, how many times has stop/start kicked in only to then have the lights change?!.

[@josephmarsh8235]

I must admit Ashley, I have tested sports mode in my car for some long trips and find the fuel economy quite different. My car is automatic though, and I don't have adaptive dampers, all my car does in sport mode is like make the steering more responsive and change the gears quicker. I have sometimes though found it to be a different story with sports mode depending on some roads. However, unlike your car, my car is diesel and saloon shaped and has way less power than your car, and I believe the fuel economy would be much different.

[@sinestesiagaming]

I've done rather unscienfitic experiements with my Hilux GR on "Eco" vs "Power" modes on drives between London and Newquay, same route: M4-M5-A30. Fuel efficiency definitely appears better when in "Power", using cruise control whenever possible. Biggest difference I see is on the A30 going up and down the long hills, and in Eco mode the pickup does start to struggle at times and lose speed.

[@gavinreid2741]

My Ford has Eco. Salesman advised me not to use it because it is too sluggish.

[@mrjones1696]

I drive the latest audi a4 diesel version and I found that the dynamic mode is much more economical than economy mode but my previous vehicle was the b9 audi a4 which was a petrol and the economy mode was certainly more efficient so in my mind I have put it down to the amount of torque output as you suggested in the video. I will now be trying a trip in sports mode to see if it helps even more as unfortunately I have the 35 so in my mind having more torque to get the big 2.0 ltr lump going could help further.

[@qasimmir7117]

If sports mode advances the ignition timing to be sooner, then that will increase fuel economy because the piston is making more use of the pressure generated from the same amount of fuel and air. What some seem to forget, a lot of things that are increase horsepower and speed tend to increase fuel economy if driven in an economic way of course.

[@bikeman123]

Sport mode doesn't adjust ignition timing. It just shortens the throttle movement and stiffens steering and suspension.

[@Paul_L777]

I have mk 4 pre face lift on a 22 plate & found I get better MPG in Sport mode & also have the H&R spring kit which has improved the suspension for the better as definutly a lot less jarring now at lower speed driving.

[@DemiGod..]

My sports car had DCT. I generally ran it in automatic mode, just using manual mode for overtakes. In automatic mode , I generally did not like sports mode as too fast.

[@davidrumming4734]

Didn’t expect that…. Overall while I don’t think the result is transferable to other cars….. Most of the caveats you mentioned are. Firstly, was the car cold when you started out or had you already been driving before? I find with our 40 mile round trip to the hosp, the outward 20 mile journey isn’t great for economy….its also slightly up hill. The return trip of 20 miles does much better-you can see this with the computer. Also, driving in rain seems to use a little more fuel. Resistance from water on the road, + wipers, heaters, etc etc all acting as a drag on the engine. Carrying extra people…that really makes a difference to mine. Low power = engine struggles with 4 people on board=more petrol used. Years ago, I had a fast Astra…the fuel consumption was bad, but carrying extra people didn’t seem to make any difference to economy. And driving in Sport mode does use noticeably more petrol in mine….can see the average economy over that tank of petrol start to drop after just a couple of miles. Idle stop is automatically disabled too.

[@Gorf1234]

I have sport mode in my car, but it's an "old man" car so sport only ever gets used to maintain speed on a serious uphill. I do see a potential flaw in this analysis though: My daily commute is five miles. One lard-arse in the car both ways, same driving mode (eco) both ways, same traffic - no lights or other holdups. I consistently get 70mpg on the way to work and 55 on the way home. The ONLY difference is that work is 35 metres lower than home. Over five miles, that's significant, but over a longer distance it can also have a big effect based on the profile of the CHANGE in altitude. A long, shallow uphill at low speed will have a more detrimental effect than the same altitude change if steeper but speed could be built up first. To accurately compare sport and eco mode, you need to do identical round-trip journeys. The biggest effect on MPG is uphill driving and positive speed change, in both cases - the total mass of the vehicle also plays a part. Once you've standardised all those, you can compare eco and sport.

[@rosaob5842]

I suspect my car, a Hyundai i20 N line, works out the mpg by just doing maths, ie it checks speed against what gear I'm in. Unfortunately it believes l should be in 6th when going over 35 mph, which is just wrong. The engine tells you it is too high a gear and it's even worse when going uphill. Consequently l calculate my mpg by miles done and petrol left in the tank. On this metric comfort mode ( the middle of three) is the best. Incidentally Ashley have you considered doing the airport run again, but the other way round with the modes? That would give a definitive answer😊

[@richcolour]

I update a spreadsheet and enter mileage and litres every time I fill up. My 2005 two-seater Smart with its 0.7 litre engine gets an average of 49.5 miles to the gallon. Which isn't much more than standard sized cars 😕

[@rustydusty2992]

Ashley. Interesting you should mention the fuel usage being another factor in lightening the car on the return journey as this could be cancelled out by fuel slop in the tank, I think studies though have shown it cancels out effects both ways, but not too sure. And yes also your mention of tyres (although your mention of them is largely due to the weather in this video) the thickness of the tread and tyre choice again effects mpg, but generally more tread more mpg and the winter tyre typs are more prone to higher mpg. Your mention of 3mm change is also recommended by Advanced driving organisations as well like IAMRoadsmart, Rospa etc, and yes I like the crossclimate as well although they are directional tyres so you cannot rotate except for back for fronts on the same side. In the wife's Skoda Citigo I always tend to drive in the manual mode being only 1 litre as I at least can preemt the hills as obviously the gearbox can't, that may save on mpg prevnting it going into lower gears but overall as my revs are slightly higher I expect averaging then this cancels out that effect.

[@davidparkins1808]

I used to do a lot of too and fro motorway journeys between Birkenhead and Manchester. M56. Whatever I did I always got better mpg Birkenhead to Manchester than I did Manchester to Birkenhead. 🤷‍♂️ (20 year old Lexus LS400 typically around 35 mpg, not bad for a 2 ton 4.2 litre V8 capable of 155 mpg.) 65 mph using cruise control seemed to be the best speed to aim at for best economy; nearly 40 mpg on one happy day. Economy/performsnce mode made no difference on long journeys at steady speed at a constant 1,750 rpm motorway journey.

[@TheChees1996]

the thing with waze it doesn't always take you to the fastest way. if you know the area more than the app you will get to you destination faster that it.

[@smithynotts291]

100% down to weight. 2 people with luggage and less fuel in the tank. Good to see sport mode is still pretty much the same if you drive the same though, much more fun.

[@MrAndrewBeattie]

In my HGV, I use cruise whenever possible for BOTH best performance and best economy. Cruise gives you the optimum fuel mix for max power but not too much (which just produces smoke and increases your ad-blue use). Is your green car diesel?

[@bp19870]

Bang on true! You are softer with the accelerator peddle and I drove in Eco, same car as you, 23-28mpg on average - a friend told me to drive in sports mode all the time and my average mpg has now sat at 38-41mpg, so it’s a huge difference! I’ve told my wife to do it in her Juke hybrid and she noticed an increase in mpg from 43mpg to 55mpg and her battery charges up quicker so she can use the EV mode more. Save eco mode for cruising on the motorway 👍.

[@Mhlikescars]

I’ve got a diesel Kia Ceed, and I’ve come to realise it gets better fuel economy in sport mode over eco mode in any situation(not sure why it has a sport mode). It also feels much less dead in sport mode, in eco everything lacks feel to the point it’s unpleasant to drive.

[@yodasblues9031]

Michelin tyres are designed to retain the same efficiency and performance all the way down to minimum 1.6mm tread. This is also tested by them to ensure it is the case, one reason why classed as a superior tyre.

[@marcelleking8821]

When i use sport mode in my EV6 the amount of miles left drops dramatically. It’s fun though to use on motorways and dual carriageways.

[@cynewulf1]

Mine's an auto, so Sports Plus is definitely going to be way worse than Comfort. It revs way higher for optimal turbo response. It'd be interesting to compare Comfort with Sports Plus when in manual mode using the paddles though 🤔

[@almach6279]

Drop-off at the airport is free here, but there's no good way to get there without taking a toll road. My relatives don't have cars with different "modes", but we've noticed that fuel efficiency figures seem to depend on _who_ is driving - at least for similar routes with similar traffic conditions. Still not sure why that is.

[@JonathanDavidsonn]

For my C4 cactus i often drive 58mph on the motorway which is often closer to 56 to the lorry's. I get about 72mpg average but if I set cruise to 56 (roughly 55, flickers between 54 and 55) I get a whopping 80mpg average and I've gotten a consistent result of it going from the m62 to m6 south all the way up to stoke on trent (junction 21a to junction 16) I did one time at night where it wasn't at all busy tried 52 and I managed to get 96mpg! Its insane how little speed I sacrifice I get insane fuel efficiency

[@Chigleybus]

I reckon the 70-75kg of your passenger (assuming they are around that weight) must have made a difference. Manufacturers trumpet it from the rooftops when they save even a few kilos after a face-lift or new model launch. Certainly wouldn't like to carry 75kg round on my shoulders. There is a Sport button in my Mini, which I often press, but it makes absolutely no difference to the ride, acceleration or general handling. I'll stop pressing it I think.

[@FAB12UCB]

In my many drives to and from London, I get significantly better MPG going to London. I am from the midlands. Going, I can push mid to low 70s. Coming back I push mid to high 60s.

[@PA88S12345]

my car has no mode. but when I first got it, I tried to drive as economically as possible after coming from a mpv that I was lucky to get 24mpg doing 60mph on a motorway. I was shocked when I went for a series of spirited drives in the summer and my mpg didn't change. I'm not sure how it works but it seems driving my eco 1L fast is the same as driving it economically. I still whack it into a high gear and accelerate smoothly day to day, but its nice to know if I do need to use all the revs, I'm not going to use drastically more fuel. I think I got about 57mpg eco driving and about 54mpg not, but again there were many different factors in play, full of passengers, different roads, different weather, over a different period of time etc so to me the 3mpg is negligible in my case. on this airport run and back, I think the stiffer suspension probably contributes a bit, aerodynamically locked in at a specific height and not letting the body roll as much etc. but overall I think it probably comes down to the fuel map. in sports mode they probably put most effort into making it efficient, efficiency is good for power but also for mpg. since your car is turbocharged, I think its safe to say that on normal mode its not running as high boost pressure for a more linear power curve and ease of driving. where as in sports its using more boost which means more air to fuel ratio which means more power and more efficiency out of the same amount of fuel, so not as much is wasted. most cars have an acceptable amount of wasted fuel that doesnt fully combust in the engine. so in general it may not need to use as much fuel to accelerate to speed in comparison to the "less efficient" normal mode, at speed it will use negligible amounts more or less, its speeding up and slowing down that really affects tests like this, as you said, the car doesnt need to work as hard maintaining speed so combine it all together and you get Slightly better MPG on sports mode. basing this off of being able to go and get a "eco" map on a car with a turbo and all they pretty much do is "clean up" the fuel map so the car always has optimal fuel air ratio and slightly increase boost pressure to aide the complete combustion of fuel that is in the engine. efficiency = power, so when they do change this usually the car will make more bhp and get better mpg