Ect Power Button

[michaelH]

I have used this feature a few times now. It seems to be a rather neglected feature and one that few people seem to consider important. I can't find much mention of it on this forum (nothing since around 2008)and the handbook says very little about it. One contributor denied that it had any real effect at all. When I bought my first IS250 I was told that it would merely 'sharpen the throttle response' at the cost of significantly increasing fuel consumption.

Now I am not a petrol head or even technically literate, but my firm impression is that this button completely transforms the behaviour of the auto gearbox and makes the car a great deal sportier to drive. In particular, the gearbox downshifts more readily under acceleration or at the merest touch of the brakes on the approach to a corner - a firmer touch will send it right down into second or third and it then hangs on a little longer to the lower gears as you accelerate out of the bend. I think it may also sharpen the throttle response, just as I was told, but it is the gearchanges that really make the difference. Driving the winding and hilly A44 from Aberystwyth to Llangurig late last Sunday night really proved the value of this - there was absolutely no point in using the sport /paddle shift mode on the bends because the auto changes where so quick anyway and I could concentrate on steering, braking and dipping the headlights as required.

The downside is that the gearshifts are more intrusive when driving sedately, so I do not use power mode around town or when my wife is a passenger(she suffers from chronic pain following a serious injury two years ago, so has to be driven around very gently).

There does not seem to be much of an impact of fuel consumption: according to the car's computer I managed 40.5 mpg driving sedately in normal mode from Leicester to Aberystwyth.Coming back alone with power mode engaged I had a clear road and took a full hour less to complete the journey, but the mpg readout had dropped by the end only to 39; and that largely ties in with my previous experiences. In practice the readout usually proves to be out by one or two mpg's but the indications are that mpg does not suffer much, if at all.

I have noticed that some reviewers complain of the car's supposed lack of power, and this is especially true of reviews of the coupe/cabriolet. I wonder whether the reviewers in question tried using power (or indeed sport) mode or whether that would have satisfied them a little better...

[ABMA]

Totally agree, the power mode transforms the car ride completely.

[Tango]

The ECT button on my IS250 has been rarely off in the 4+ years I've had the car :). There's no mystery in why it doesn't get mentioned on the forum, everyone who has one know it's there. The IS-F has one too, and I can tell you the difference is a damn sight more noticable

[UpSideDown]

The ECT is always switched on on my car and I havn't seen any significantly increasing of fuel consumption by driving in ECT mode. And I want a super smooth ride I switch it to snow mode..

[MW70]

The ECT is always switched on on my car and I havn't seen any significantly increasing of fuel consumption by driving in ECT mode. And I want a super smooth ride I switch it to snow mode..

[MW70]

I've only had my IS250 for a couple of weeks but I'd echo whats been said here - way more responsive in ect pwr mode - even smoother in snow mode - ok in normal mode although I do find its overly keen to get into a high gear at pretty low speeds and getting off junctions quick can be a bit jerky at times as you sometimes force it to change down...

Going down steep hills Ive taken to put into sport mode for a bit of engine breaking..

Whatever mode Its so quiet when revving I'm probably going faster than I realise :winky:

I've set the speedo to go orange from 50mph and tacho at 2.5k - how about you guys do you use this function?

MW 31mpg this week (av speed about 36mph!)