Sports Mode

[Argento]

<No they don't.>

Ok. I'll keep out of this discussion then.

Argento

[gt03raf]

this thread makes interesting reading...

I've got 12,000 miles on the car since middle of march and it's been in Eco practically the whole time.

In milton keynes we have lots of roundabouts and dual carriageways so its not exactly conducive to gentle acceleration and floaty driving that the hybrid needs to really pick up the mpg figures but..... any 2.5 petrol than can deliver 40mpg in that scenario is a winner imo. my previous 520d could only manage about 35 mpg in the same situation.

fortunately i also do a bit of motorway and north circular driving and on that kind of journey i'm around the 53/55 mpg region which is more than acceptable to me.

As for the different modes.....Eco definitely tames the car down and can make it feel sluggish and unresponsive,

I find that normal makes it feel just that...normal. it goes when i want it to and feels like it's got the right amount of power for the size of car it is.

Sport mode... is a bit of fun, obviously provides more get up and go but it can remove some of the smoothness you expect from a lexus.

I'm no angel behind the wheel (and i've had some ridiculous cars to enjoy myself in) but on balance the IS300h gives a nice balance for most styles of driving and moods.

p.s. if you press and hold the traction control light you can turn it off completely and then it's really entertaining to drive

[ColinBarber]

Eco mode is unresponsive. If you hold the throttle in a certain position for a couple of seconds the power level will start to build up slowly - very odd, I would expect it to maintain a certain level of power and rely on the driver to give more throttle if extra power is needed.

Normal is a bit too eco IMO. Compared to a Prius, RX400h, RX450h etc. it is very docile. Seems Lexus are trying to make people achieve something resembling their published mpg figures by holding back the power as much as possible. I would prefer normal to be a bit more like sport

Sport mode keeps the engine running for much longer and instantly gives you Battery power even when asking for slight acceleration. It is certainly faster than the other two modes unless you are driving in Eco or Normal with your foot held flat to the floor all the time. Mpg is also noticeable worse in sport.

EV is almost a waste of space. Again compared to a Prius or other Lexus hybrids you cannot achieve any sort of reasonable performance. Just blow on the throttle and it will disengage with the excessive acceleration warning.

[gtb5]

Tried ECO Mode and throttle response is relly sluggish.

[DJP]

ECO mode is not worth bothering with IMO.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Ian J. Parsley]

I use ECO only in traffic.

I use Normal typically - it's a good balance between performance and efficiency and you don't lose much (if anything) other than when in traffic.

I use Sport to get away quickly at lights or when overtaking, but otherwise rarely. It is a lot more responsive - almost scarily so!

[adamsmith]

Normal and Sport for me. Never use the flappys! Eco mode is too sluggish I find and uses more fuel/worse economy

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[ColinBarber]

Eco mode is too sluggish I find and uses more fuel/worse economy

I don't find that, eco seems more 'eco' but there is very little difference between it and Normal.

[Steve44]

My experience over last 6k miles is that Eco uses the motor much more than normal. The throttle pedal map means it takes much more pedal press for a given response, which allows it to use the motor for initial takeoff, thus the car "feels" sluggish. During driving, up to about 50mph, it will always try and cut out the engine and use/conserve Battery, over that it doesn't make much difference at all.

Sports mode is the opposite. It keeps the engine running on tickover (1000rpm) virtually all the time when town driving and shortens the pedal map which makes the car much more responsive. The battery/motor is used for extra "boost" and due to the throttle pedal map it is difficult to run the car at all in EV mode in normal driving.

Normal mode is in between both, and a good compromise. Try changing the dash display to show the rev counter all the time, rather than the eco meter and it is easier to see what the engine is doing relative to the road speed/throttle.

Those that say that there is no difference in fuel economy between Eco and Sport, it can't be true. Between Normal and Eco it is close. Actual car performance is the same in all modes, in Eco push through the kick-down throttle position and it still accelerates like Sports mode, it just takes longer to get going.

[Greenfield]

Hi,

Just played with sports mode after having the car for about a month and 1000 miles, very impressed with the responsiveness however having moved the lever to the S position and using the paddle shifts it seems to shift from 2 to 3 at around 5000 rpm without me touching the shift paddles, I expected it to hang onto 2 all the way to the red line or until I told it to change. Seems to do the same going from 1 to 2 but not tried 3 to 4 yet as the speed involved would be quite high!, it was quite disconcerting as I was anticipating changing gear and then it did it's all on its own.

[ColinBarber]

You need to remember that there are no gears, all that is happening is that the engine revs are changed to try and simulated a normal gearbox. IMO it is really only useful to apply additional engine braking or to keep the engine power up so you can perform a quick overtake without any lag. Trying to drive is as a manual doesn't really work - the system will override you as and when it sees fit, as you have discovered.

[Rabbers]

Which begs the question of whether the paddles are in any way useful.

While their use can enable you to obtain lag-free quick acceleration by keeping the power up, you can get

the same practical result by momentarily switching to Sport mode from Normal or Eco.

[tinka]

Thats what I do, Most cars with the paddle shift have a built in safe mode really, so the engine doesn’t over rev.

[Dixgas]

Putting it in S mode and using the paddles to shift with my 250 with the conventional auto box, is great fun, just don't have the MPG on the display.

D

[Blisteringblue]

I'm now 2 weeks into my normal test and around 1200 miles driven. 54.7mpg and I've been pushing the boat out to 80 mph recently too I know I'm just so reckless

Definitely noticeably better acceleration than the previous 8000 miles in Eco so I think it will stay in Normal.

I only use Sports mode at lights to p1ss the boy racers off just because I can

OK so 2 months on and still in Normal. Dash is telling me 52 mpg but actual from my company car receipts is around 48 mpg which is acceptable.

No need for Eco when the average cost of driving this car every month is around -£100

[Steve44]

52/48 is really good, wish I could get closer to that. I've noticed a hit in economy from colder weather recently, with the engine running more just to keep things warm in traffic. The alloy engine block warms up quick, but loses heat just as quick!

What speeds are you maintaining on motorway to hit your economy figures?

[ColinBarber]

Steve you are unlikely to match SE mpg figures in a F Sport.

[Steve44]

I know, but BB is getting a better percentage of the book figure than me at the moment, just asking how he is doing it.

[michaelH]

I have just noticed a significant drop in MPG (from about 51 mpg (readout saying 54) to about 47 mpg (readout saying 49) and the indications are that it will fall again to about 45 (current readout says 47). There are three possible factors, and perhaps all three are at work.

First, I tried driving most of a 165 mile journey from Aberystwyth to Leicester in sport mode; second it has been getting a lot colder, and I know mpg drops in the cold; and third, I have changed my half worn summer tyres to new Dunlop winter sports. See Changes to Expect When Switching from Worn-Out to New ... on www.tirerack.com ›

Of the three, I suspect that the use of sport mode made the least difference, because the journey was mostly at main road or motorway speeds, where the engine is working anyway. The new Dunlops have respectable economy stats, but they also have full treads and that may also help explain why the car's own mpg figures have got a little more accurate (?) perhaps.

[Blisteringblue]

I'm no boy racer so don't tend to thrash it. Maybe the odd traffic light Grand Prix for a laugh, but I'm doing around 3000 miles a month and tend to sit at 75 with the cruise on. I get metronome consistent figures pretty much every month.

I've noticed its taking a few miles to get going with the change in the weather. Had low tyre warning this morning but it went after a couple of miles so just put that down to -1 outside.

[gt03raf]

I regularly drive from Milton Keynes to London, W12.

All the way down the M1 at about 70 (if I'm lucky with traffic), 10mph round the north circular for about 4 miles, and then 5 miles or so of stop start through the back roads into the office.

I'm getting between 50 and 55 mpg regularly.

and for reassurance I've also notice the tyre sensor on cold mornings. and it normally goes off after about 5 miles

[ColinBarber]

when you pump up your tyres just perform a system calibration, that way you have some range above/below your standard pressure.

[gt03raf]

pump? whats that... mines a company car... i didn't think you needed to pump up tyres, check oil and water...etc...

seriously though.. how do you perform a system calibration... the manual that came with my f-sport talks of a button below the steering column....

I've had my head in the footwell and still not found such a button!

[DJP]

If you run your hand down the shaft of the steering column you should feel a little something I can only describe as nipple like. This is reading like something off a dodgy website :eerrrmm: .

I can't remember whether the engine is on or just ignition but you basically hold the button in until the lamp flashes three times and goes out. The manual is pretty clear but finding the button, well, nuff said I think. :o

[michaelH]

so that button DOES exist!