Does Eco Pro always make a difference?

Hi

I aim to drive my current ICE car as efficiently as possible now, so I avoid harsh acceleration and high cruise speeds and try to make full use of momentum by early lift off an minimal use of the brakes. I think this means that if I drive an i3 in Comfort mode I will normally be within the limits that would apply if I were in Eco Pro. If so, does this mean that Eco Pro won't give me a better range than my normal driving style in Comfort?


Roger

The eco pro mode has a few items to increase range: not only the Max speed of 72 mls but also slower acceleration. Besides also have limited heating and cooling power. That makes the eco pro more economic instead of cruising at the same speed as comfort mode

RJSATLBA said:

Hi

I aim to drive my current ICE car as efficiently as possible now, so I avoid harsh acceleration and high cruise speeds and try to make full use of momentum by early lift off an minimal use of the brakes. I think this means that if I drive an i3 in Comfort mode I will normally be within the limits that would apply if I were in Eco Pro. If so, does this mean that Eco Pro won't give me a better range than my normal driving style in Comfort?


Roger

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Hi Roger,

In simple terms, no it won't increase you range much at all if you are already an efficient driver. What it does, by limiting power to the motor and electronics, you can do yourself just be driving conscientiously and efficiently. Gradual accelerations, using the regenerative braking as much as possible, etc can accomplish what Eco Pro attempts to. In fact, an efficient driver that is driving in comfort mode will certainly have a better range than an inefficient driver using Eco Pro mode.

TomMoloughney said:

In fact, an efficient driver that is driving in comfort mode will certainly have a better range than an inefficient driver using Eco Pro mode.

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I haven't done all the testing in all driving conditions and in all temperature conditions but I definitely can confirm what Tom says.

Though ECOPRO mode does turn down heating power and other hidden functionalities, one can match ECOPRO range increase by driving efficiently in COMFORT mode.
That being said, driving this efficiently requires to stay really focused :shock:

I feel like a Padawan learning how to master his lightsaber

I've no experience with the i3 but three years with a Leaf agrees with the above. I have tried alternate weeks in Drive and Eco being careful to drive in the same manner. There was no measurable difference between the two. All the Eco mode does is encourage gentle accelerator use by remapping the control law. (It does though reduce available ancillary power such as heater).

Hi

Thanks for the replies, which seem to confirm what I suspected. However, there is one bit I don't get: I understand the logic of EcoPro+ disabling power users such as the heater/aircon for maximum range when needed but I don't understand the logic of limiting the power to such systems when in EcoPro, does it mean that if I set the auto system to 21C in cold weather it may only get to, say, 18C. If I wanted to do that I'd set it to 18C in the first place.


Roger

RJSATLBA said:

does it mean that if I set the auto system to 21C in cold weather it may only get to, say, 18C.

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That is correct.
In the MENU >SETTINGS >ECOPRO, you can choose to disable heater management when in ECOPRO mode. You can also set the speed limiter to a different value (default 110 km/h). While playing with the settings, you can see a sort of progression bar that shows how much additional efficiency ECOPRO is giving you compared to COMFORT mode.
When disabling heater management and set speed limiter to 130 km/h, the progression bar says that ECOPRO is still 50% more efficient than COMFORT. I don't know how this 50% should be interpreted. It is certainly not equivalent to 50% additional range. I suppose that it refers to general system efficiency of the car or something like that.
Any engineer out there?

agj said:

TomMoloughney said:

In fact, an efficient driver that is driving in comfort mode will certainly have a better range than an inefficient driver using Eco Pro mode.

Click to expand...

I haven't done all the testing in all driving conditions and in all temperature conditions but I definitely can confirm what Tom says.

Though ECOPRO mode does turn down heating power and other hidden functionalities, one can match ECOPRO range increase by driving efficiently in COMFORT mode.
That being said, driving this efficiently requires to stay really focused :shock:

I feel like a Padawan learning how to master his lightsaber

Click to expand...

IMHO it is almost impossible for mortal beings to limit their right foot pressure as well as the i3 does in EP mode! :mrgreen:

The test situation which convinced me that the i3 does it more sparingly, is to roll the in-dash computer (repeatedly press the knob at the end of the turn signal switch) to instantaneous current use. Then switch between C and EP mode and be surprised! The white revolving indicator in the middle of the steering wheel screen will show similar movement, but the amount of current used, not!

But, don't be fooled by the "enormous" amount of range gain displayed when switching from C to EP mode.
It'll only pan out if you accelerate moderately and anticipate well!