mpg for Eco cruise vs non-Eco cruise?

[mwr]

Does anyone a good comparison of mpg using Eco cruise vs non-Eco cruise for highway driving?

[DeeCee]

Sorry I can't help here. Mine has been in ECO Cruise ever since I got it nearly two years ago. Just got used to the gradual acceleration mode and just enjoy the ride as always. Lifetime mpg is just over 47 mpg using the ECO Cruise full time.

[Griswald]

I don't think mileage is any different when rolling along at 65, cruise is cruise. I think ECO only accelerates up to cruising speed gentler. There may be a few more algorithims in the software to help, but I doubt that the user ever feel them. Heck, I can barely tell the difference between ECO and regular cruise when accelerating!

[SteveB_TX]

All ECO cruise does is provide a less aggressive recovery from vehicle speed changes when using ACC. Your MPG may or may not improve, depending on your set speed. For instance, if you are traveling at 40 MPH in EV mode and come upon a slower vehicle, the ACC will slow down your vehicle. As you pass the turtle, ECO cruise will begin a "ECO Friendly" (slow and steady) acceleration back to 40 MPH. Now, if your HVB has enough juice, you may stay in EV mode during this acceleration. If you were not using ECO mode, the vehicle would more aggressively accelerate back to 40, more than likely using the ICE. In this scenario, your MPG would suffer without ECO cruise. Now, if you were cruising at say, 70 MPH, the results may be different. It all depends on vehicle speed prior to deceleration (to avoid the vehicle in front of you), HVB charge level, road conditions, etc.

 

With all that said, I seldom use ECO cruise since it can take too long to recover, and the idiots around here don't like it when you are not going fast enough for their tastes! :)

[md13ffhguy]

FYI, Fusions that are not equipped with ACC also have the ECO cruise feature. However, I have both features in my car, too. I think the combo is very effective in boosting efficiency.

[jeff_h]

With all that said, I seldom use ECO cruise since it can take too long to recover, and the idiots around here don't like it when you are not going fast enough for their tastes! :)

 

Well put - I have Eco cruise 'on' and let's say I have adaptive cruise set at 65, and it slows down to 58 to track against the slower in car in front of me. Finally there's an open spot in the left lane so I pull to the left to get around the slower car, and because Eco cruise is on it tends to take its sweet time (by design to save fuel) to increase speed to get around the slower car. This is the place where Eco 'on' is not beneficial, so it's where I now override with gas pedal to tell it to get going.

 

This is only a guess (others may have slightly other opinion) but I would say Eco 'on' saves about 1mpg, 2mpg tops -- but again that's just a WAG based on observing the ICE behavior of when I've had it enabled or not.

[acdii]

It also adjusts for hills, more gradual deceleration going down as well as gradual power going up. With it off it will maintain the speed limit regardless of the grade, and decelerate harder going down. ACC and Eco cruise are two different things though, one adjust speed based on objects in front while the other controls speed changes more efficiently and does not need ACC to function.

[mwr]

It also adjusts for hills, more gradual deceleration going down as well as gradual power going up. With it off it will maintain the speed limit regardless of the grade, and decelerate harder going down. ACC and Eco cruise are two different things though, one adjust speed based on objects in front while the other controls speed changes more efficiently and does not need ACC to function.

I don't have ACC. We do have lots of hills here, including on freeways. I can of course try Eco and see if I like it, but if it won't hold a nearly constant speed up hills (slows down first) then I'm pretty sure I won't like it and won't use it. But I don't do a lot of repetitive freeway driving, so I won't have a way to compare mpg between Eco and non-Eco which was why I asked here.

[Waldo]

I think the difference between ECO and non-ECO would be so small that you could never measure it. In other words, the variable conditions of driving would have more effect than the ECO mode.

[md13ffhguy]

I think the difference between ECO and non-ECO would be so small that you could never measure it. In other words, the variable conditions of driving would have more effect than the ECO mode.

In a very controlled test over a significant distance, I hope you're wrong. Practically speaking, in real world conditions, you're probably right. It would definitely be dependent on many factors, including how and when the driver engages the feature, elevation changes, traffic conditions, and whether or not it's used in conjunction with ACC, among many others.

[acdii]

In terms of MPG, probably 3-4, in terms of percentage though, too small to be a factor. If I drive like the Eco cruise, and drive like the regular, I can see a difference of 3-4 MPG. 41-45. I normally drive like Eco cruise, but occasionally I drive like a normal car, so that could be used like a baseline for the two settings. It all depends on driving conditions, traffic, etc. For the most part on the Interstate, like Waldo said, immeasurable, but Rural highways, like what I drive on all the time, back country roads with hills, then you will see a difference between the two. Eco-cruise is designed around the Hypermiler premise of acceleration and coasting, where normal cruise is based on one fixed speed and keeping it there, whether going up hill or down.

[Texasota]

This is an interesting discussion, but the "Audio, MyFord, Navigation & SYNC" forum seems like an odd home for it.

[dalesky]

All ECO cruise does is provide a less aggressive recovery from vehicle speed changes when using ACC. Your MPG may or may not improve, depending on your set speed. For instance, if you are traveling at 40 MPH in EV mode and come upon a slower vehicle, the ACC will slow down your vehicle. As you pass the turtle, ECO cruise will begin a "ECO Friendly" (slow and steady) acceleration back to 40 MPH. Now, if your HVB has enough juice, you may stay in EV mode during this acceleration. If you were not using ECO mode, the vehicle would more aggressively accelerate back to 40, more than likely using the ICE. In this scenario, your MPG would suffer without ECO cruise. Now, if you were cruising at say, 70 MPH, the results may be different. It all depends on vehicle speed prior to deceleration (to avoid the vehicle in front of you), HVB charge level, road conditions, etc.

 

With all that said, I seldom use ECO cruise since it can take too long to recover, and the idiots around here don't like it when you are not going fast enough for their tastes! :)

And, just guessing here, but some of the idiots have gun racks in their trucks! In my area they just carry pistols in their vehicles.

[acdii]

This is an interesting discussion, but the "Audio, MyFord, Navigation & SYNC" forum seems like an odd home for it.

 

Yeah, trying to decide where to put it though. LOL doesnt fit into any one category.

 

And, just guessing here, but some of the idiots have gun racks in their trucks! In my area they just carry pistols in their vehicles.

Well the Bubba's around here dont have gun racks, but they do have the good ol boy pickups.

[md13ffhguy]

In terms of MPG, probably 3-4, in terms of percentage though, too small to be a factor.

I'm confused... wouldn't an improvement of 3-4 MPG be something like 7 to 9.5 percent based on new EPA rating of 42 MPGs? That would seem fairly significant to me! ;)

[acdii]

I'm confused... wouldn't an improvement of 3-4 MPG be something like 7 to 9.5 percent based on new EPA rating of 42 MPGs? That would seem fairly significant to me! ;)

All depends on just what your car actually gets. On the interstate at 70 MPH if you get 38 you are doing good, but on the back roads, it can improve it from the 42 to the old EPA of 47. There are a lot of factors though that determine just how much a difference it can make, and my figures are based on my daily driving.

[md13ffhguy]

No, just questioning your logic/choice of language... 3-4 MPGs should be significant in anyone's book, yet you suggested that the percentage would be insignificant... kind of confusing! Seemed like you were arguing both ways.

[acdii]

When you get above 40 MPG 3-4 MPG is not very much improvement, percentage wise as you pointed out is small. Now when you get 20 MPG, a 3-4 MPG gain is HUGE. It's all in perspective. @ 20 MPG, gaining 4 MPG means saving in gallons of fuel vs ounces @ 40 MPG.

 

The variance on my car day to day is 3-6 MPG. If it were like that on my MKT, it would be disastrous. In the FFH its a difference of say using .7 gallons and .9 gallons. I rarely ever use a gallon of gas to get to work or home unless traffic was really bad or it was REALLY cold.

[nv rick]

I don't have ACC. We do have lots of hills here, including on freeways. I can of course try Eco and see if I like it, but if it won't hold a nearly constant speed up hills (slows down first) then I'm pretty sure I won't like it and won't use it. But I don't do a lot of repetitive freeway driving, so I won't have a way to compare mpg between Eco and non-Eco which was why I asked here.

I don't think you would really have a problem using ECO. Traveling between home (Pahrump) and Las Vegas, we have to climb Spring Mountain pass. With ACC and ECO both active, there is no loss of speed (65mph) while climbing over 2,000 feet of elevation. Even if I have to slow if I come up to a slower vehicle, I just give an extra shot of acceleration and the car then maintains 65mph. The trip coming home has a much steeper grade. I don't believe the brief use of the accelerator affects overall mpg that much.

So the bottom line is that once you are at the set speed, you should not slow down.

To address fuel efficiency, Going to/from LV, I generally average around 38-42mpg.

In the Pahrump valley, going to/from the town, I generally get around 48-56mpg. Pahrump is at a slightly lower elevation than our house, so the mpg is higher going to than coming from.

Most of our mileage, other than trips to northern CA or down to AZ, has been between home and LV, so the lifetime average is 38.2mpg. (Just went up from 38.1 two days ago.)

Edited November 14, 2014 by nv rick