On Thursday I took a deep breath and decided to drive the MINI on ECO mode all the way to work. My commute is about 12 miles of mixed surface street and highway.

My MINI S has the JCW tuning kit and I usually drive it in sport mode with the exhaust opened up. WOW! Was I ever in for a shock!

The MINI in ECO mode is absolutely ZERO fun to drive. It is doggedly slow, no pickup, and no thrills. I kind of expected a good trade off in my gas mileage. When I got to work, the computer said I gained a whole 0.8 mpg.

For me, ECO mode is so not worth the trade off. Sport mode with the exhaust open for me! I'll pay the extra $2 at fill up for waaaaay more fun driving.

 

yah, if you want eco buy a prius ;-)

 

The only time mine sees eco-mode is on the interstate, on cruise control, and not often even there.

 

If you drove it like you usually do then you won't see much of an improvement in mileage. A bit part of "eco mode" is modifying your driving style to make the fish happy.

As Kermit says, it ain't easy being green.

 

Exactly. Use mine when I do a 100 mile mix interstate/4 lane commute w/ cruise. Making the round tip (200 mile) once a week I do see my average MPG slowly increase.

Perf is pretty doggy from stoplights, but if you have to put your foot into it, it does accelerate reasonably well even in eco (but you have to really use the gas to get it to move).

I too run sport/ exhaust flap open and my automatic lever in M/S position. Tally-ho!.

 

What I notice is it really gears up in the non-sport mode (I don't have Eco thank God). My car is in 5th gear at like 42 MPH vs Sport it's in 4th. My friends' F56 is in 5th even in Sport at 40 MPH. I still get over 34 MPG on the highway though even with a JCW car.

 

Yeah, I tried driving to work in Eco mode once. I think that stupid fish was mocking me. I arrived to work crankier than normal.

 

Just wait for the 8 speed! Eco mode will be even slower. My last BMW 528i with the 8 speed would be a good 2 gears higher in Eco mode. Very slow in Eco mode. Only time I used it was driving between Austin and San Antonio.

 

I actually like the Eco mode for driving to work. When in traffic having everything responds slower makes it smoother, the gas pedal isn't as sensitive and my mileage is in the mid/high 30's (S with JCW tuning kit &paddle shifters)


Of course as soon as I arrive near home and exit the freeway it goes into Sport /manual and the exhaust is opened Everything I gained with 20 miles in Green goes out the window in the last 5 miles home in Sport lol

 

all it really does is adjust the throttle response so that even @ 50% pedal, you're only giving it about 10% throttle. when you go beyond 75% pedal, the throttle responses adjust more aggressively as it realizes that you need to go faster and at 100% pedal, it's 100% throttle.

 

That sig of the happy fish. lol

I tried to keep the fish happy, but it was a struggle.

 

My 7 year old daughter loves the fish! She explicitly asks for me to show the fish so she can watch it from the back seat

Today I filled up before going to work, and drove conservatively for a change, although not in Green mode:

 

What is this fish you speak of? I always have my screen on the Nav, what do I have to put it on to see the fish?

 

I had a loaner with the eco option and can completely feel the pain! It's like you're always waiting for the turbo to finish spooling up... just terrible

 

Two to 5 times a week I make a 25 mile (each way) trip to see a friend. About 18 of the miles are on hwy and the rest stop and go city driving. If I cold start and go in sport mode (max fun for sure) I'll average on the computer about 24 mpg. But if I start and switch to ECO mode and don't horse it (hard to not do LOL), I'll get right at or just tenth's under 40 mpg. It goes just as fast (tho not as quickly) and looks just the same and I arrive with more gas in the tank.

It's a 'MiNi' and as my late wife would have quipped, "there's room for my *** and a gallon of gas" .

 

so over how much distance was that .8 gain?

 

Most of our driving is Urban. ECO mode is fine unless you have the need to race from stop light to stop light

 

Ever consider a power module? Tried both NM and Dinantronic Sport. The additional boost/power should be better, even on Eco. The mileage lost is probably a lot to do with hard acceleration and amount of gas being used accordingly. Also gas quality, I can get a few more miles per gallon when I load up on race fuel (and not driving super aggressive)

With both module, the feeling of driving on Sport (even when in Normal) and feeling like driving in normal (even when in Eco mode) can get you the gains you are looking for. It all comes down to how hard you accelerate and the ability to coast, and not need to accelerate that would ultimately get you the extra mileage.

Enjoy the car! What ever makes you happy and willingness to pay for gas is all up to you.

 

I was able to hit my target of 500 total miles per tank* (this pic was at 475.5). It was all interstate on Eco mode and cruise control, going 70. Definitely wasn't as fun, but saved a lot of gas. Soon after I went pedal to the metal and lost it all. Lol

 

When I first got my MINI, I was a hard-core ECO mode guy. I loved the fact that the MINI can coast, and I enjoyed the "game" of it. Now that I'm two+ years into owning my car, I've found I don't really save all that much more gas when driving in ECO than Mid.

It's all about the nuances of driving, so my current system is to drive in Mid Mode 90% of the time, but when I get on the highway, put it into green. On the highway, I don't notice the lag, and there's rarely a need to have any quick accelerations or the like. I've found that my mileage is slightly better than pure MID all the time and the car is a lot more fun to drive around town.

I still like the fish.

 

Fish?

 

 

I can't even bear driving MID mode.

 

I wish I had a fish.