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      05-02-2012, 03:28 AM   #1
Kiwi
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Eco Pro drive is like driving a beached whale

After 3 weeks of driving my 116i I would have to say Eco Pro absolutely destroys the driving please of owning a BMW. For the little you save in petrol sport drive is the only one to use.
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      05-02-2012, 03:30 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Kiwi View Post
After 3 weeks of driving my 116i I would have to say Eco Pro absolutely destroys the driving please of owning a BMW. For the little you save in petrol sport drive is the only one to use.
I have a 116i on the way. are you happy with it in sport / sport+? What car did you own previously?
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      05-02-2012, 03:35 AM   #3
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I agree - I have the 118i and Comfort Mode does the trick for day to day commute but Sport is insane. Especially with the auto box, put Sport on and the auto box in "DS" mode.........now we talking.....
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      05-02-2012, 03:49 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by iBeech View Post
I have a 116i on the way. are you happy with it in sport / sport+? What car did you own previously?
Z4! you cannot compare the 116i with a Z4

I really happy with the 116i in sport mode
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      05-02-2012, 05:32 AM   #5
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cool! what MPG are you pulling?
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      05-02-2012, 06:00 AM   #6
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Haha, Eco Pro is for highway cruising only, I've found. I'd imagine it's quite lazy in the 116i - with my 118i, Comfort is perfect for daily driving.
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      05-02-2012, 07:36 AM   #7
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I use ECO PRO on my 116i every day commuting to work and Motorway journeys. I'm usually carrying passengers and driving for their comfort too.

If i take the back way home or i'm out for a spin on my own, i flick it into sport, but I'd say i'm in ECO 90% of the time and i'm still enjoying driving it.

There's a lot to be said for driving economically, reading the road ahead, avoiding coming to a complete stop etc. I have the journey computer reset automatically and try to keep the MPG averaging over 40. 46.3 is my record for my journey home

Horses for courses. ECO for the motorway/heavy traffic, Sport for the twisties on a friday night.

I never use comfort, I don't see the point. You might as well be in one or the other?
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      05-02-2012, 08:52 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by JonF1982 View Post
I never use comfort, I don't see the point. You might as well be in one or the other?
I think it depends on what your day-to-day driving consists of. I live 2km from my office with a drive through my suburb with 4 stop signs and a traffic light, so nothing above 60km/h. Comfort is perfect for this, Eco Pro is too lazy, especially on cold mornings.

Also, I reckon the 116/118 difference has quite an effect. Sport in the 118i turns it into a bit of an animal (Manteroo's words), it's a bit silly for general day-to-day driving.
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      05-02-2012, 10:52 AM   #9
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2k!? Lol, I’d walk, or cycle! Infinity miles per gallon

If you’re commuting to work in traffic, i don't get why you wouldn’t you use it? Your speed is dictated by the car in front no matter what you do. The result of eco is you’re maybe, what, 5 to 10 seconds behind where you otherwise would have been? Still behind the exact same car, stuck at the exact same traffic lights, just having paid less money for the privilege of being there.

ECO gives you the throttle response required to accelerate the car in the most economical way, so in traffic, say pulling away from the lights, if you’re putting your foot down the pedal and finding a lack of response, then actually you asked for more acceleration than you needed and the car didn’t let you have it, so you saved money. You call that lazy, I call it sensible and a feature I want on my car.

To me the point of ECO mode is to save fuel for when you do have the chance to put it in sport on a twisty B road and get the best out of it, rather than using up fuel unnecessarily, start-stopping all the way to work.
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      05-02-2012, 11:20 AM   #10
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Hi, I also find Eco mode fine most of the time. most of my driving is around the suburbs of North London.

Yes, Comfort mode is a bit more responsive to pull away, but it is just another way to drive, i got used to it - it helps when the dash board is telling me I can drive another 10 - 15 miles because of Eco Mode.

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      05-02-2012, 12:13 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonF1982 View Post
2k!? Lol, I’d walk, or cycle! Infinity miles per gallon

If you’re commuting to work in traffic, i don't get why you wouldn’t you use it? Your speed is dictated by the car in front no matter what you do. The result of eco is you’re maybe, what, 5 to 10 seconds behind where you otherwise would have been? Still behind the exact same car, stuck at the exact same traffic lights, just having paid less money for the privilege of being there.

ECO gives you the throttle response required to accelerate the car in the most economical way, so in traffic, say pulling away from the lights, if you’re putting your foot down the pedal and finding a lack of response, then actually you asked for more acceleration than you needed and the car didn’t let you have it, so you saved money. You call that lazy, I call it sensible and a feature I want on my car.

To me the point of ECO mode is to save fuel for when you do have the chance to put it in sport on a twisty B road and get the best out of it, rather than using up fuel unnecessarily, start-stopping all the way to work.
All very good and sensible points

I think it's more the fact that I find it a slight bit more effort to pull away in Eco Pro (requiring slightly higher revs), but I concede that it's very possible I'm imagining that...

Let me run Eco Pro for a couple of days on my daily 2k drive, and report back.

(BTW, I only drive because I often need to get to meetings around town during the day, otherwise it would be perfect to walk).
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      05-02-2012, 02:21 PM   #12
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Yes know what you mean about setting off in ECO, i stalled the first time i used it! lol. Just takes getting used to, but its worth it IMO.
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      05-02-2012, 05:31 PM   #13
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No escaping the stunted performance in eco mode, made more stark when in any other mode. Having said that I appreciate it has it's place and commonsensical on certain types of journey/traffic. The Comfort mode is the default for a reason - best overall balance.
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      05-03-2012, 05:06 AM   #14
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I agree with many of the comments already made. ECO Pro has its merits (used it on a recent motorway journey of 200 miles and gained 20 miles but too slow for me when pulling away at such obstacles as roundabouts) but for day to day urban driving I find Comfort mode more acceptable. Sport mode however is fab; the steering feels better and the M Sport then performs how it looks it should.

Last edited by skippy88; 05-03-2012 at 05:14 AM..
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      05-04-2012, 09:22 PM   #15
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I find the eco-pro is comfortable to drive in (longer journeys here in Aus) but the air-con is not strong enough. It's simply too hot here for the eco-pro to keep it at a comfortable temperature. That said when I'm in a lazy mood and have no where to be in a rush, it's great.
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      05-05-2012, 03:38 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FirstBMW@24
I find the eco-pro is comfortable to drive in (longer journeys here in Aus) but the air-con is not strong enough. It's simply too hot here for the eco-pro to keep it at a comfortable temperature. That said when I'm in a lazy mood and have no where to be in a rush, it's great.
This is why there is a configure Eco pro button- i believe you can adjust the settings to make air con get more power- let us know If it works
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      05-08-2012, 04:26 AM   #17
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absolutely you are right, eco pro could drive around 30km more per full tank, more or less save 6% of the oil, but under this mode, you can easily fall asleep, and your bmw is only an 1.0L japanese cube car. if you really love fun,better to use M/S for 8AT, or sport for 6MT
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      05-08-2012, 04:42 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickdpp View Post
eco pro could drive around 30km more per full tank
I've had 66 miles more out of a full tank using ECO.
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      05-08-2012, 04:43 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonF1982
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickdpp View Post
eco pro could drive around 30km more per full tank
I've had 66 miles more out of a full tank using ECO.
That's amazing- looking forward to saving fuel
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      05-08-2012, 04:48 AM   #20
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Quote:
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That's amazing- looking forward to saving fuel
Well that's what the blue numbers on the dash said, i guess its hard to know what that's bench marked against.

That was also nearly all motorway miles.

Typically i'd get about half that from normal driving.
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      05-08-2012, 07:22 AM   #21
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Don't you guys just see Eco-Pro as a reminder of what it means to drive economically?

There is nothing new in how we use performance and the mpg effect. Personally I think it is a good idea to get folks to realise how much fuel they waste, by just being right foot happy.

After all, Eco-Pro is more a mode that encourages driving like the official testing regime. Shows up what economy we can get, with a bit of restraint. Even BMW drivers.

I've driven the F30 328i, tried Eco-Pro and to be honest my right foot drives according to conditions anyway, so I have an Eco-Pro right foot already, (without it being blunted by an odd feeling lazy pedal), and a sports foot when conditions need/benefit from a bit more response.

But I suppose if we, as drivers, can't modulate the throttle ourselves without any sensitivity to conditions, a switch can help us.

Dulling throttle response does help many drivers to get better mpg. That has to be a good thing, because a lot of the extra fuel they'd normally use is wasted fuel anyway.

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      05-08-2012, 09:05 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
Don't you guys just see Eco-Pro as a reminder of what it means to drive economically?

There is nothing new in how we use performance and the mpg effect. Personally I think it is a good idea to get folks to realise how much fuel they waste, by just being right foot happy.

After all, Eco-Pro is more a mode that encourages driving like the official testing regime. Shows up what economy we can get, with a bit of restraint. Even BMW drivers.
There's more to ECO PRO than just altering throttle response, it also alters gear box parameters, as well as making more economical use of onboard equipment such as air conditioning.

Using it on the motorway with cruise crontrol delivers a large amount of bonus blue miles, so there has to be more to it that just savings from the right foot, given once you are at cruising speed the throttle input is more or less the same (aside from the odd hill).
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