sport vs comfort mode - MPG
 

hi,

I prefer to drive in sport mode, but I don't want to fill up more than I have to so I drive in Comfort mode.

does anybody know the MPG difference between the two, if you essentially driving the same way/style?

thanks,

I heard that people are getting better mpg in sport. i havent tried this to verify it tho.

Many say that the MPG is identical (including MB), the point being it depends on how YOU drive. If you are always running the tach into the red, it hardly matters if the revs happen in C or in S: more fuel is consumed. And for the short time you are in 1st in S vs C which starts in 2nd, virtually no difference either. Its how YOU drive, not C or S, which determines your mileage.

I drive alot and tested this theory a while back and found that sport gave me better mileage.

Likewise. I guess seeing as the car shifts faster (unless you absolutely floor it until it redlines) it doesn't stay in the high revs as long as comfort might. Not 100% on this though of course.

I've noticed that when in "S" on my '10 it sometimes doesn't shift to 7th gear even when crusing along at a steady speed- I figured this was killing my MPG but who knows. I do prefer the feel much more in S

^^ yup thats true! S makes your car a 6-speed car for sportiness, the 7-th gear is only for MPG purposes and is used when your car is in C mode.

Where did find this info? My car def uses 7 is sport mode.

I get better gas mileage in S mode also in all of my MBs. There was a lot of discussion about this on the E forums. The reason is that in S mode the car doesn't apply as much engine break as in E mode. In plain English if you are in S mode the car will roll more freely then in C mode. Find a big hill and drive down in the two different modes you'll see what I mean.

thanks so much for all the answers, I know feel guiltless about leaving it in S mode - those were the responses I was looking for

so does S mode turn my car into a 6 speed?

thanks again

thing with s mode, its so easy to accelerate quickly so i do drive harder on s mode, therefore i experience lower fuel efficiency, i wonder if i will have same mpg if i try to accelerate as slow as in comfort mode

no it doesnt
it just shifts up at a higher rpm

If really that concerned about fuel costs why even buy a lux car in the first place - or just get the Lexus 400H / 450H or an economy car.

because I like German cars, and sadly they don't sell their high mileage diesels here.

bad mood this morning?

The best way to test this out would be to reset the mpg avg and drive it in sport for 2 tanks, record it, then reset it again and drive in in comfort for 2 tanks. Then you will have an answer. I suspect that under the same driving characteristics that the mpg will be the same. The only thing sport does is that you start out in first gear, where as comfort starts out in 2nd gear. Both shift all the way to the 7th gear. The sport probably gets a little less MPG because it will hold higher rpms longer (for a sportier drive before downshifting) and may also cause you to drive more aggressively, killing your mpg.

Yes, agree with jctevere. The bottom line is: IT DEPENDS 100% ON YOUR FOOT.

I do not notice it shifts in higher rpm in "S", under normal driving style.

Well, MBUSA has actually told me C saves a tiny bit of fuel.

That is why on the 10 models they started where the car keeps defaulting back to "C" when you restart it. Annoying to me. They said if you consider all the Mercedes out there, over time, it would be good for the environment by defaulting back to C.

Sounds like BS. The Merc dealer in Cuernavaca said C or S makes no difference in MPG. Maybe it would be true if every time you restart your car, it reverted to a C180K CDI. Now THAT would be good for the environment. (or updated to a BlueTec).

BS

I tend to agree that it depends on your specific driving conditions and style.

As for the car defaulting to C when you're a S preferred driver, man...that would be annoying.

You asked a dealer.

I asked the CEO of MBUSA who had another executive level person answer me.

Why do you think they defaulted to C on 2010 models? For fun? No, for the tiny bit of fuel savings.

They also told me the government fuel ratings are made in "C" Mode.


Despite all this, I drive in S, because C is silly (unless the weather is bad maybe).

I agree it sucks it defaults to C on the later models. Even SLKs do that now, it's really silly. The reason is the environment. :( I love the environment, but I think the difference between C and S must be tiny.

The difference is very tiny. For city driving comfort mode will offer some fuel savings as it doesn't downshift to 1st gear, and will shift at lower rpms, resulting in better fuel economy. However, on the highway sport or comfort mode are identical, use the same gear (7th) and the same rpms. But for some reason when using cruise control, I actually get better fuel economy in sport mode than I do in comfort. I have no idea why, maybe it is just a fluke because of temperature changes or brand of gas or just inaccuracies in the on-board mpg avg.

The bottom line is this, driving characteristics of having a lead foot, or a light foot on the gas and if you use cruise control and drive the highway or city more are the three biggest determinants of fuel economy. Any savings you experience from switching from comfort to sport or vice-versa are negligible at best (even if there are theoretical savings); and in most cases can be attributed to different circumstances such as those mentioned above (temperature, gas quality, octane, driving behaviors, etc).

Under normal driving Sport mode will give you better MG because from a stop there s less stress on the engine. The transmission starts in 2nd gear in Comfort.

I get better mpg in C since it's a more relaxed driving. When I switch to S, my foot becomes a lot heavier so a decrease in mpg. It's all in the head and foot

Did MBUSA explain in detail why C mode has better mpg? Everyone is saying different things :confused:

Hmmm well i have a 2011 c300 and they changed the modes i to e for economy and s for sport I drive in sport mode sometimes but I usually forget an just drive in e because it's the default as in the 2010 for comfort. I think that e actually takes more fuel because just to get on the free way or merging I have to put my foot 3/4 down and it doesn't shift down which wastes fuel. I'm wondering how to turn off this default setting? Anyone know...