Dashoto

For the last week I have been driving in E mode and I have to admit I'm really liking it. The transmission shifts up and down are noticeably smooth even compared to C mode. Yes, the gas peddle is dampened but for "old man" driving it's become my new favorite driving profile around town.

c4004matic

I normally drive in comfort but I don't mind ECO either. For run of the mill daily driving the 2 "saver" modes are more than plenty. On My C400 the start/stop has become smoother with the miles, most of the time its almost imperceptible. Most of the ECO mode benefits are in urban driving, on the highway it doesn't do much and it blunts transmission response too much with the seven speed transmission, however, with the 9 speed it might be a different story given the 2 additional cogs to choose from. I rarely use sport+ since it makes the ride too jarring and the engine response too abrupt, for racing only.

joshg1001

I like E mode too bc of the gliding feature. I have this freeway I drive on and there is like a mile down downhill where in my other cars, I would place the car in Neutral to glide down hill. However, I can't figure out when the E goes into Glide. Sometimes its really happy to do it, and on that downhill tonight, it didnt.

c4004matic

Unfortunately you cant predict gliding mode. The transmission decides depending on many parameters icluding internal temp, speed, grade and others. You can easily tell when it happens by simply looking at the revs, if the revs drop to idle (around 800) any time you are in motion you're in glide mode. Its a nifty trick to save gas even at highway speeds beyond the overdrive gears. I would guess the "right" conditions don't happen very often or for very long.

LILBENZ230

There is no point in this. Modern cars are able to coast in drive without using fuel. But if you put it in neutral, it uses fuel to idle the engine.

c4004matic

How can, I put this, simply?....Um.... no. Though many cars use cylinder deactivation, if the engine speed is above idle it uses more gas then all cylinders at idle. 3 cylinders at 2000 rpms use more gas than 6 at 800. Easy math, furthermore, its not only more efficient it allows much smoother engine operation. Its operation is completely transparent. When cylinders are deactivated complex active engine mounts and shaft counter balancing is required

Dashoto

I fully agree with you, engine response is abrupt and touchy. Not my cup of tea, but to each their own. I like my ride on the opposite end of that spectrum.

joshg1001

While what I do is becoming less effective with more overdrive gears, I believe that an engine at idle will use less fuel. Plus, its about the coasting feature. I can maintain or even gain speed down the freeway hill without needing to use more gas.

ua549

I don't ever put my car in neutral while underway because it is a safety issue.
Accident avoidance via quick acceleration out of a situation is a must capability. OTOH I disengage the cruise control in the situation you describe because my car will apply brakes to avoid exceeding the cruise setting.

c4004matic

I dot have my car yet, but after reading the literature I would guess the glide feature would work only on slopes that are not very steep and probably not on cruise control since the transmisson logic is to downshift on steep downhills and the cruise would not let you exceed a certain speed. Im looking forward to see how it all works.

joshg1001

^^ Ive been using ECO mode exclusively to try and track down when and when it will not glide. It will only glide above 35-40 mph, and it will only do so on flat roads. It will not do it on downward slope because the tranny likes to keep a gear lower to provide some engine braking.

Huskernks

I just wish my car would stay in Eco mode when I turn it off and back on. I understand why it doesn't for Sport(+).

jgs1564

My E300 has the P3 package with the second 12.3" display in place of the standard instrument cluster. When I select the "Dynamic" display screen (you can choose from three different instrument cluster layouts) and I'm driving in "E" mode, the right side of the screen actually displays "gliding mode" when the car is coasting. I really like this feature.

c4004matic

cool!

joshg1001

Yes, I keep my digital cluster in classic with eco gauge on the right, and it will show gliding mode, and the gear selector will turn into a green D with no gear number

Proeliator2001

Closing off fuel supply during throttle off operation is not in any way linked to cylinder deactivation. Nor can you say it's simple maths since rpm is also not proportional to fuel supply. It depends on load and other environmental factors and the injection system receives only the fuel needed and no more. It's not like old carb fueled engines where the more pedal was pushed the more fuel goes in whether it was useful or not. Coming off the throttle at above idle means little to no power is needed from the engine and the wheels keep it turning without the need for fuel (some fuel may be needed to lubricate engine). Get closer to idle and fuel supply is resumed. Different operation for different cars/engines but the principle is use kinetic energy via road wheels to drive engine rather than disconnect engine and force fuel supply to turn on to keep it turning over.

c4004matic

If you cut off the fuel supply to a cylinder.....you deactivated it! The glide function decouples the transmission from the engine thus the engine goes to its lowest load possible, idle speed. Again all things being equal a three cylinder engine at 2000 rpms used more fuel tha a 6 at 800. Glide mode should be thriftier than cylinder deactivation. However, the differece in overall efficiency will be predicated on how often and how long the method is used. If cylinder deactivation can be used twice as much as gliding it will will use less gas overall. It would be nice to see a technical paper on the subject.

Proeliator2001

It's not cylinder deactivation. That refers to selective deactivation of SOME cylinders not all of them. Here we're discussing globally cutting fuel which is not cylinder deactivation it's fuel supply deactivation if anything. No fancy balancing required.

so we're not talking about an engine cutting fuel to half its cylinders so 3 versus 6 cylinder operation is a moot point. The fact is, coasting can be less efficient than simply cutting fuel supply and leaving engine connected to road wheels. It's probably why glide mode so rarely kicks in. The computer decides when gradient and kinect energy are less efficient then decoupling engine and fueling it to a no-load idle speed.

c4004matic

No engine turns itself off while the car is in motion, that is the autostop feature. Were getting our fuel saving features mixed up. The glide only works if the car is on the move.

Dashoto

Here's a picture I took while driving in E mode and coasting. While cruising along a 45MPH flat road if I gently release my foot from the gas peddle, in this case to prepaid for a stopped intersection ahead, the tachometer drops to 7'ish hundred RPM and the digital gear indicator changes to D. The drivetrain engages again, obviously, but it's not very predictable as to when. But the car does this all pretty smooth. If I was not eyeing dash, one would probably not even notice.

Egonvdv

i just discovered the E mode and love it. Much smoother ride than C.
(Sport doesn't do it for me as the suspension gets too hard.)
On my commute i get 4.3l/100km, against 5l/100km with my previous w212 CDI220

c4004matic

I was a doubter but became a believer too.

dbtk

I like E mode, too. The throttle feels a little more sluggish and the power comes on after a slight delay but can't beat 35+ mpg on the freeway.

BlackjackM

Glad to hear that E works better in the........E! E mode in my W205 is awful, no throttle response whatsoever.

baadmon

I typically drive in E as well as it's more of a comfortable drive for me.