What's your drive mode of choice?

[Littlefield82]

I live in a residential neighborhood in a suburb of Raleigh, work from home and most of my trips are 5 miles or less during the week. Most of the time I'm in Eco and take it easy trying to get the best MPG I can. The entrance to my neighborhood is downhill towards my house so the PB kicks into electric and I can easily drive around the neighborhood without the ICE kicking on. Because I'm usually in moderate traffic I can't really use the trucks power so I just slow roll it everywhere. I haven't owned the truck long enough to determine if there are any real benefits to driving in Eco vs Normal. I have used Sport a few times to try out 0-60 runs but don't see myself using it much. I have done some gravel driving but left it in Regular with traction off so I could have some fun but that's about it.

I should add that I have no idea if Eco mode is doing anything to help MPG's as I haven't tested Eco vs Normal in similar conditions....and probably never will.

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[speedracercjr]

Normal for any daily drives, Eco for anything longer than 30 minutes seems to be what I stick with. Honestly I can't really tell if I'm saving gas on Eco mode, but it makes the shifting alot smoother in my opinion.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Eco mode, at least for the next 3 months while I have this stupid tracker app on my phone for insurance purposes. Even in Eco I'm still scoring a "needs improvement" on my acceleration and high speed scores.

After I can delete the app, I'm going to work Sport mode into the rotation.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I played with modes for the first couple of days. Now it's just normal.

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

On my current car, I use normal day to day because northern Virginia requires occasional quick response lol. I use eco on longer trips. I presume it’ll be the same once I get my truck

 

[imnuts]

Normal for day to day, Eco for highway travel, Sport when I want to have fun. Others may be used when the weather changes this winter.

 

[fmdog44]

I go to Sport Mode when the cops are not around and my Michelins feel like screaming. Love it.

 

[Pioneer74]

Normal. I tried Eco. On the same route, the MPG was better with normal.

 

[Vulnox]

I am in normal 99% of the time, only exception will be in winter, the slippery/snow mode I feel is a big help when we get icy/snow covered roads, and it pairs amazingly well with 4 Auto. At least it did in my 2019. My 2019 in 4 Auto with Snow/Slippery mode was such an improvement over my 2017 in 4 High (no drive modes at the time). I expect the 2021 to be as good if not better still.

Otherwise drive modes don't do much for me. Sport isn't necessary and Eco is nice but I just wasn't seeing an obvious difference in my definitely limited testing. I have tried them all except rock crawl since that wants to engage the locker and 4 Low, but one day I suspect I will have reason to try that out off-road.

 

[Snakebitten]

Just FYI for folks with their first 3.5 Ecoboost (Powerboost).... The longterm health of the motor WILL be affected by it never getting to open its wastegates full-travel. Or put another way, it's a really good idea, especially for trucks that mostly experience short trips, to take the truck for a long enough ride to get the oil up to full temp. And then find a safe place to go full boost.
It's also a good idea to shorten your oil change interval if your truck doesn't get opportunities to run at the designed oil temps because it will be contaminated at an increased rate. If you go through the effort to get oil analysis reports I believe this will be confirmed.

The guys who tow with their Ecoboost are actually accomplishing all this without trying. These motors love to be worked. There are reasons they actually prosper from it.

 

[RandyNC]

I mostly use Normal because it is the default it seems. Tried Eco a few times and Sport for fun as others have stated. My truck does not remember the last setting and always reverts to Normal between drives. Maybe I can change that but haven't had it long enough to figure it out.

 

[saluki1969]

With 2400 miles on my Powerboost I am averaging 24.4 mpg using the normal mode. Am planning a couple hundred mile trip this weekend and may try eco mode for the excursion. Almost all miles to date have been back and forth to work and occasional trip to grocery store or doctor appointments. These trips are usually about 12 miles one way. Only exception was a 250 mile trip several weeks after picking up the truck in July. With fuel cost rising from $2.08 a gallon in late 2020 to the current $3.49 now, any savings is appreciated. And it is forecast to get worse.

 

[Notallthosewhowanderarelo]

I am usually in Eco mode. I wish you could change the default mode when you start the truck.

All you get is a few minutes timer that asks if you want to go back into the last mode.

 

[ATLalien]

"Normal" 90% of the time. A little sport mode here and there for fun. Tow/Haul mode I use only steep grades while towing. I've found that driving carefully, I can almost match mileage from Eco mode in Normal and still have all power available if needed.

 

[Pete6114]

Normal. Never even tried anything else besides Tow Mode. No need for ECO with cylinder deactivation. To much crap build into vehicles now...

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