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rfortson

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2016
Messages
253
I have a short commute and can generally drive back and forth (and to lunch) on battery alone. This means I get tanks of 100mpg or more.

However, lately I've been finding "reasons" to go into sport mode. I tell myself it's to save the battery, or to use the heavy regeneration, but I really know better. I just like the quickness in and around the traffic.
 
Yes, Sport mode is very tempting!

To be properly green, you should aim to arrive at your next charging opportunity either having used no ICE on the trip or with zero miles left in the battery.

I try to control myself and only use Sport mode when I know I need more than a full charge for my trip. Sometimes you do need the full 200bhp though!
 
I have avoided sport mode so far, other than a brief test to verify it worked. But my trips for this car are mostly urban (EV) or family road trips on secondary highways (speeds of 60-65), where sport isn't all that applicable. Besides, sport driving is what my other car is for...
 
I drive in sport mode all the time! Really though, if I know I can make the trip in EV only I'll do so as it is my preferred driving mode. However, when I know I'll be kicking on the ICE for one reason or another I just put it into Sport mode. Why, you might ask?

Well, 'hybrid' mode still kills the battery pretty quickly and is OK in some circumstances. It lacks regenerative braking, instead opting for "coast" mode when you take your foot off the accelerator. Sure, I can push the shifter over to 'manual' or tap the downshift button on the wheel to get some regen, but it's not much. Plus, after downshifting you either need to 1. stop, or 2. upshift until the car goes back into automatic mode. So for me it's not a good experience. Where I live hybrid mode doesn't make sense to use for me.

'Hold' mode is also just OK. I dislike the coast and regen options just as I did with hybrid, but you of course lose the benefit of using the battery. I'm only ever in 'hold' mode when the battery is completely flat, or if I'm on the highway and not using charge mode. I should say it's the default mode I use when driving on the highway since it is the most fuel efficient for long drives.

'Charge' mode is also something I only use when driving long distances where I know I'll want to have a full battery (city center for example), but won't have the opportunity to charge from the grid. Even here regen when coasting is poor.

Sport mode is in effect 'hold' mode, but with a healthy boost from the battery. So we get decent acceleration in essentially all conditions, from pulling away from a stoplight to passing in traffic. There's a nice fat range of torque available, and while it's not as fast as an S4, it feels closer to a GTI than a Prius. The off pedal regen is better than any other mode, and I find will keep the battery charged even better than standard hold mode - all while getting me better mileage along the way. The engine still shuts off when coasting, stopped, or when only using very small throttle inputs. If I want to slow down a little bit, instead of needing to touch the brakes, I can just lift off the throttle a little. When driving on a highway through the city where speeds go from 60mph - 0mph back to 60mph frequently, this is a great way to start/stop again with minimal brake usage.

Anyway, it of course depends on where you live and the roads you drive on, so if you're mostly on the highway or mostly crawling around the city it's not very useful. But if you find yourself in-between I think you should give it a shot, you might be surprised.
 
arne":e0nvcrjt said:
I have avoided sport mode so far, other than a brief test to verify it worked. But my trips for this car are mostly urban (EV) or family road trips on secondary highways (speeds of 60-65), where sport isn't all that applicable. Besides, sport driving is what my other car is for...
Click to expand...

:lol:

Yeah, but some of us spend our money elsewhere. :)
 
rfortson":2t9gjb1h said:
Yeah, but some of us spend our money elsewhere. :)
Click to expand...
Hmmm. I'm not sure how to take this comment, especially given that the total I have invested in my 32 year old Porsche (purchase, renovation and upgrades) is significantly less than what I paid for the e-tron. :roll:
 
arne":2io78nyd said:
rfortson":2io78nyd said:
Yeah, but some of us spend our money elsewhere. :)
Click to expand...
Hmmm. I'm not sure how to take this comment, especially given that the total I have invested in my 32 year old Porsche (purchase, renovation and upgrades) is significantly less than what I paid for the e-tron. :roll:
Click to expand...


Daaang! Very nice! I'll take it you're a "car guy" and do most of your work, too? That's not me, though I'd love to have an older sports car (and the associated cash to pay someone to maintain it). Retirement and kid through college are starting to appear on the (distant) horizon, so maybe that could be in my future.

Do you run your car at the track, or just for spirited drives? (Oh, and I meant no disrespect in my original comment, just that I fritter my money away on other things. Not saying you're frittering...)
 
Yes, "car guy" is a pretty good description. I don't do body & paint, but I'll tackle most anything else, including engine and transmission rebuilds. Renovation and restoration of older cars (back when they were simple enough to understand) is recreational for me.

I don't do much track time, the Porsche is a weekend tourer, with an occasional week long trip thrown in.

Yes, by that definition, I do plenty of frittering here.

DSC_00971396229756.jpg
 
I'm in the same boat. VW bought back my Sportwagen TDI on December 2, which allowed the purchase of the A3 e-tron (along with fed and state rebates).

My other car is a 1995 Carrera 4. Last generation of air-cooled Porsches. 120k happy miles and counting.

If somebody will tell me how to attach an image, I'll do it.
 
RandyG":33cz56t4 said:
I drive in sport mode all the time! Really though, if I know I can make the trip in EV only I'll do so as it is my preferred driving mode. However, when I know I'll be kicking on the ICE for one reason or another I just put it into Sport mode. Why, you might ask?

Well, 'hybrid' mode still kills the battery pretty quickly and is OK in some circumstances. It lacks regenerative braking, instead opting for "coast" mode when you take your foot off the accelerator. Sure, I can push the shifter over to 'manual' or tap the downshift button on the wheel to get some regen, but it's not much. Plus, after downshifting you either need to 1. stop, or 2. upshift until the car goes back into automatic mode. So for me it's not a good experience. Where I live hybrid mode doesn't make sense to use for me.

'Hold' mode is also just OK. I dislike the coast and regen options just as I did with hybrid, but you of course lose the benefit of using the battery. I'm only ever in 'hold' mode when the battery is completely flat, or if I'm on the highway and not using charge mode. I should say it's the default mode I use when driving on the highway since it is the most fuel efficient for long drives.

'Charge' mode is also something I only use when driving long distances where I know I'll want to have a full battery (city center for example), but won't have the opportunity to charge from the grid. Even here regen when coasting is poor.

Sport mode is in effect 'hold' mode, but with a healthy boost from the battery. So we get decent acceleration in essentially all conditions, from pulling away from a stoplight to passing in traffic. There's a nice fat range of torque available, and while it's not as fast as an S4, it feels closer to a GTI than a Prius. The off pedal regen is better than any other mode, and I find will keep the battery charged even better than standard hold mode - all while getting me better mileage along the way. The engine still shuts off when coasting, stopped, or when only using very small throttle inputs. If I want to slow down a little bit, instead of needing to touch the brakes, I can just lift off the throttle a little. When driving on a highway through the city where speeds go from 60mph - 0mph back to 60mph frequently, this is a great way to start/stop again with minimal brake usage.

Anyway, it of course depends on where you live and the roads you drive on, so if you're mostly on the highway or mostly crawling around the city it's not very useful. But if you find yourself in-between I think you should give it a shot, you might be surprised.
Click to expand...

I concur, Sport mode is rather amazing! :D

I find that I trust Sport mode more than the brake pedal to keep decelerating to the motor versus using the brakes, and find that I can do a lot of 'one-pedal' driving. I will drop back to Drive when I want the ease of being able to remove my foot from the accelerator pedal to coast (instead of engaging regeneration).
 

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