How Often Do You Change Drive Modes in Your Car?

Almost every modern car has multiple drive modes. Specialized cars get granular; a Toyota 4Runner has multiple off-road traction modes, while a super sports car like a McLaren has specific engine and handling modes. Even your daily driver probably has an “eco” and “sport” button. My question is—are you guys using them?

In my current fleet of nine vehicles, counting ranch rigs, only one has drive modes—my 2017 BMW 330 wagon. It starts in Comfort by default, then can be toggled to EcoPro, Sport, or Sport+ with a rocker switch on the center console.

I don’t use them all on every single drive, but I do use them quite often.

For example, if I’m driving from my place in the Hudson Valley to my in-laws’ in the Adirondacks, I’ll leave it in Comfort on secondary roads, drop it into EcoPro for the highway haul up north, and then run it in Sport when we get to the twisty roads up in the hills.

It’s not like the car’s entire personality changes; the ECU is simply slightly altering the way it reacts to inputs. But I genuinely appreciate being able to optimize the vehicle’s responsiveness for conditions like the scenario I just outlined. On the highway, I like being able to coast at low rpm to save fuel. In the mountains, the higher shift points and more aggressive throttle are beneficial.

I love BMW’s EcoPro setting from the 2010s era. It drops engine revs to idle speed whenever you’re coasting, but without taking the car out of drive. As a result, you can glide down hills at 70 mph and like 750 rpm, spiking your mpgs and dropping your water temp nicely.

I never bother with Sport+, which, on my car, just relaxes stability control a little bit in addition to sharpening throttle response and setting more aggressive shift points (I don’t have adjustable suspension or anything). I almost always have my dog, wife, and some cargo in the hold when I’m driving my wagon, so extra wheelspin is … let’s say “unpopular.”

How about you? Do you make use of your car’s drive modes? And if so, where and when?

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