On my ‘17 Accord V6 auto it makes a HUGE difference in town, but not at all on the highway. Perhaps the larger engine, heavier chassis, and driving in town have to do with the increase, but it’s often 3-4 MPG better in ECO in town than off. On the highway, unless there is a lot of traffic or driving up in the mountains, they’re about the same. Of course it’s sluggish as hell and completely unresponsive, so it’s come to where I’d rather fill up a tad early than deal with a relatively fun, peppy car detuned in name of economy only.

I find eco mode is great for slippery or snow driving conditions. Gives you less power at once, so it helps reduce wheel spin.

The way i interact eco button, its slow down throttle control. So i will have to push hardee to cross tye speed limit in my city. Its a life saver for me. it saves me a lot time from getting ticket for overspeeding in late night. Trust me i dont care about mpg, compared to normal mode or eco mode.

In Economy Mode, you'd have to keep your accelerator pedal a quarter of the way down to full throttle longer just to keep up with traffic when especially moving off from a traffic light junction. And to overtake a car in front, you'd have to apply even more foot pressure to pick up speed. I don't see how this Economy Mode feature can effectively save fuel, unless you're driving with zero traffic around you - such as a desert road. I would engage Economy Mode in my Honda when Im already cruising along on a highway, and I'll turn it off when coming to a stop at a junction to prevent the Start Stop function which in my opinion isn't good - coolant and engine oil stops circulating, and that's BAD for a turbo charged engine.

When I press my Econ button my breaking and accelerating has more resistance to it. I feel like the car runs a little bit funky when it’s on, but I have noticed it gets slightly better gas mileage. Also like you mentioned, the AC gets a bit more reserved and less powerful.

I was hoping you would address the VCM feature.

Agreed with you Eco mode no much effect on fuel saving in fact makes the car sluggish

I'd say that Eco mode is good for beginner drivers. More time to notice danger due to the sluggishness and it's harder to sleep up above the limit.

Of course you can't affect mpg with the ECO button. There isn't one. The ECON button, however, changes response and shift points. If you drive the same way - that is, the same pressure on the accelerator - you will save some mpg. You will also accelerate more slowly. If you compensate by pressing harder on the accelerator, you can lose a little due to more uneven acceleration. I use ECON in my '18 Accord Hybrid because Adaptive Cruise Control doesn't change speeds as quickly. That is, it allows a wider range of speed differences. The a/c does the same thing - it runs less because it lets the temperature vary a bit more before bringing it back.

I feel the same with accord 2015

On more thought, you were getting lower fuel economy perhaps because you expect a certain sound from the engine that is comfortable to you and you had to press the pedal harder and often overshot the speed limit and had to slow down and speed up again. Just spitting ideas :)

I own a 2018 Civic Hatchback LX and I have seen this same trend between ECON mode and normal mode. My testing involved comparing the two modes between different fill-ups that were run on that particular mode the entire time. My driving involves majority highway and maybe 25% city (max). My guess is that from feeling how the car accelerates between the two different modes, it's just too sluggish on the little 1.5L motor and somehow ends up being worse? Less efficient use of the turbocharger by the more sluggish acceleration? Climbing even slight hills seem to be where I notice the most negative effect. Honestly have no idea and I would like to see more scientific testing to understand why this is happening. If the answer is that I have to toggle this mode on and off at particular times during a commute, even a long one...that makes it pretty much worthless and an extremely poor implementation. With as long as this mode has been on their vehicles now, I would expect to see better results on a newer vehicle than mine rather than similar results.

I own a 2021 CRV with a CVT, I don't notice enough of a difference to consider the ECO restriction worthwhile.. I also by-pass the engine off for red lights and stop signs, bad for the starter, saves VERY little gas, bad for the battery, bad for the engine.

I think I get better fuel economy with the Econ mode off in my Ridgeline

I noticed this same trend immediately after purchasing my 22 cr v, but thought maybe it was just a fluke.

I’m getting 22mpg should be 33

How fast were ypu driving? I have a 19 crv and I get 38 to 42 mpg on highway at 60 to 70 mph

Why didn’t you do city driving also and get an average between the two.

Your not going to believe me when I say this, had ann old mustang GT, 3.31 rear end. 16 ish MPG. I was bored one day and swapped it out with a 3.90 rear end. Now I'm getting 25 ish MPG. The engine is spinning faster, but barely working, much more power on demand. Less fuel usage. I don't buy "ECO MODE" BS. I've seen the exact opposite.

No, it's like the dummy 'close door' button in an elevator!

Econ mode is expensive nonsense. Increases the cost of the car to purchase and the increase the cost when it needs repair. Thank your Democrat Overlords.