Sport Mode -all the time!

Not necessarily. Others here were saying that the detent to engage the engine only works on Econ mode. I can vouch that it’s possible to engage the engine without pressing past the detent on Normal and Sport modes. A bit confusing, honestly.

 

I thought that too, but it happens when I’m being very careful not to press more on the go pedal. Also it happens on cruise control as well. Power Meter increases/decreases with Econ off/on in both cases seemingly with no change in speed. Try it and see what yours does.

 

Did some further testing on a level road with no traffic so I could safely play with the Econ button both on ACC and when holding pedal steady.
With Econ off, and on ACC there was no increased power on the power bar on level road but it did accelerate faster when called on which I liked.
With ACC off and trying my best to hold pedal position steady, when I turned off Econ the power increased on the meter AND speed increased. (Don’t think I waited long enough before or was slightly uphill.)

So kcsunshine is correct.
What I noticed is caused by the go pedal position being remapped. My apologies for posting earlier that Econ off increased power bar but not speed in manual driving. Lesson learned: research twice, post once.

 

The detent is a mechanical feature that is present in all modes, but because Honda didn't design the detent to occur at variable points in the travel of the accelerator pedal, it doesn't mean anything in any mode other than ECON Mode. This graph is near the front of the Owners Manual on page 12. It shows that engine activation occurs before the detent is reached in NORMAL and SPORT Modes.



Note that the Y-axis is labeled "EV drive frequency," which perhaps is Honda's way of saying you're not guaranteed to be traveling under EV power in the "EV" blocks. Just a high possibility of traveling under EV power.

 

Thanks for confirming. I suppose if we feather the go pedal and avoid accelerating/decelerating, we should get the same mileage in sport compared to econ. I just don't like having to press the go pedal that far because it tires my leg. I already get double the mileage I got in my previous vehicle so I don't need to eke out a few more miles.

 

I found the click! I guess I didn't push hard enough. I was afraid to break something.