Driving Modes and Impact on Battery

David Comstock

David Comstock

Member
Hey Everyone,

I'm curious just how much the various driving modes in the SE (mid, green, sport green +) really impact how much energy the battery uses or the amount of range you get out of a single charge?

I commute to work Mon-Thurs (work from home on Fri's) and it's about 40 miles round trip. I mostly drive in green mode with the hopes that I'm able to stretch my range a bit more. On average I can go to work in back w/out charging 2 days in a row and then I'm down to about 25% battery and need to charge.

My question is though would the result be any different if say I just drove in mid mode all the time? The car is certainly 'peppier' to drive in all the other modes except for green and green +... If no different than I'll go back to driving in mid or even sport mode. Thanks!
 
Green and Green+ are the same, but Green+ turns off all cabin heating/cooling (including seat warmers). Green+ will get you quite a bit extra range in extremely cold or warm weather, since the AC/heater can use a lot of electricity.

As for Green vs. Mid and Sport, my experience is green tamps down the acceleration which can save some battery, but I think it's only about 10%-15% over a 40-mile drive based on what I see in the MINI navigation route planning (my commute is 40+ miles one way). I drive in Mid almost always and easily get over 140 miles range in non-freezing weather, even with freeway driving.
 
I've played around on my 40mile commute, and I can't tell the difference in battery use if not enjoying myself. Sport has different throttle pedal linearity. It's kinda touchy IMHO, I prefer the mid setting throttle response. Green + will turn off climate control. There is a button for that in other modes... What I really like about sport is the heavier steering. The other modes are a bit too light for me. But then I am a sasquatch.
My best trip so far is 68miles with 47% of battery. In sport mode, mostly doing 70-72mph.

It would be nice if somebody could find out the exact differences between the modes, other than 'more better'. Seems mostly gimmick to me.

If I drive the same speed with the same climate settings, I don't see any change in consumption. My long term average is 4.0 mi/kWh, mostly in sport.

Try the different ones.
 
Team mid mode here. The sport mode regen curve is too steep for my foot. As was implied, these modes are just remaps of the accelerator pedal. Green mode offers the same acceleration as sport if you bury the pedal. Green+ eliminates HVAC which you can do yourself if you really need to.

Not aware of any in-depth range testing between modes.
 
Not really sure if I understand what all the fuss is about. In my previous Mini's (all S's), I could not tolerate driving in Green mode, but Sport mode felt like I was looking for a ticket (exciting but dangerous). With the SE, I'm comfortable in Green +. I'll change to Green once the outside temp gets colder than I can endure, and I don't use AC in the summer.
 
The way you drive will impact your range more than the driving modes. That said, the way the driving modes affect the accelerator response may impact the way you drive. ;)

I usually kept my SE in the default Mid mode, as that was a nice balance for everyday driving. I would occasionally put it in Sport mode when spirited driving was anticipated.

As an experiment, I drove exclusively in Mid mode one month then exclusively in Sport mode the next month. I drove basically the same routes the same amount. I tracked my charging history in the efficiency tracking spreadsheet created by @Carsten Haase and compared the results. Differences in range/efficiency were negligible.

...And now I always use Sport mode, because Mid feels "sloppy" to me--the gap between acceleration and regeneration feels like a CHASM after I calibrated my right foot for Sport mode. I'm almost afraid to try Green mode again. :rolleyes:
 
I just run in mid all the time. Green is useful if you are behind an ICE car at a stop light or in a roundabout. Otherwise I never see much difference, especially on the highway.
 
MichaelC said:
...And now I always use Sport mode, because Mid feels "sloppy" to me--the gap between acceleration and regeneration feels like a CHASM after I calibrated my right foot for Sport mode. I'm almost afraid to try Green mode again. :rolleyes:
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Same! I can hit the coast zone in sport mode no problem but in mid/green I get lost in that chasm and my driving ends up so much jerkier (don't know when I'm going to hit the regen zone or acceleration)

I guess I don't know exactly where my foot position is in the throttle range but I do know exactly how much I need to move it based on speed/acceleration to hit that coasting zone perfectly in sport.
 
As everyone have said, green+ makes the biggest difference because it deactivated the HVAC leaving you only with the blower fan.
I have noticed that the fan runs slower in green mode vs mid but other than that, sport, mid and green are mainly a different accelerator map to help you be smoother and avoid the unintended “micro” accelerations you get from moving your foot ever so slightly or briefly, even over rough road. The green mode essentially ignores these via delay, keeping the power flow to the motor consistent and any acceleration you do get is lower unless you really put your foot down. It all helps.
In theory there is no range improvement in Sport mode vs green mode if you can be really gentle and stable with the accelerator but most people aren’t as good as they think they are so the modes help.
 
teslarati97 said:
I can still reach 5.3 mi/kWh in mid mode and with 30MPH driving I can reach 6+ mi/kWh in mid.
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I see numbers like this and all I can say is: these people must be driving like an old person going to church on Sunday. :)

The best I’m able to do is 3.9 miles/kWh. I’m usually always in mid mode or sport mode. It’s a fun car to drive and that’s how I drive it. I especially like being first at a stoplight. The accelerator hits the floor board often.
 
BackPack said:
I see numbers like this and all I can say is: these people must be driving like an old person going to church on Sunday. :)

The best I’m able to do is 3.9 miles/kWh. I’m usually always in mid mode or sport mode. It’s a fun car to drive and that’s how I drive it. I especially like being first at a stoplight. The accelerator hits the floor board often.
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Thank you for showing me i'm not the only one without staggering mi/wh numbers.
 
BackPack said:
I see numbers like this and all I can say is: these people must be driving like an old person going to church on Sunday. :)

The best I’m able to do is 3.9 miles/kWh. I’m usually always in mid mode or sport mode. It’s a fun car to drive and that’s how I drive it. I especially like being first at a stoplight. The accelerator hits the floor board often.
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I usually start at maybe 70% power and wait till I see the person next to me start to pull ahead. Then I'll floor it. I dunno why, but it doesn't make them happy. Saves racing people who weren't racing me.


My daily commute is usually heavy traffic, it's easy to hit 4.0 by not driving like a dick. If I follow a semi truck at 65-70 in the right lane, I can get around 4.5
 
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