If you’ve driven a newer car recently, you may have noticed the option to enable different “drive modes”, usually right by the gear shifter. The ability to change driving modes has become a popular feature added by car manufacturers over the last few years, but do you know what they do? Let’s find out together as we explore the meaning of various common drive modes and what they do.
Sports mode
Sports mode is a drive mode intended to make the driving experience more fun. When sports mode is turned on, the throttle becomes more responsive, allowing you to accelerate more readily. More fuel is also pumped into the engine to increase the vehicle’s available power. Your steering may also get heavier and suspension will stiffen. Although fun, this driving mode tends to have lower fuel efficiency due to the extra fuel getting pumped into the engine.
Eco mode
Eco mode sort of does the opposite of sports mode. It introduces less fuel into the engine and makes the throttle less responsive in order to make the car more fuel-efficient.
Comfort mode
This drive mode is for longer commutes and is designed to make the drive smoother. The suspension will soften to smooth out any bumps in the road and the steering lightened. Automatic cars in this setting will experience earlier gear shifting in order to maximize the smooth ride.
Custom mode
Nowadays, some car manufacturers are offering the ability to adjust certain settings in your car to your specific preferences with the push of a button. The scope of the settings that can be changed in this mode varies by manufacturer, but all of them will have certain limits to ensure your safety.
Have you tried out any of these drive modes in your car? Which one is your favorite? Now that you know what each one does you can try them all.
