Yup. On a steep downhill, you will not want coasting and reach very high speeds. It's all case by case. But generally speaking, coasting seems to save fuel. Reason I don't use coasting in N often on my other car is that I don't know whether it wears out the automatic transmission or not. Since MINI has it built in GreenMode, nothing to worry about.

 

That wasn't true in my Escalade that I used to have.
I did that exact MPG testing a while ago. When I coast down a hill in D (no throttle at all), the dash displayed that instanataneous fuel economy was 40-50 MPG. With the shifter in N, it dispayed 80-99+ MPG on the same down hill.

 

There are so many variables. What about brake wear? I get the "green mode", but coasting on roads with speed limits seems to be designed in a lab and not the real world. I can see it work in Nascar when they're under yellow, but when they're saving fuel during green, they're off the main line of the track. How far do we go with this to save a buck a tank? Sure the new starter has more starts than the old starters, but maybe if you don't use the stop/start, the starter might actually last the life of the car.

 

I have never had to replace a starter in any car I've had. The age old "coasting in neutral or not" debate lives on. Next comes the "how often should I change my oil?" LOL.

 

@VicSkimmr......pretty AMAZING photos......very artistic and great subject matters......good on you !

 

Try driving in la.

 

Just an update, even in Sport or Mid mode, if you take off the gas pedal it still uses gas (0.15 gal/hour). It's less than idle (0.25 gal/hour) but doesn't completely cut off fuel like other cars. That's why it feels like it doesn't have much engine brake. At least this is how my 2015 F56 with automatic behaves. I didn't measure Green mode coasting, but it feels almost same as putting in N.

Edit: I was incorrect. Sorry guys. It must have been a bad setting in my obd2 reader app. Now I do see 0 gal/hour when I let off my foot.

 

my all4 with the n18 engine goes to 0.00 gph when i lift

 

So I started to drive in sport mode just to test out the differences in gas mileage. Over the last 3 tanks I've averaged 33.5 mpg. That's only 2 less than I was getting in green mode. So screw green mode, lol.

 

I hear ya. Makes no sense to take a sporty car and make it a dog. Can you make the F56 always start in Sport mode or do you have to push the Sport button every time you start it like I do?

 

I'm curious if the MINI coding experimenters in the other thread can figure out any default re-programming which can address this.

 

I'm trying to figure it out. Hopefully I can find something for you.

 

[QUOTE=TheBigNewt;4024239 Can you make the F56 always start in Sport mode or do you have to push the Sport button every time you start it like I do?[/QUOTE]

I guess the answer is no you cannot. I find that a little weird after all this time. I bet it starts in the middle mode not green.

 

You're right, currently by default, the car always starts in Mid Mode. Wish it would remember the last mode, or a way to specify the last settings the car should remember upon restart. Maybe just wishful thinking.

 

I'm determined to figure this out. If I can adjust the angle of the passenger mirror when I'm in reverse, I should definitely be able to choose sport mode as default.

 

Coasting in Green Mode: When you lift your foot off the gas on highway speed, gas flow rate will drop to 0 gal/hour for 1-2 seconds, and then it'll be using little less gas than an idle engine (near 0.2 gal/hour rate). This is when your transmission is decoupled and you really get to glide. I find it useful on slight down hill highways when my speed is maintained at 55-60 mph.

If you disable Coasting, it'll keep at 0 gal/hour when your foot is off the gas, but you will notice more resistance and the car will slow down more due to engine brake. I'm pretty sure gliding saves more gas, but it's different for every road.

Glide also works in city speeds too, but I find it more distracting because it makes me use more brake. I usually keep engine auto stop disabled, but turn it on when I know if it's going to be a long stop light and my engine is fully warmed up.

Oh, and about the drive mode, it seems there are more than just 3 modes. I looked at coding, and saw there are like 10 levels. Probably for different countries. I don't know how you can change them though.

 

Start in Green Mode? When I'm in Green Mode, I can't seem to get the car to turn off ... :/