PWR Mode - how does it work?

[BigRedSwitch]

I drive my Auris Hybrid in ECO mode most of the time, occasionally using the PWR mode just to check it's still working!😉  But where does this extra power come from?  I know Toyota hybrid engines use the Atkinson cycle for efficiency but does PWR mode switch to an Otto cycle?

Can anyone enlighten me please?

Edited June 24, 2019 by BigRedSwitch
Typo's

[qettyz]

Power mode only changes gas pedal sensitivity, nothing else.

its just feels like you have more power.

[BigRedSwitch]

Is that all?  I feel a bit disappointed.  Thanks qettyz.

[Saxmaniac]

Count yourself lucky, my previous Astra had a sport button on the dash that lit a red Led but did absolutely nothing else! Perhaps there should be a list of the most pointless buttons cluttering up our contraptions!

[PeteB]

15 hours ago, qettyz said:

Power mode only changes gas pedal sensitivity, nothing else.

its just feels like you have more power.

That's right, although in a few models it also increases the weighting of the steering to give a bit more 'feel'.  Not sure if the Auris is one of them.

My new RAV4 is reputed to do that, but I must say if it does it's too subtle for me to notice on the few times I've experimented with it.

Conversely, ECO mode also dulls the effectiveness of heating (to use the engine a bit less) and a/c to save a tiny bit of fuel & emissions.

All three modes will give full power if the pedal is floored.  The attached diagram shows roughly what going on depending on how far the accelerator is pressed.

For Hybrids from the introduction of the 4th Generation Prius (like the C-HR, new RAV4 and probably new Corolla) which have Radar Adaptive Cruise Control, the mode also affects how rapidly the car accelerates when resume is used or a slower vehicle in front has got out of the way.