[Ricky10]

The last drive mode you select will be the default every subsequent time you start the vehicle.

 

[Tampa8]

Unless changed for 2024, they Hybrid defaults to ECO apparently even though the manual says differently. My ICE does not default to Sport but will to Normal or Smart as the manual says.

 

[sdurdin]

The last drive mode you select will be the default every subsequent time you start the vehicle.

Not true. My 2023 hybrid defaults to ECO all the time

 

[Ricky10]

Unless changed for 2024, they Hybrid defaults to ECO apparently even though the manual says differently. My ICE does not default to Sport but will to Normal or Smart as the manual says.

Not true. My 2023 hybrid defaults to ECO all the time

My bad, I just started playing around with the modes myself on my AWD ICE and assumed it would stay in the last mode selected every time you restart the vehicle like all of my other former vehicles. It must have to do with satisfying government regulations, much like everything else.

Inconvenient to be sure..

 

[Ricky10]

Unless changed for 2024, they Hybrid defaults to ECO apparently even though the manual says differently. My ICE does not default to Sport but will to Normal or Smart as the manual says.

Yup, so I payed more attention this morning and if I put it in Sport mode, it will default to Normal upon restarting the car. If I select Smart it will keep the mode in Smart. I don’t want to be bothered selecting Sport mode every time, so Smart mode it is. I suppose I will just keep on learning to live with the growl as I had been.

Well we have definitely beat this subject to death

 

[Tampa8]

Yup, so I payed more attention this morning and if I put it in Sport mode, it will default to Normal upon restarting the car. If I select Smart it will keep the mode in Smart. I don’t want to be bothered selecting Sport mode every time, so Smart mode it is. I suppose I will just keep on learning to live with the growl as I had been.

Well we have definitely beat this subject to death

It's something some may not fully understand about the differences of each mode.
Other little tidbits -
Sport mode also tightens the steering

Sport mode, when used with Smart Cruise Control will launch the car quicker when resuming Smart Cruise Control from a stop. (either pushing the resume button or touching the gas)

 

[Alex]

Actually, section-page 6-46 of my 2022 Tucson Hybrid owners manual states 'The vehicle starts in SMART mode, when the engine was turned OFF in SMART mode.' (Not sure why the unneeded comma) However, that is not what happens, it always reverts back to ECO on restart, no matter what I've tried. Hoping Hyundai fixes this with a firmware update, but not holding my breath. My experience is, if I really floor it, the SMART mode is just a bit more responsive (and faster to respond) than the ECO mode. I live at the top of a long, steep, windy, paved hill, and have tested this several times, and I do notice a difference in response time and performance in SPORT over ECO when I floor it. Precious time if one needs to get out of the way of something crushing, no matter who's fault... I prefer SMART mode full-time, just wish it would stay there as advertised!

My '23 limiited Hybrid does not revert to the drive mode it was in when I shut down the car. My car always stars in ECO mode.

 

[Alex]

After owning my car for about a year and 11k miles I can say I don't like the drive modes. Personally I think they are dumb and makes the car less safe. The reason is that the drive modes mess with the throttle. It gives unpredictable reactions from the car. I've been driving a long time and I've learned how to control the throttle. Now with drive modes the throttle responds differently to the same input, which is very dumb. If I want the best, and predictable, throttle response I need to be sport mode. I also find that in other modes besides sport there is a hesitation to react to throttle inputs, which can be dangerous. I wish there was a custom mode that I could define all the parameters and then I would stick to that one mode all the time. In sport mode I hate that they change the steering level of assist. The steering is the same, just stiffer, so why bother? I also dislike that the car defaults to ECO mode every time you restart the car. I am sure the only reason that is done to eek out tenths of MPG when they do EPA testing. One of my prior cars had adjustable shocks that you could change, which was a good thing. Tucson doesn't offer that option, so the ride and handling stays the same. This is one of those instances where the car maker thinks they know better than you do and they screwed it up for those who do know better than they do. Basically this is dumbing down the car.

 

[BitSmith]

…. This is one of those instances where the car maker thinks they know better than you do and they screwed it up for those who do know better than they do. Basically this is dumbing down the car.

I’ve said for many years; “the more automatic something is, the harder it is to use.”

 

[KevMeist]

My bad, I just started playing around with the modes myself on my AWD ICE and assumed it would stay in the last mode selected every time you restart the vehicle like all of my other former vehicles. It must have to do with satisfying government regulations, much like everything else.

Inconvenient to be sure..

Mine stays on ECO every time I start the car. I do NOT remember whether I set that somewhere in menus. BUT, I know that mine stays in ECO mode every time I start the car.

 

[KevMeist]

After owning my car for about a year and 11k miles I can say I don't like the drive modes. Personally I think they are dumb and makes the car less safe. The reason is that the drive modes mess with the throttle. It gives unpredictable reactions from the car. I've been driving a long time and I've learned how to control the throttle. Now with drive modes the throttle responds differently to the same input, which is very dumb. If I want the best, and predictable, throttle response I need to be sport mode. I also find that in other modes besides sport there is a hesitation to react to throttle inputs, which can be dangerous. I wish there was a custom mode that I could define all the parameters and then I would stick to that one mode all the time. In sport mode I hate that they change the steering level of assist. The steering is the same, just stiffer, so why bother? I also dislike that the car defaults to ECO mode every time you restart the car. I am sure the only reason that is done to eek out tenths of MPG when they do EPA testing. One of my prior cars had adjustable shocks that you could change, which was a good thing. Tucson doesn't offer that option, so the ride and handling stays the same. This is one of those instances where the car maker thinks they know better than you do and they screwed it up for those who do know better than they do. Basically this is dumbing down the car.

If you want all that "tailorability", look at the BMWs. My son's car (430 I think) has so many adjustments that your head will spin. That is NOT for me though.

 

[Tampa8]

After owning my car for about a year and 11k miles I can say I don't like the drive modes. Personally I think they are dumb and makes the car less safe. The reason is that the drive modes mess with the throttle. It gives unpredictable reactions from the car. I've been driving a long time and I've learned how to control the throttle. Now with drive modes the throttle responds differently to the same input, which is very dumb. If I want the best, and predictable, throttle response I need to be sport mode. I also find that in other modes besides sport there is a hesitation to react to throttle inputs, which can be dangerous. I wish there was a custom mode that I could define all the parameters and then I would stick to that one mode all the time. In sport mode I hate that they change the steering level of assist. The steering is the same, just stiffer, so why bother? I also dislike that the car defaults to ECO mode every time you restart the car. I am sure the only reason that is done to eek out tenths of MPG when they do EPA testing. One of my prior cars had adjustable shocks that you could change, which was a good thing. Tucson doesn't offer that option, so the ride and handling stays the same. This is one of those instances where the car maker thinks they know better than you do and they screwed it up for those who do know better than they do. Basically this is dumbing down the car.

Love the drive modes, and any car I think of I have rented or driven now has it and works the same way, Rogue and Sentra, Rav 4, CRV and on and on. All very much the same.

If you don't like changing the modes stick with one it will react the same way everytime. Meanwhile I like the economy of the Normal mode and know the throttle will not respond as fast because it is saving gas. Then I like the Sport mode when I want more instant speed and reaction.
Bottom line just don't use any mode but the one you want but in no way are all these cars less safe because they have different modes and give the driver a choice of how they want the car to respond, and get better mpg or not.

 

[Ricky10]

Mine stays on ECO every time I start the car. I do NOT remember whether I set that somewhere in menus. BUT, I know that mine stays in ECO mode every time I start the car.

Yeah. Apparently that is the default mode for the Hybrid. Mine is ICE, so it defaults to NORMAL or SMART depending on which one of those two modes was last selected. ICE doesn’t have an ECO mode FWIW….

I sure do wish I could keep mine in SPORT mode though.

 

[KevMeist]

Yeah. Apparently that is the default mode for the Hybrid. Mine is ICE, so it defaults to NORMAL or SMART depending on which one of those two modes was last selected. ICE doesn’t have an ECO mode FWIW….

I sure do wish I could keep mine in SPORT mode though.

Ah, OK.....have you checked out default options in the menu system? Maybe a default you can set there?

 

[Ricky10]

Ah, OK.....have you checked out default options in the menu system? Maybe a default you can set there?

I don’t believe that exists

I will look though..

 

[ToddW]

Not true. My 2023 hybrid defaults to ECO all the time

So does mine.