I have roughly 1,500 miles on my 2018 5L Super Crew. Occasionally, I have a 200 mile round trip drive and I have been running the truck in ECO Mode during that time. What am I gaining from that rather than in "Normal" mode? I honestly can't tell. I see no real change in the mileage.

This isn't a knock on the truck at all, I'm just curious. . . .

 

On longer trips, I would suspect very little difference between normal and eco mode. Around town, there might be a difference, but I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how much of a difference.

 

In Eco mode it will be more aggressive about engine stop/start, it will reduce the blower speed for air conditioning during engine stop/start events (to make engine stop events last longer before the compressor is needed), it reduces engine output relative to throttle position, and keeps the transmission in taller gears longer.

I've fiddled with it on a bunch of them and the above held true. In bad city traffic on a hot day it might be worth a couple of MPG depending on what you're doing. From what I can tell it doesn't have a big effect on highway fuel economy, but there's only so much you can do to economize while pushing a box quickly through air.

On the 5.0 the Eco throttle adjustments made it feel just a little sluggish. On the 3.5 Ecoboost, tip-in felt a little less severe but otherwise it felt about the same. When I floored it in Eco mode they all felt the same, suggesting they changed the throttle-response curve but not the overall range. I haven't had time to fiddle with a 2.7 in Eco mode yet. The stop/start is definitely more aggressive and the blower speed seems to be more aggressive hand-in-hand with the stop/start.

 

It's the only trans selection I haven't used. Not a Ford but on a 1000 mile trip in my wife's 2015 Honda Civic coupe I left in in normal and got 39 mpg; on the trip home I kept it in "eco" and got 42 mpg 90% hiway driving each way....Convinced me to use it on the road.

 

That's cool. Other factors can weigh in on those numbers. If both directions had about the same average wind direction and speed, overall elevation change, and weather, then the 7.6% improvement is nothing to shake a stick at.

 

Great info! Got a source for more? I'd like to see how the modes compare.

 

It helps when you are making a concerted effort yourself to get better mpg. If I drive my F150 really easy, trying to get the most mpg, then the eco mode does make a difference.

 

My information is from trade publications and corporate announcements combined with my own fiddling around with a bunch of them. I wish someone published stuff like this the same way they publish the other specifications and behaviors.