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What use are you getting out of Auto Start/Stop

  • I'm always in Sport/Sport+ so its OBE

    Votes: 8 4.6%
  • I use it most of the time, getting more MPG is a necessity

    Votes: 34 19.5%
  • I use it sometimes, when convienient

    Votes: 44 25.3%
  • Never, I shut it off and haven't looked back

    Votes: 88 50.6%

Auto Start/Stop Poll

12K views 69 replies 52 participants last post by  caglenator 
#1 ·
For those of you with your Macans already, what use if any are you getting out of auto start/stop?
 
#2 ·
I don't have one yet, but will offer my observation from the test drive last weekend. I had fully expected I would hate this feature, as I've never had a car that had it, and it sounded like something that would bother me. But I tried it on the test drive and found it very seamless and not as intrusive as I expected. While I don't think I would implement it all the time, I think there will be situations where I'll leave it activated.
 
#3 ·
I had it on my Cayenne, in heavy traffic I'd use it and at traffic lights. I'd manually turn it off approaching a roundabout, turns across traffic or pulling out of a junction, it was quick to start for sure, but not quick enough IMHO at a roundabout or complex junctions where you'd might want a quick get away.
 
#4 ·
Don't have the Macan yet and although the feature would probably work well in traffic, I leave the feature permanently off in my Cayenne. Just don't like it and don't see a need for it. Our other car is a hybrid, I'll drive that if I want to conserve gas.
 
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#8 ·
Would have preferred separate buttons for stop/start and coasting. I live in hilly area, so coast works great on long downhills, but not yet a fan of start/stop. I noticed the coasting feature is not active in cruise control. Pleased so far with mileage...300+ miles mixed driving @ 23.2 mpg. Nearby gas station has ethanol-free 93 octane ($3.98 vs. $3.39 reg), but with better than expected mileage, I'm going with the "pure gas".
 
#9 ·
I have been driving the Macan S for two 2 now and have about 600 miles on it now.

1st week, I was mostly in Sport/Sport+ but the MPG was not so good and around 14-16 MPG.
This 2nd week, I have used Sport/Sport+ I am on freeway or tollway without any traffic lights and Auto Start/Stop whenever in traffics and in roads with traffic lights or stop signs.
The MPG got a little bit better.
 
#10 ·
I hate it. Have been told that the service can reprogram it so the last setting (=disabled) will be stored instead of reverting each time I get into the car. However now that I have found out the Sport mode makes the exhaust mode so much nicer, I'm not in a hurry.
 
#12 ·
The drive is much better with Sport/Sport+ ON and Auto Start/Stop OFF without a doubt. However, in the other hand, with the Sport/Sport+ ON, it might hurt your wallet and pocket at the pump a little bit more if you drive a lot in a long commute and in traffic most of the time like me at around 60-80 Miles/Day living in a big city like Houston and big state like Texas along with traffic!
But, since you are driving a luxury Porsche, so money might not be an issue and if your budget is allow and not an concern then turn that Sport/Sport+ ON and Auto Start/Stop OFF.
 
#18 ·
The drive is much better with Sport/Sport+ ON and Auto Start/Stop OFF without a doubt. However, in the other hand, with the Sport/Sport+ ON, it might hurt your wallet and pocket at the pump a little bit more...
The way I see it, I'll try living with the "Frugal" settings for awhile to see if they really are that much of an imposition, and to figure out what the 'best case' operating costs are.

In the meantime, I know how to disable them for when there's the desire/need to alter the behavior to be more aggressive. I figure that I'll probably cover most of the 2,000 mile break-in just getting familar with the new vehicle's mannerisms before I really want to start testing/pushing its performance envelope.

Hence, my vote is with the Frugals enabled, although it isn't because MPG is an utter priority, but because I want to know what the said efficiency ceiling is before I start to lower it ;-)


-hh
 
#16 ·
I have heard that it is programmed differently in different countries / continents. In the US it defaults to the "last setting" but not necessarily in other places.
 
#19 ·
I don't mind the stop/start mode, but it's summer in Illinois and the air conditioner is running hard. In that circumstance the stop/start function doesn't work. When I have had it in operation the restart is very quick, not instantaneous but nearly so. I can definitely see a benefit for big city driving with stop lights on every corner. I live in a rural area so the benefit is diminished here.
 
#22 ·
I don't have my Macan yet, but my first experience with auto stop/start was an Audi A4 diesel in Italy three years ago. First time I thought the car had stalled, then realized what it was. Generally unobtrusive, but I found foot off the brake, maybe a tap of the gas peddle to get the engine on when I needed to get going quick. I've seen research that turning off the engine at traffic lights is a 10% improvement in fuel economy, perhaps half the gain of a hybrid. I figure I'll try it for routine driving, and work around or turn it off when I don't want it.
 
#25 ·
Will never, ever! use this dumb button. What a waste of money! I just use the brake Hold feature and relaxat stop lights. Wish I could easily change this stupid switch to a button for a valved sport exhaust.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I'm used to it now, and if I'm in Comfort mode while driving around town it doesn't bother me at all. It's fairly unobtrusive on the restart (although not completely so - I could do without the slight rock as the engine kicks in again) and I quite like the brief spells of silent serenity when sitting at stop lights. As far as saving the planet is concerned, driving a Macan (or any other 340 - 400HP SUV for that matter) with auto stop/start might be akin to ordering a diet Coke with your supersized triple bacon cheeseburger with fries, but it's a step in the right direction. You have to go through the first and second generations to get to the third and fourth.

And looking at the entire package, all the incremental tweaks do add up. I saw a post by another forum member a couple of months ago who filled up his Macan after a hard day at the track, after which the computer predicted a range for the full tank of something like 90 miles. I get about 280 - 300 miles per tank with almost exclusively city driving if I stay in Comfort mode, 240 - 260 miles per tank for the same city driving in Sport mode. On a recent long mostly freeway trip at an average of 75 - 80mph with no effort to drive economically and in Sport mode I got a range of 380 miles before filling up again (with an estimated 15 miles remaining range on the display). The Macan might not be a one-size-fits-all machine, but it's definitely a one-size-fits-many. It can be a gas-guzzling fun ride or an economical long range cruiser with no more than a button push and your choice of how you use the loud pedal. And at $2 per gallon for gas in the US just now it isn't about cost - I just don't like having to fill up any more often than necessary, and it's satisfying to be able to get decent mileage out of a reasonably high-performance SUV.
 
#27 ·
I NEVER use comfort mode. How do I get rid of comfort mode? I only use Sport or Sport+. And im not sure why anybody would want the engine shut off at stoplights. This is a Porsche. I try to get 1st in line on our many smooth 3 lane boulevards here. We don't have a lot of traffic, and I like to be ready to HIT IT!! the instant the light is green. I'm into boost at many green lights. Same way in our Chicago burb in the the summer, because i don't have to do rush hours. Why would I want my engine shut off? ...the cabin warming up with no AC? ...and have to wait for it to start up to resume? With today's dirt cheap fuel prices below $2.00/gal, it makes no sense to me. Now if gas got to $10/gal or more, I could see trying to be more frugal, for folks who drive a lot of miles. But my Turbo is probably not going to see more than 5-7k miles per year.

This is not my 48 or 52 Hp Rabbit diesel. My wife and I already drove 4 bangers and little 4 cyl diesels from 1970 thru 2006. We already did the frugal thing, except for my Porsche garage queens, especially my 2000 Boxster S which was my only non-4 banger during that time frame. Why should we now worry about fuel consumption? Especially when oil is at 16 year lows and we accumulated a ton of assets - (relatively speaking - we accumulated 20 years of peak income in our retirement nest egg). Help me to understand the function of that button... How do I get rid of it and the comfort mode?

Somebody didn't think this out clearly. Let me guess who: politicians and the unintended dumb consequences of what they legislate and regulate? Can we all say DUH!! together so they can relate? I've already been around that bend they are trying to force us into and I don't like what they are doing. We already paid with a lifetime of low emissions. Now we want to have some fun and is still low emissions because our total mileage is low. But politicians have already proven they don't understand religion, science or math. Most don't have a clue. That's the nicest thing that can be said about most of them at this point. Many of them do understand power, graft and corruption, but that's another topic...
 
#31 ·
Umm soooo you don't like start/stop then ? Maybe it's just me but, that's the feeling I got from your post @Steve2 . I'm perceptive that way ;)

Haaaa! :)


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@WHT TGR That's not the perception I got from the rant above yours... But at least he didn't include the great price he got for the millionth time. So that is an improvement....
 
#29 ·
I've experimented with a few tanks using it and the maybe 1 extra mpg seems trivial.
 
#30 ·
There have been times when the auto stop-start feature has been a nuisance, but overall I find it works very well. This is my DD and there are many long lights, railroad crossings, traffic accidents and congestion approaching bridges... where I welcome the automatic engine shut off. It's not for the fuel savings, but for the perception of reduced wear on the engine. Even with an extended warranty, I have an irrational fear of cylinder scoring or other expensive failure a month after the warranty expires! I'd rather replace the starter every few years than the engine (ever).

There is one section of the drive home where I use Sport Plus mode just for the down shift program and the sound of the exhaust... that also has nothing to do with fuel savings!
 
#32 ·
Went to the dealer and got this set to Automatically on ( as in the red light is on and hence auto start stop is disabled). However first time they did this they actually fully disabled it so it can't be even turned on/off, not a good idea in my opinion when selling the car "oh this button does actually nothing ... ".

HOWEVER, in the process of doing this they seemed to have messed up the LCA, straight after driving home LCA was switched off, and trying to switch it back on I get some message saying it is not available and to get it serviced .. seems like the dealer likes me turning up (again) demanding immediate resolution !
 
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