Volvo XC40 Forums

Help! please could someone provide an "idiot's guide" to the functioning of the eco gauge in the rev counter? Maybe it's me, but I find the manual does not adequately explain this. When I am driving in ECO mode I have the "indicative driver" guidance pointer, and sometimes a green zone of varying length but the latter goes away seemingly at random, and I do not understand under what conditions this occurs. Is it that my driving is at times so uneconomical that the gauge simply cannot cope? I have tried to be light-footed on the accelerator but haven't cottoned on to what makes the green zone reappear, and really would appreciate an explanation from anyone who has grasped the working of this feature.

Is the green zone as you call it when you have foot off accelerator and the car is coasting?

Hi Chris I don’t know but will check thanks

If it's the screen you get when you select eco drive mode..then with mine the less you are accelerating or braking the lower the needle is..the best being coasting. The harder you brake or push the accelerator pedal the higher up the needle goes.

To be as eco as possible you need to keep the needle low

Ah..., now i think I see... if you are not driving in the low fuel consumption “High efficiency” band represented by the green arc you do not in fact see any green at all on the Gauge display? The green only appears IF one is driving frugally enough? I must say the manual in no way conveys this concept to me.

If you mean the light green band that appears between the Eco Needle and the "similar driver" indicator, that only appears when you drive more economical than how the computer would. On mine it popped mainly when breaking later or when releasing the accelerator and just rolling.

Of course, it's pretty useless, you gain a bit then, just to be lost when you break hard or hit the gas again to maintain speed. It's a nice gimmick, i used it for a week hoping it'd get me to be a bit more economical, but it doesn't really help.

at least in my case, i prefer to drive up to the road conditions and not for fuel efficiency, especially in a crowded city such as London

Thanks Clunky for that great clarification. I tend to agree, let’s face it the driver should know themselves when they are being frugal with the “gas”, plus it’s an added distraction from the road ahead. Clever though- I suppose useful as a training aid.