2006 GS300 AWD. My commute 70% local and 30% highway. I have 20,000 miles and the egine is in prime condition. On normal mode vs PWR mode, I noticed I do about 24.8 MPG with PWR mode and 22 MPG with normal mode.
So drive with PWR on always as you guess. Does anybody have the same experience?

 

That's an interesting result. Would assume less MPG in Power mode d/t the more aggressive shifting pattern.

In any event, better gas mileage is always a good thing. I'm luck to break 18mpg with my GS.

 

For my GS300AWD I have found that ECT POWER mode drops highway
mileage from 27mpg to 24mpg. These are almost V8 fuel economy levels
LOL!

I always keep it on because without it the wonderfully friendly drivers in
Boston simply try to walk all over you...

 

Heh, no kidding! Every time my wife gets a bout of frugality and feels guilty about owning such a nice car (02 SportCross), I remind her that the power and sure-footed handling is a safety feature. It is really nice to be able to just put the car where you want it, and damned quick at that. On the highway, my old ES300 just couldn't get out of its own way sometimes, so I'm loving how responsive the GS is. And this is up in NH, where the drivers aren't quite as bat-****** insane as Boston or NYC.

After 7 years in the Boston area, and 3 years in NYC, my take was that NYC/NJ drivers are probably more agressive than Boston drivers, but you got the sense that they at least knew what they were doing. Boston drivers, on the other hand, in addition to be aggressive, are prone to doing some of the most unpredictable, boneheaded manuevers.

 

That is exactly how I justify it. When I did not use my ECT button the car could not get
out of its way. S2000's, G35's would intentionally speed up and try to cut me off. That
was not a good feeling. Now with ECT the car really goes. Sure I burn more fuel, but
now it's less stressful to deal with these clowns.

Agreed. There are days when you witness an infinite sequence of boneheaded
maneuvers around here

 

I'm getting less on Power. Funny though, if I could break 19mpg I'm happy.

 

I get 18 mpg on reg mode and 19.6 on PWR. I think its because I hit the gas and get know response on regular mode, so I gas it even harder until it downshifts. I drive much smoother in PWR mode....

 

How many miles you guys have?
Before 15000 miles I had 19 MPG with PWR mode and around 20-21 with normal.
After 15000 I have better MPG with PWR mode than normal as I stated.
I believe once the engine is broken in the car moves much smoother and easier and faster from standing still. When you press it hard in PWR mode to reach the optimal speed that you want uses less gas than normal mode which requires more time and move to higher gear quicker than PWR mode.
I am telling you guys I get 24 MPG in PWR mode and 21 with Normal.

 

I have a 2006 GS300 AWD with 17,500 miles.
My mileage is consistrantly 25 to 28mpg in ECT mode!

 

With or woithout PWR mode how do you guys maintain mid 20 MPG? You must drive really slow, I have a mixed driving habit with my GS300 AWD and I maintain 19-21 MPG with Shell 89 Octane. 820 miles on the car. Maybe it's because we don't drive the car much.

 

My Driving patterns,

Monthly miles driven: 1500

Ave Hwy speed: 65 mph
Ave City speed: 40 mph
I estimate 50% of each

I try not to make jack rabbit starts, but driving in CA you do not waste any time merging into traffic.

However, I consider myself a defensive driver.

2006 GS300 AWD, no mods

 

Maybe if you use 91 octane or above you might get better gas mileage I have an 2ndgen gs 300 it says premium only So I'm sure the 3rd gen gs 3 uses prem. too. Not sure though.

 

Yes, the user manual and the dealer both recommended using premium fuel (91 octane). Just got through my first tank and averaged 24 mpg on the normal ECT mode on a mix of mostly freeway driving but with only half of the trips during non-rush hour traffic. I believe I could have gotten at least a little better as I had the engine running while testing/trying out most of the features of the car when I first got it. Will be keeping track of my fuel consumption as I go along and I will compare Normal vs. PWR.

Haven't tried the PWR mode yet. Just trying to get through the first 1000 miles to get through the break-in period. I have tried to limit my speed to 60 mph, but have caught myself up to 70 mph on the open freeway, but nothing higher than a 2500 rpm.