Effects of Manufacturer-Defined Driving Modes on Electric Vehicle Energy Consumption Under Two Real-World Route Conditions

Manufacturer-defined driving modes modify traction-power availability, accelerator response, regenerative braking, and auxiliary-system operation, but their comparative effects under real-world urban and suburban conditions remain insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated Normal, ECO, and ECO+ modes of a Volkswagen e-UP under two real-world route conditions. Each mode–route combination was tested in three complete-route runs, resulting in 18 tests. Electric-machine power recorded through the diagnostic interface was processed using the original timestamps to determine route-normalized net energy consumption and regenerative-energy recovery, while battery state of charge was used as a supporting indicator. On the urban route, mean energy consumption was 9.90, 9.08, and 8.83 kWh/100 km in Normal, ECO, and ECO+ modes, corresponding to reductions of 8.3% and 10.8% relative to Normal. On the suburban route, the respective values were 10.69, 10.41, and 10.04 kWh/100 km, corresponding to reductions of 2.6% and 6.1%. Although the percentage reductions were larger under urban conditions, the driving-mode × route interaction was not statistically significant (p = 0.111). Methodologically, the study demonstrates a structured research approach based on repeated complete-route runs, run-to-run motion comparability assessment, and decoupled accounting of propulsion demand and recuperation. The results show that route-normalized net electric-machine energy consumption and regenerative-energy recovery should be evaluated jointly when assessing manufacturer-defined EV driving modes.