Well, it can't be too bad as I've not broke it yet trying that! Not used sport mode much at all, but I did use it last night just playing and I shifted it into sport while driving no problem, then shifted back out when at speed. I can see me using it when I'm passing on two lane roads so the engine is spinning up before I hit the gas to pass.

It just felt like it kicked down a "gear" when I dropped it into sport.

 

Thanks- playing yesterday I thought how awesome it would be for highway merging etc- to me it just made the engine/shifting feel tighter.
There's a hill by my house where I wouldn't mind the extra shot of power

 

Sport mode just keeps the RPMs closer to the meat of the powerband, so it's fine to toggle it on and off whenever. It's functionally no different from giving the throttle a quick stab to bring up the RPMs.

I'll add too that at full throttle, sport mode and regular mode are identical; both will keep the engine spinning at the appropriate speed for optimal power. Sport mode just quickens the delivery because it tightens up the throttle response and has the engine revving higher to begin with.

 

Just so strange to me that you can "shift" an automatic. Used to lower drives and all, but it is certainly a whole new world today

So much to learn

 

Just another option to remember...you don't even have to shift down to Sport mode to use the paddle shifters. If you need that quick power just downshift with the paddle, even when in Drive and the CVT will go down to the next "gear". However, it will not hold the gear like in Sport mode. After you accelerate it will switch back to Drive mode.

 

Are people using paddle shift when going up or down hills, e.g., to assist in climbs and then on the downhills to keep wear off the brakes?

 

I have only used the Sport mode and paddle shifters during one drive that we took out in the rural, winding and hilly roads. Not that the HR-V is a sports car, but being able to control the "gear" and rpm's made the twisty roads more entertaining. As people much smarter than me have said, it can be more fun to go fast in a slow car than to go slow in your fast car.

 

Sport mode

People say the HRV is slow....yea in D, Eco mode, but I have been driving with a heavy foot to the metal in Sport mode without Eco on and I must say that our HRV is pretty **** fast, especially with paddle shifters!

Turn off Eco mode, buddies...

 

sport mode

People say the HRV is slow....yea in D, Eco mode, but I have been driving with a heavy foot to the metal in Sport mode without Eco on and I must say that our HRV is pretty **** fast, especially with paddle shifters!

Turn off Eco mode, buddies...

can I drive in sports mode without messing with paddle shifters?

 

Thanks...but no.

 

You're welcome

 

I only use it to change lanes and beat traffic from a stop light. When manual shifting isn't activated, it put's the engine at the right RPM and makes HRV feel like it's just waiting to take off.

 

In regular D mode I can easily reach 6000 rpm in regular traffic. As with 1SlowHRV, I'll put it in S mode if I need acceleration from a standing stop. At highway speeds there's plenty of passsing power in D mode.

If I want fun I'll use the paddle shifters. The loud engine noise shocks the cars around you when you pass them. For those that aren't aware that the HRV is slow, they tend to want to challenge you in their bimmers, mustangs, etc. The option to re-live the boy racer street days is there, if only temporarily.

I've forgotten about that ECON button, as I've been getting good gas mileage. Maybe I'll try it.

 

The loud engine noise shocks the cars around you when you pass them.

This is what makes me nervous about using sport mode (it's new to me) as it sounds as though the revs are crazy high and something bad is about to happen so I assumed I was doing something wrong (I only tried it a couple of times). Is it normal for it to sound so rough? I believe I saw someone say it's not possible to do any damage by over revv'ing?

 

Sport mode is fun, but the only time I have found it particularly useful is tearing around tight mountain roads where I want to keep the engine between 4000-6000 rpm; that is, I don't want it upshifting when I get off the gas. Other than that, there is very little difference in performance, although the driving experience can be considerable because I have full control over shift points in Sport mode.

 

I am looking forward to driving my HRV in warm/hot/dry condtions. I've only driven it in winter conditions with 16inch Michelin X-Ice winter tires and I would imagine switching back to the stock tires for the summer will provide a different driving experience.

 

I use sport mode to warm up the car faster on really cold days. Otherwise the car almost never gets above 2000 rpm's and takes forever to warm up. S mode keeps it above 2500 rpms. It still takes a while to warm up. Thankfully the heated seats help a lot. Hurts gas mileage though.

 

Cool. I use sport mode when entering freeways and sometimes from a red light and going up hills.

 

I find this post interesting. Here's why. All I hear from reviewers and some owners is how slow and "underpowered" the car is. Not to mention, most professional reviewers comment how rough and loud the engine is. I pretty much dismissed this car until I ran across one of my favorite Youtube reviewers (Sam Haymart/Test driven TV). He was driving the CX3 and commented how rough and loud the engine was in the Mazda compared to the HRV. So, I went out and test drove both back to back. Turns out he was right and most other reviewers were just wrong. I finally took my HRV home today. To put it in perspective, I traded my modded 2014 Civic Si. With that being said, I really don't find the HRV underpowered nor is the R18 rough in anyway. I also found the Sport mode and paddle shifting to be just the ticket for getting the R18 in the meat of its powerband. Mind you, it is brand new so I am not going over 4000 rpm just yet. Is it a Si? No, and I don't expect it to be. In fact, I am delighted by its handling capabilities. Sure, the steering feed back is lacking but it corners great and dare I say, It is still a fun machine indeed. Certainly all you need for a daily commuter and haul'n the kids to and fro. Life is what you make of it. Apply that to the car you drive. I had just as much fun in my 1st gen 100hp Fit as I did in my 240hp S2000.

 

I agree. You made the right choice on getting the HRV! It is a great balance of everything.

 

Yea i agree if you find its too slow for you just put it in sport waste gas and go faster

 

Over reving? It cant blow the motor or anything (rev limiter) just holds the gears to higher revs i do see this as beating on it and kills your gas mileage but sport mode is great for on ramps stop lights and when your late for work

 

I retraced a mountain route that I drove as fast as prudently possible on a public highway several months ago at a more restrained pace, with a passenger today. Last time, 27 mpg in sport mode, pedal to the metal whenever possible; today, 37 mpg in D, paddling 7>4 downshifts to decelerate for turns. Still lots of fun.

 

I have never devoted a full tank in sport mode, but 27 mpg is pretty good!

 

Thank you Selden, that's good to know

 

From page 338 of the manual:


The shift mode goes into the 7-speed manual shift mode. The M indicator and the
speed are displayed in the shift indicator. As the vehicle speed slows down,
the transmission automatically shifts down accordingly. When the vehicle comes to
a stop, it automatically shifts down into 1st.
If the vehicle speed increases and the engine speed reaches near the tachometer’s
red zone, the transmission automatically shifts up.

 

Maybe I'm old, but the HR-V is fine. Yes, it's no speed demon. It get's the job done (for me @ least)

 

My sport mode is permanently stuck on (6 sp manual )!! Shifting at 4k rpm's makes the HR-v feel just as sporty as my Mini Clubman was, but then the gas mileage drops to 26mpg around town. Shifting at 3k makes the car feel a bit slow (like econ mode), but mpg's shoot up to 34. The engine is rough between 3-4k rpm, but then smooths out again when kept up high above 4k and feels pretty nice. When I work late and come home with empty roads I can really drive hard and change the cars personality. It's been surprisingly fun and I wish the road testers would just push the car a bit and discover it's full talents.

 

If it’s over reving in sport mode, tap the right shifter.

I find sport mode greatly improves the smoothness of adaptive cruise control, which is unacceptably rough in Drive.

 

I always have it in sport mode and use the paddle shifters daily to keep it in a certain rpm range where my aftermarket exhaust doesn't drone. If I drive in D, it stays at around 2K RPM which makes my cabin drone like hell. I don't know if using paddle shifters daily is harming my CVT but I’ve been using it for about 10,000 miles now with the paddles.