What is Smart Mode in a Car? How do you use it correctly?

Car manufacturers have been striving to make driving as comfortable as possible. As we live in a 'smart' world, car makers have also incorporated 'smart' technology to make driving relatively easy, enjoyable, and memorable. In this article, we will:

• Explain what a smart mode is in a car
• Elaborate on how drive modes differ
• Explain how to use smart mode correctly

Many modern cars are now equipped with a smart mode. The smart mode in a vehicle is a computer-aided driving system that continually surveys your driving style to provide a peerless balance operation, fuel economy, and overall car performance. This mode is designed to significantly reduce human input and hand it over to a smart system that increases car efficiency and performance.

Driving Characteristics

The driving style and characteristics vary significantly between drivers based on individual preferences and existing road conditions. The smart mode system monitors the driver's general driving habits to understand and anticipate his inclinations, providing intelligence support to the driving experience. 

While the modern car can achieve different performance parameters concerning driving demands and other driving techniques, the smart mode is designed to enhance engine performance by shifting through the car's existing driving modes. Through this automatic adjustment, the smart mode presents the ideal combination of engine variables with other vehicle characteristics and road conditions to deliver an optimized driving experience. 

How does the Smart Mode work?

A smart mode is among several interrelated driving modes found in modern cars. The smart mode controls your car's Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The ECU is a cutting-edge module that controls and coordinates all the significant components that drive your vehicle. This includes the engine, steering, braking, transmission, and suspension systems, all working in unison to drive the car while simultaneously maintaining safety.

Driving modes have been introduced in cars to enhance performance through adjusting traction control, steering experience, and throttle response, among other performance parameters based on existing conditions. These modes are intended to eliminate the dull singular driving routine typical in earlier car models. They also give the driver an unforgettable thrill of modern-day driving. 

While each driving mode is activated through manual shifts or at the touch of a button to move from one to the other, the smart mode is a cutting-edge technology that automatically and continually shifts between these modes as you drive along. By being connected to the ECU, smart mode intelligently adjusts your car performance by predicting and applying your interaction with the various driving components in your car. 

How do other drive modes differ from the smart mode?

Driving modes are intended to seamlessly change the dynamics of handling the car to improve its efficiency by adapting to different conditions. The most common driving modes include:

• Comfort
• ECO
• Custom
• Sport

However, there are many other variations depending on the car model. In most cars, these driving modes are activated by the driver through the touch of a button, or in some cases, through the car's infotainment screen. The driver uses his preferences or the prevailing road conditions to choose the preferred mode. However, with the smart mode, the selection through the various driving modes is made automatically, leaving the driver to enjoy the automatic drive mode selection. 

In this instance, the driving habits sensed by the smart mode are mild, normal, or dynamic. These driving habits are indicated on the car's dashboard as the driver interacts with the steering wheel and the brake pedal. For instance, dynamic driving preference is detected whenever the driver actuates abrupt breaking commensurate with sharp turns in the steering wheel. The smart mode automatically switches your car to the sport mode, where fuel economy is significantly compromised.

The smart mode switches to the smart SPORT mode in almost all instances when there is an abrupt acceleration, deceleration, or sharp steering. When in this mode, the car drives in a low gear resulting in fast acceleration/deceleration and optimal performance for the engine, transmission, and braking systems. 

On the other hand, a mild driving technique enables the smart mode technology in your car to automatically switch to the Smart ECO mode. The ECO mode is the most economical driving mode regarding fuel efficiency, though other vehicle parameters and road conditions may come into play. This mode then automatically changes to smart Normal when the vehicle begins a descent but then switches back to Smart ECO when the car gets onto a level road. 

Why The Smart Mode?

When the smart mode is selected, the car continually adjusts between the various drive modes concerning the driving preferences exhibited by the driver's habits. As soon as you start the engine, the smart mode automatically switches to the most appropriate mode preferred by the driver. The auto-selected mode relies heavily on the active driving habits of the driver calculated from his steering wheel activities and the depression of the brake pedal.

How to use smart mode correctly

As in all other driving modes in cars, the driver is supposed to initiate the smart by pressing the specific button on the driving console or wherever it is located, depending on the car type or model. Every time the car starts, the engine begins in normal driving mode, even if it was in the smart mode when the engine was switched off. Once the vehicle starts, the driver should switch to Smart mode to enable the technology to transition through the different driving modes in the car.

When turning on the smart mode, the driver should be conscious that from that time, the vehicle will automatically shift through different modes regardless of what the driver may prefer. This is because the smart mode automatically controls the engine torque, transmission, driving characteristics, fuel consumption, and drive quality through various driving modes.

One critical point to remember is that the driver's driving activity when the vehicle is in motion triggers the automatic shift by the smart mode from one mode to the other. Thus, the driver must ensure his driving habits are within his driving intentions to achieve his car's optimal performance. Sudden braking, sharp and repetitive turns, or an acceleration of the vehicle triggers the smart mode to adjust to a different driving mode which may not be in tandem with the road conditions.

Does Driver Habits affect the Smart mode operation?

The driver must therefore ensure his driving habits are controlled to achieve the car's desired performance. The smart mode combines all other modes, with the car's ECU automatically managing the shifting between modes. This means that the smart mode may adjust to a mode the driver is not intent on using.

The driver should remember that the smart mode intelligently takes away most of his physical driving activities and uses his current driving techniques to actualize driving. This smart mode driving controls vehicle parameters which include:

• Suspension
• Automation
• Throttle response
• Gear shift sharpness, among critical parameters.

As such, the driver must be wary of any driving changes that may arise as the vehicle shuttles along.

Unlike in other drive modes, where the driver selects the preferred mode to respond to the changing conditions, the smart mode chooses the mode based on the driver's habits. The driver in a smart mode must therefore react appropriately to the changing needs. The driving technique and his reaction to the prevailing road conditions will significantly impact how the smart mode switches between the car driving modes. 

The smart mode leaves the driver to concentrate mainly on the steering wheel. The driver should therefore employ well-calculated driving techniques and habits to enable the smart way to control the car in the most appropriate performance-related manner while ensuring safety. The manual drive modes offer more flexibility than the smart mode in terms of driver input. He should therefore understand that the vehicle is under the 'auto' mode and control his driving actions and reactions in a way that begets the desired vehicle output.

Moreover, the driver should remember that while the car is in smart mode, some actions, such as shifting the gear lever or activating the cruise control automatically deactivate the smart mode. At the same time, very low or high oil temperatures can also prevent the smart mode from operating normally in your vehicle. The driver must be keen not to inadvertently interrupt the smart mode with such actions if he intends to remain in that automated driving mode.

Cutting-edge driving technology

The smart mode in your car is an innovative technology designed to make your driving experience easy while allowing your vehicle to adapt to changing conditions on the road. This state-of-the-art driving system is intended to maximize the car's response to both human and mechanical inputs. When used correctly, the smart mode lessens the driver's actual driving workload while optimizing the engine's output and the car's overall performance on the road.

While various drive modes are tailored towards matching the vehicle operations with the changing road conditions and driving preferences, the smart mode is designed to automatically enhance these parameters and provide comfort to the driver by relieving most of the manual driving operations.