Cars/Brands that do auto start-stop well

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Nov 19, 2020
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Eastern NC
Thought this could be a nice topic, a lot of people like to complain about auto engine start/stop (ESS), but it's been around for quite a while now, and contrary to a lot of doomsaying I haven't heard about a pandemic of failed starter motors because of it. That said, some companies seem to do it better than others. I've only driven a few different ones to compare, but here's my thoughts, and I'd like to see others.

Bad: 2018 Ford Escape Ecoboost rental- The auto start/stop on this car was awful. It turns the engine off, it also turns off the power steering and does not restart the engine if you try to turn the steering wheel. It doesn't restart the engine or keep it on when the AC is running. It's slow to restart and not what I'd call "smooth". I actually disabled it on this after a day or two it was so annoying. I drove a 2020 Fusion Ecoboost and while it was better than the Escape, it still wasn't pleasant. In both cases I had to fully remove my foot from the brake before it would restart the engine. In both cases I was actively annoyed by it.

Good: VW. My experience with VW ESS is dramatically different than Ford's. I have experience with two different VW engines/vehicles to compare.
1. 2021 VW T-Cross 1.0TSI 3cylinder (EU market) with the DSG. This one was by far the most seamless experience. The 1.0 is so smooth and quiet even while running, that the stop/start is almost imperceptible. In addition, this one was more aggressively programmed than the US market 1.5T. Very quickly I was able to predict when the engine would shut off, it would frequently shut off while slowing to a stop, at maybe 3-4mph while braking. It also was very easy to get the engine to restart- both in this case and with the 1.5T in my Taos just slightly lifting your foot on the brake pedal (while keeping the brakes applied) is enough to get it to restart, keep firm pressure to keep engine shut down. It also restarted extremely quickly and with no drama, and no delay. The power steering was not disabled like with the Ford, and turning the wheel any amount would also cause the engine to restart (smart, so it would restart if you were say in an intersection waiting to make a left turn). Honestly super impressed with the ESS in this car, I saw no reason to ever turn it off, it just worked perfectly and was seamless. And if you are slowing to a stop and it turns off at 2-3mph, but you release the brake it restarted insantly and the power was back before your foot hits the throttle. Honestly if I could grade it, I'd give it an A+.

The 1.5T in my Taos is almost but not quite as good, I'm not sure if it's a difference in programming between the EU and NA market, or a difference between the 1.0 and 1.5. Unlike the T-Cross it won't turn off while still rolling under braking, it will wait until you've come to a complete stop for a few seconds before turning off, and the feeling is a bit more noticeable, but still far less than the Fords. Just like the T-Cross however, the engine is quick to come to life if you ever so slightly raise the brake pedal or turning the wheel, making engine restart on-demand easy. The restart is again not quite as seamless and smooth as the 1.0, but that could just be due to the greater rotating mass. I once spent several hours in traffic picking up a friend from LaGuardia when I was down in the city, and I didn't even disable it then, it worked perfectly the entire time I was stuck in traffic. The only time I disable it so far is when its cold and I want heat while the engine is still warming up.

I'd like to try to experience some others, but that's my impressions of what I've driven recently. I'd like to hear other experiences with them.
 
The stop start in my jeep is not great but it improved 100% with new battery.. way more than I expected.
 
The start-stop in my 2019 Chevy Malibu LT is pretty good. I thought I'd hate it but you hardly even notice it.
 
I am glad my 2021 Honda HRV does not have that. It seems that this would be hard on the starter overime and my guess that starter will cost a small fortune to replace...
 
I am glad my 2021 Honda HRV does not have that. It seems that this would be hard on the starter overime and my guess that starter will cost a small fortune to replace...
Like I said in the OP, this tech has been out for a long time now and I haven't heard about any pandemic of failing starter motors. They are overbuilt for this purpose compared to normal starters. Do you worry about wearing out your windshield wiper motors or blower motor?
 
The start-stop in my 2019 Chevy Malibu LT is pretty good. I thought I'd hate it but you hardly even notice it.
My father had a 19 Malibu as a work vehicle, and while I never drove it, he also commented the same to me, that he thought he'd hate it but it was seamless enough to not notice normally.
 
Daughters 2017 ecoBoost Escape works fine. On hot days it does not turn off the engine so passengers stay cool. On warm days it turns the A/C off for a bit but self re-starts so the passengers do not get hot. Don't know why it would be necessary for the car to turn on by turning the steering wheel....Different strokes I guess.. Also only a slight release of pressure of the brake pedal fires the car right up.. Still nice to have a switch to turn it off as well as it automatically turns off when in Sport mode. Other daughters MB works fine as well.
 
Not a fan of auto start-stop system in wife's Q5, so it stays disabled.

If there is a good auto start-stop implementation out there, I haven't had a chance to experience it yet.
I get the impression that larger engines are probably harder to implement a good ESS system on, simply due to the larger amount of mass to start moving and start moving quickly. I wonder if the 2.0T is any better in that regard?
 
Daughters 2017 ecoBoost Escape works fine. On hot days it does not turn off the engine so passengers stay cool. On warm days it turns the A/C off for a bit but self re-starts so the passengers do not get hot. Don't know why it would be necessary for the car to turn on by turning the steering wheel....Different strokes I guess.. Also only a slight release of pressure of the brake pedal fires the car right up.. Still nice to have a switch to turn it off as well as it automatically turns off when in Sport mode. Other daughters MB works fine as well.
The most common instance is say you pull into an intersection to make a left turn and stop with the wheels straight (like you're supposed to) engine shuts off. You then go to turn the wheel to go fro the opening and you can't because the engine is off, you have to release the brake first.
 
The most common instance is say you pull into an intersection to make a left turn and stop with the wheels straight (like you're supposed to) engine shuts off. You then go to turn the wheel to go fro the opening and you can't because the engine is off, you have to release the brake first.
Turning the wheel while the vehicle is stopped is bad for your front tires. :)
 
My JLU is too fast to shut off - its one thing to stop running at a red light - but I can’t do a quick stop at a stop sign and it shuts off with no lag built in.
 
My Toyota Venza hybrid does it very well....l hardly even know it is operating.
 
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