Niko Neugebauer discusses how Batch Execution Mode has changed since SQL Server 2014:
I will share a little secret with you – it’s all about the Batch Execution Mode in SQL Server 2014: all those Hash Match iterators are running in Batch Mode, even though we are not using Columnstore Index anywhere.
In SQL Server 2016 this old (since 2012) functionality has been removed and once you are running your queries in the compatibility level of 130 (SQL Server 2016), your queries that were taking advantage of it – will be running significantly slower.There is a fast & brutal solution for that problem – set your compatibility level to 120, but do not go there until you have understood all the implications: some of the most important and magnificent improvements for the Batch Execution Mode are functioning only if your database is set to compatibility level 130: single threaded batch mode, batch sorting, window functions, etc.
From what I know, there is no way you can have all of those functionalities working together under the same hood and enjoy the old way of getting Batch Execution Mode without the presence of the Columnstore Index.
The conclusion is a bit of a downer. Read the whole thing.