General I was not impressed. (Tuned TwinAir Turbo)

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General I was not impressed. (Tuned TwinAir Turbo)

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I had a test drive in a tuned 105 hp TwinAir Turbo Fiat 500.
The car had instead of the original 105 hp/145 Nm, 120 hp/172 Nm.
For some reason it felt not quicker then my Panda 85. (and yes it (500) was in sport mode)
A tuned 85 TwinAir Turbo would have ±102 hp and the same 172 Nm.

The only reason why it felt not quicker then my Panda is, that mine has been already tuned or tuning is simply not worth the money.

Back in my Panda after the test drive i had the feeling my Panda felt evenly quick to me.
So, tuning is no longer at the top of my list, i only will instal the bigger intercooler from the TA 105 hp 500.
 

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Back in my Panda after the test drive i had the feeling my Panda felt evenly quick to me.

The way the car drives is worth much more than numbers on a printout from a rolling road machine. Choosing a car based on performance graphs often leads to disappointment.

If I were considering buying an unfamiliar car as a keeper, I'd either prise one out of the dealership for a full day's test drive, or failing that, hire one for the day instead.

You've learnt something useful from your test drive, and saved yourself some cash into the bargain!
 
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The standard untuned 500 TA 105 (which I owned for 2 years) felt much quicker than my Panda 85 TA. You could feel the higher power as the revs rose, as you'd expect.

Even with the tuning box I now have on the Panda (4x4) it is not as fast in acceleration, as the 500TA. But for me that's not what the Panda is about. My tuned Panda is better pulling from lower down the rev range than the 500.

A major consideration is the weight. The Panda carries 110Kg over the 500, which is about 12% more. (940Kg v 1050Kg roughly - it varies with trim, options, wheels etc)

How was the 500 you tried tuned? And had the power output been verified on a rolling road?
 
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The 500 has a complete ECU remap and the power output was developed and verified on a dyno.
The downside of a TA 105 is that everything is happening at higher rpm, it's pick-up/spool-up is slower then a smaller 85 turbo.
It did not felt quicker then mine Panda, and i drove them back to back.
Drove 63 KM with the Panda, then 20 Minutes with the 500, and the 63 Km again in the Panda, and the 500 simply did not felt quicker then my Panda.
 
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