TPW Engineering

I do a lot of motorway in the 530d, then a climb at the far end with the car heavy. The climb was the weak map. It pulls up it now without the usual downchange, and the same fuller mid-range makes a pass of a truck a shorter piece of road. Cruising, I am using less throttle to hold speed, and the fuel over those weeks has moved the right way. Nothing rattles, nothing feels forced. The car is more driveable in exactly the places I use it.

I use the Tourneo for airport runs, so it is either empty or completely full, and the hills do not care which. Full, it used to fade on the climb to the motorway and then spend a minute finding itself. The remap lets it pull that gradient and keep a gear. Empty, the throttle is cleaner and I am not changing down for every slight rise on the way back. The fuel figure on the loaded trips is no worse, and the light ones are a little better. Passengers have even mentioned that it feels less busy. That is drivability, and it was worth doing.

The GLA was fine until the road went up. Those moments are shorter now. It holds the gear, picks up cleaner from a junction, and does not feel as if it is saving itself for later.

Towing with the X5 was the reason, and the hill up to the farm was the test. It used to dig down a gear and stay there. It pulls the trailer up in a taller gear and feels as if it has spare rather than a struggle. Off the hitch the car is nicer too. Roundabouts are cleaner, the motorway needs less of the right foot, and the fuel figure on an unladen run has crept the right way. I am really pleased with how ordinary it feels, which is an odd compliment until you have driven the old map.

I had the Caddy mapped because the hills on the rounds were making a slow van slower. With the shelves full it now keeps its speed on the climb instead of sagging and hunting. Between stops it pulls away more cleanly, which matters when you are in and out of traffic all morning. I was wary of fuel, so I compared a fortnight with the same drops. It is a bit better light, and no worse heavy. The engine note has not become silly. It is just a more driveable van, and the day is less tiring for it.

The Q3 fits the week better now. It pulls up the short steep bit by the station without a fuss, overtakes settle quicker, and the low-speed throttle is less woolly. Nothing else about the car had to change.

The Puma is happier on the hill up to the estate and less flat when you join the bypass. Throttle response is the main gain. It still feels like the same small Ford, which I wanted.

I run a Sprinter on delivery work and the hills were costing me time. Full, it would drop speed and then spend the next half mile finding a gear. The remap lets it pull through those climbs and keep a pace that does not hold everyone up. Empty, it is less frantic and the fuel on the trunk roads has improved, which on these miles is not nothing. Throttle response with a cage full of parcels is smoother, so I am not jerking away from lights. Same van, less argument. That is what I mean by drivability, and it is the difference I feel at the end of the day.

The Q7 is the family car and the tow car, so a remap had to behave. On the hill out towards the moor, with the trailer on, it used to give up a gear and stay noisy to the top. It pulls now, steady, and I am not riding the throttle to keep it honest. Without the trailer the same map makes the car feel smaller: cleaner off the line, less hunting on the bypass, enough mid-range to pass without a story. I kept the fuel receipts for a month of mixed use. Heavy days are level, light days are better. Above all it is more driveable, which on a car this size is the benefit you actually live with.

I drive the Sharan the way a Sharan gets driven: full, stop-start, and then a hill. The hill at the end of our road was always the moment it felt too big for itself. The remap has given it the pull to climb in the gear it is in, and the mid-range to join the main road without a pause. In traffic the throttle is smoother, so it is not lunging, and a steady run to see family is using a little less fuel than the same trip did last spring. It has not become sporty. It has become easier. That is the improvement I notice every time I take it out.

Amarok, trailer on, the long hill before the main road. That used to be a conversation with the gearbox. It is a pull now, steady, without the fall-away near the top. On my own the truck cruises more quietly and still returns a sensible number of miles to the gallon. More useful, which is what a tune ought to be on a pickup.

The 420d is a commuter, so I cared about the hill at the end of the bypass and the way it picks up from fifty. Both are better. It holds the gear, the mid-range is fuller, and a tank seems to last a little longer on that same road.

T-Roc. The hill by the school is no longer a downchange, and there is enough pull to join the dual carriageway without a debate. Tidier everywhere else.

The 120d pulls up the hill past the shops in a higher gear and has a fuller step from 30 to 60. Less busy, slightly thriftier on the bypass, easier all round.

A5. Less waiting for the power, less dropping a gear for a rise in the road, and a throttle that finally matches the rest of the car. A calmer, quicker drive home.

The Arteon always wafted. It just would not pull a hill without thinking about it. That delay has gone. More mid-range, fewer downchanges, and a cruise that sits even more easily.

CLA. Earlier torque, the hill out of the close done in one gear, and a cleaner response when the gap appears. Easier car. That is the review.

The Focus diesel was bought for miles, then annoyed me on every hill. Not anymore. The rise out of town, the one that always took fourth and then third, is a single gear and a steady pull. From 40 to 70 there is something in reserve, so I am not planning overtakes a field in advance. Around town the throttle is less drowsy. I have compared fill-ups on the same weekly loop and the economy is up a fraction, which on a diesel I use every day is a fair bonus. Mostly it is just nicer to drive. Less managing, more getting on.

The E-Class estate carries weight, and you feel a flat map when it does. The hill up to the coast road was a downchange with the boot full and another if anyone was in the back. It pulls through now. On the way home, empty, it cruises more easily and the mid-range makes the short overtakes simple. Fuel on that run has held up. A big Mercedes that finally gets out of its own way.

Golf GTD. More useful pull from low revs, the hill onto the estate done without a kickdown, and a motorway cruise that sits rather than strives. Very driveable.