Scooter – Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! – Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three …

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Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice !

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

Piaggio updates its MP3 range in 2018: the 500’s engine has changed slightly (HPE) and more clearly distinguishes its Sport and Business versions, while the 300 changes engine and displacement … Make way for the MP3 350 ! Site was able to test them very briefly. Contact.

Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three…

Twelve years already that the MP3 circulates in our cities. The Piaggio three-wheeler, which appeared as an ORNI (unidentified rolling object) when it was released in 2006, has been so successful in France that the dozen journalists who stroll in tight formation in Paris on the handlebars of the new 2018 models, pass almost unnoticed !

Think about it: of the 170,000 MP3s (all versions and all brands) that Piaggio has produced to date, around 103,000 have been sold in our territory, mostly in large cities and in Ile-de-France. No wonder the Parisians don’t look back on us…

  • MNC test of MP3 125 :
  • MNC test of MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR :
  • Interview Piaggio France :

Since the release of the original and promising 125 cc and thanks to the combined expansion of its front axle (LT model) and therefore of its customers (welcome dear motorists!), Of its range (Yourban, Fuoco … Hybrid?) and of its displacements (250 then 300, 400 then 500 …), the Pontedera tricycle has withstood the ravages of modern time tremendously well ….

Regardless of the overall economic situation (2008-2009-2010-etc. Crisis), the legislation (compulsory 7-hour training in 2011) or the competition (Peugeot woke up late in 2013): the MP3 is constantly among the very best sellers. French "motorized two-wheelers" !

In 2017 again, the spearhead of the MP3 range and the Piaggio brand (!), The MP3 500, attracted a little more than 5,000 French "scootomobilists" in 2017 (5,045 copies to be exact), i.e. more than double the score of the Metropolis 400 (2172 ex.), more than triple that of the MP3 300 (1517) and six times more than the Yourban 300 (795)…

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

However, Piaggio maxiscooters – accessible to B license holders, unlike the Xmax 300 and Tmax 530 in particular, reserved for A and A2 licenses! – came to the end of the race: launched in 2014 on the market, the MP3 300 and 500 gave way this summer to the MP3 350 and 500 HPE … MNC was able to test them, quickly.

First observation, whether we ride the "small" or the "big" MP3, the feeling of security provided by the front axle is still present. At beautiful ugly middle of the traffic, the traps are numerous and sometimes invisible, but the front axle of the Piaggio easily plays with manholes, potholes, tram rails or paved sections.

In bends as on braking, the three wheels provide the scooter with excellent, superior stability – almost twice! – to that of traditional two-wheelers in any case. If the grip is momentarily lacking under one of the wheels, the other two compensate. In town on the "gramouille", we appreciate.

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

However, beware of overzealousness because the MP3 does not work miracles: ABS – optional in 2014, standard today – intervenes during emergency braking or when the surface is slippery. The system works great, the twitching in the controls is not destabilizing, but the braking distance is no longer as short as you think.

Also when accelerating, the presence of a third wheel does not exempt the driver from anticipating and thinking … It is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the asphalt and gauge the level of grip: the intervention of the ASR , soft but sensitive and audible (the engine grazes lightly), is a good warning which signals to the "pilot" that the angles must then be moderate.

Sport, the MP3 500 HPE offers in its eponymous version: matte black finish of the silencer protection – now with double output -, ditto for the grille, the passenger handles and the rims … which unfortunately hide a little too much the specific "Wave" cutout of the brake discs (at the front, why not at the rear?).

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

Still on the MP3 500 Sport, the central bridge and the upper part of the front end benefit from a finish – imitation! – carbon. A rod located under the handlebars uses the same subterfuge. Too bad that all of the dashboard trim does not do the same: was not the goal to impress ?

From a mechanical point of view, the MP3 500 HPE Sport also differs from its twin "Business" via its pair of Kayaba gas shocks. Recognizable by the red tint of their spring and their cartridge, these elements must "improve traction and stability, and absorb road irregularities more effectively while increasing comfort and safety", assure the Italians.

Site is mounted on the three scooters (the two versions of the 500 and the only 350, we ended up getting lost!) But only traveled about thirty kilometers in the capital and its vicinity. suburbs. It is therefore impossible to comment on the contribution of "Sport" shock absorbers..

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

Whether you are in Sport or Business, the comfort on board is correct. Certainly we would have liked a little more flexibility from the fork and the shock absorbers on the cobbles and retarders. But on the contrary, we appreciate the rigor of the suspensions which give the scooter (s) appreciable heading on the fast track….

To give a little more presence and class to its essential Business version, Piaggio has dyed its rims, passenger footrests and its MP3 500 HPE tunnel in silver. The dynamic executive scooter carefully integrates the Tom Tom Vio as standard, essential for going to appointments! Removable, the box can be recharged by the USB port located in the single central glove box.

According to Piaggio, "the elegance of the (model) Business is all the more enhanced by the colors in which it is offered: Iceberg White, Universe Black, Matte Gray and a new Matte Blue", explains the manufacturer. Five colors are dedicated to the Sport version: Black, Gray and Matte Green, as well as Pastel White and Glossy Pastel Gray (also adopted by the 350).

Scooter - Piaggio MP3 350, 500 HPE Sport or Business test: your choice! - Piaggio MP3 2018 test page 1: three times three ...

Sport or Business, the MP3 500 appeals above all for its performance: it is by far the most powerful and torquey scooter accessible to motorists. In this new HPE version (for "High Performance Engine"), it also gains 4.1 hp and 2.2 Nm, while polluting less, guarantee the Italians.

Developing 44.2 horsepower and 47.5 newton-meters, the new 2018 version of the 493 cc single-cylinder offers significantly more robust acceleration and pick-up than any 125 cc, even sporty … The driver feels more serene on the motorway, where it can maintain a 140 km / h "counter" without worry.

At the controls of the new MP3 350, it is also possible to blend without risk in the flood of cars feverishly stalled at the regulatory 130 km / h, but that takes more time. Site observes, however, that the new "small" MP3 is significantly more efficient than the previous 300…

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