Lake Balboa Hill Run: 2015 Permobil C500 K-Code

My recent findings on the Permobil C500 suggest that it's an overall, well-built frame. Truthfully, it's the performance that's my biggest complaint about the C500, and I say that carefully, because I just don't feel like Permobil of North America could have stretched their resources any further. That's just in the construction of the C500, but if there's one thing that Permobil's products have proven over the years, it's that they really do go the extra mile to build the most top-end power chair.

Not because the thing's super fast or anything, but let's face it: any vehicle that you drive is going to have to back up its performance with suspension, and it seems like that's why Permobil is the most capable of building a power chair like a car.

Yesterday afternoon, I tested my C500 at our Valley's beloved Balboa Park, in Lake Balboa, California. This is also an afternoon where I've pressure-tested the bike on our equally-famed Reseda Boulevard, and over several miles from the Orange Line station, at the corner of Oxnard, to CORE Centers on Superior.

Here's why it's lacking in performance: in every uphill test that I tried at Balboa, the 500 cruised at an average speed of 1.4-2.1 miles per hour. This is with the understanding, of course, that the decked-out Permobil, with its most base electric motor, is capable of lifting 5.1 miles per hour, and as the Beach Boys have sang, that was at the top-end floored!

Problematic no less, because with the "top-end floored," Permobil's C500, when off-road, stays inside of that 1.4-2.1 mile-per-hour bracket, and that's even regardless of how much of an incline the chair is facing.

Again, this is mostly under an off-road context, and even on hard-packed dirt, the C500 is capable of doing 5 miles per hour, which was my recorded top-end in my last road test.

Permobil fanatics should not fret, however. Because part # 1823394 and 1823395, which refer to the manufacturer's left-to-right motor upgrade, can easily make Permobil's C500 equal in performance to their flagship power chair, the "F5."

For me, I want to be working with Permobil and Sherman Oaks Medical Supply to get the power package for the 500. Because apart from having Westside Collision in Lancaster, California paint the "K-Code" decals on the thing, a higher-output motor seems to be necessary for getting out of others' way, and if there's any argument that can be made for why performance is a medical necessity, then that would clearly be it.

My little nephew, Gionni, often quotes Lightening McQueen: "Packa-Pow!!!" I've been using that a lot myself lately, and now I know why. The body lines are there, the electric running gear is intact. Really, with the right looks and performance tune, Permobil's C500 is set-and-ready for "Radiator Springs'" worse!