Well, that's not exactly great short runway capability. 500m tarmac is good for two takeoffs with a 182 RG. Short field performance is probably the biggest strength of the 182 family.
A Maule is even better
5 takeoffs in 500m?
The big Q is whether you want the tradeoffs that come with that.
A friend of mine has just bought a C182 with the canard kit (N-reg) and while he traded a superb IFR tourer for it (a TB20GT
) to him it is worthwhile because he can fly it from his 400m garden whereas previously he had a 1hr drive to his airport, and his trips are mostly short; say 300nm.
As I say, it's all a tradeoff, and the tradeoffs in aviation are pretty severe.
Re turbo normalisation, the TB21 is also TN but few (any?) make TBO without new cylinders. I don't know why; I assume it's because people fly them as they are meant to fly them
I transition to 120kt once clear of obstacles and then maintain constant EGT all the way to cruise, and the engine power drops off rapidly as the MP drops. With a TN engine you climb with all 3 levers on the forward stops all the way to cruise... why not? You paid for the privilege, so use it. But the engine does work a lot harder. Also, in cruise, I might be running at 50% power whereas the TN engine will be run at 75% power. Obviously it will go faster.