There was much scoffing and huffing about the new T6 Cali over the T5.1; "it's the same" they all cried, worrying about the value of their vans.
We were more or less forced into selling our T5.1; turns out the early 180s were a bit rubbish with emissions issues among many. So we tried non van life, failed, looked at other options, came back to VW. We did three years including two 5 week trips in Europe in our old one and sold it as three years/22750 miles. Now nearing the end of another five week trip putting almost 1500 miles onto our 16 plate 204 4motion.
So here are the better bits;
1)The roof is actually waterproof; the old one wasn't at all and a topper was essential. Only the little vents let in any water in high winds and even that's rare. This is a massive plus!
2) The engine is much better. It's quieter, pulls harder and uses about 7mpg less fuel. It's still a tiny bit reluctant at the lowest revs, it still sounds dieselly but for what it does, it's so much better. Many a tailgater has been shocked as a camper pulls away up a long hill. It's no race car but on the long hills of mountainous Europe, it happily hangs onto 80.
3) The interior LED lights are much better. Dimmable lights in the roof (three) and rear tailgate are a vast improvement. There's also a roof bed area 12v socket now; perfect for sticking on a DVD up there for our kids.
4) The dash is much better; almost too many storage bins TBH but plenty of space for items and it looks like a half decent car rather than a base hire van. Bluetooth is way better and even our basic stereo streams music well. It also switches on straight away unlike our old crap-nav integrated system.
5) Better lights; they're only H7 halogens on ours but they are better.
6) Better kitchen fitout; soft touch cutlery drawer, better fitted units.
7) SO many nice comments from all sorts of people!
8) The paint appears to be much more robust.
9) A decent warranty; proper five year factory warranty for under £400. Perfect.
A few things have come up but nothing we can't sort;
1) The awning rattles a lot. I've tried stuffing cardboard in and even a sock but it won't go away. Only at low speeds over bumps but it's annoying.
2) The electric door latch on the slider has failed several times. It still shuts but not useful.
3) The awning handle latch fell off almost immediately (just a small thing in the sliding seat drawer).
We've also learned to use things we had before but didn't really know about; the battery meter, the interior central locking, etc. We forgot our hookup cable (!) but haven't actually needed it; only on a six day stay did we need a quick drive to charge up the batteries for the fridge.
So all in all, while no changes are massive, they all add up to a van that suits us better.
Let's hope it keeps on working properly!!
We were more or less forced into selling our T5.1; turns out the early 180s were a bit rubbish with emissions issues among many. So we tried non van life, failed, looked at other options, came back to VW. We did three years including two 5 week trips in Europe in our old one and sold it as three years/22750 miles. Now nearing the end of another five week trip putting almost 1500 miles onto our 16 plate 204 4motion.
So here are the better bits;
1)The roof is actually waterproof; the old one wasn't at all and a topper was essential. Only the little vents let in any water in high winds and even that's rare. This is a massive plus!
2) The engine is much better. It's quieter, pulls harder and uses about 7mpg less fuel. It's still a tiny bit reluctant at the lowest revs, it still sounds dieselly but for what it does, it's so much better. Many a tailgater has been shocked as a camper pulls away up a long hill. It's no race car but on the long hills of mountainous Europe, it happily hangs onto 80.
3) The interior LED lights are much better. Dimmable lights in the roof (three) and rear tailgate are a vast improvement. There's also a roof bed area 12v socket now; perfect for sticking on a DVD up there for our kids.
4) The dash is much better; almost too many storage bins TBH but plenty of space for items and it looks like a half decent car rather than a base hire van. Bluetooth is way better and even our basic stereo streams music well. It also switches on straight away unlike our old crap-nav integrated system.
5) Better lights; they're only H7 halogens on ours but they are better.
6) Better kitchen fitout; soft touch cutlery drawer, better fitted units.
7) SO many nice comments from all sorts of people!
8) The paint appears to be much more robust.
9) A decent warranty; proper five year factory warranty for under £400. Perfect.
A few things have come up but nothing we can't sort;
1) The awning rattles a lot. I've tried stuffing cardboard in and even a sock but it won't go away. Only at low speeds over bumps but it's annoying.
2) The electric door latch on the slider has failed several times. It still shuts but not useful.
3) The awning handle latch fell off almost immediately (just a small thing in the sliding seat drawer).
We've also learned to use things we had before but didn't really know about; the battery meter, the interior central locking, etc. We forgot our hookup cable (!) but haven't actually needed it; only on a six day stay did we need a quick drive to charge up the batteries for the fridge.
So all in all, while no changes are massive, they all add up to a van that suits us better.
Let's hope it keeps on working properly!!
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