Variant Advice

[Keredewor]

So...My T32 T5 Cali 4 Motion 6 speed manual has been superb, but now about to buy a 6.1 Kombi for use as a sports van for my Daughter and her 3 kids so it's life or death I get it right of forever in the neck

So ... what to specify (decided on 4 Motion)

T30 or T32 (considering the weight)
Manual 6 speed or DSG 7speed
TDI or BiTDI
Any other tips???

Best haggling site ... like BTD ...

All opinions welcome ..thank you

 

[Texxaco]

Dsg for certain.
BTDi, way more fun and never a need to chip it. Although I have mine chipped
Twin slider makes it easy to offload kids. Electric, open/close an advantage.
T32 better brakes and ARB although heavier.
Get the VW LED’s from and rear. Best option by far although again not cheap.
4 motion is great but ask yourself do you really need it?

Hope the above helps a little. My van is a BTDi DSG T32 twin slider electric in Indium grey, lots of other stuff but I don’t think they are relevant to your daughters needs

 

[DaveD]

Is she ever likely to need the extra 200KG weight carrying ability of the T32?
A T30 4Motion can carry about 900KG, that's a fair bit!
A T30 would give her more choices with tyres and wheels and might offer a slightly more compliant ride.
LED lights would be a must have for me.
Just my thoughts!

 

[Andyf]

Possibly not twin sliders for me so kids could open onto road / traffic
But agree with @Texxaco does make it easier

 

[Texxaco]

I think everyone will agree VW LED’s is your first tick box, safety wise it’s a no brainier.

 

[Andyf]

I think everyone will agree VW LED’s is your first tick box, safety wise it’s a no brainier.

yes

 

[JOG]

Dsg for certain.
BTDi, way more fun and never a need to chip it. Although I have mine chipped
Twin slider makes it easy to offload kids. Electric, open/close an advantage.
T32 better brakes and ARB although heavier.
Get the VW LED’s from and rear. Best option by far although again not cheap.
4 motion is great but ask yourself do you really need it?

Hope the above helps a little. My van is a BTDi DSG T32 twin slider electric in Indium grey, lots of other stuff but I don’t think they are relevant to your daughters needs

I agree except for the power opening/closing. That beeping is a pita and people insist on pulling the door rather than let it do it’s thing. Go for the power latching though!

 

[Texxaco]

I agree except for the power opening/closing. That beeping is a pita and people insist on pulling the door rather than let it do it’s thing. Go for the power latching though!

I turned my beeping off, people who use the van often get used to the power doors though. Or maybe my passengers are just lazy

 

[JOG]

I turned my beeping off, people who use the van often get used to the power doors though. Or maybe my passengers are just lazy

It’s those who aren’t used to it that are the biggest offenders! That said, I fancy putting in power latching rather than have the sprogs hanging off the door trying to open it

 

[Blueboy]

I agree except for the power opening/closing. That beeping is a pita and people insist on pulling the door rather than let it do it’s thing. Go for the power latching though!

Agree with this especially when using at night on a quiet camp site how did you switch the beeping noise off though pls?

 

[rover220]

Dsg for certain.
BTDi, way more fun and never a need to chip it. Although I have mine chipped
Twin slider makes it easy to offload kids. Electric, open/close an advantage.
T32 better brakes and ARB although heavier.
Get the VW LED’s from and rear. Best option by far although again not cheap.
4 motion is great but ask yourself do you really need it?

Hope the above helps a little. My van is a BTDi DSG T32 twin slider electric in Indium grey, lots of other stuff but I don’t think they are relevant to your daughters needs

T32 doesn't get you better brakes, it's the higher output engines that get those as standard.

 

[JOG]

Agree with this especially when using at night on a quiet camp site how did you switch the beeping noise off though pls?

I didn’t, I had full electric closing. I now have a manual slider. I fancy power latching though (ie the first bit of opening/closing) rather than a full electric slider.

 

[Blueboy]

I didn’t, I had full electric closing. I now have a manual slider. I fancy power latching though (ie the first bit of opening/closing) rather than a full electric slider.

Ah ok - don’t think I’d get away with changing the van to get rid of the noise? I may have to take the card off and tape over something

 

[JOG]

Ah ok - don’t think I’d get away with changing the van to get rid of the noise? I may have to take the card off and tape over something

I’d like the power latching so the kids don’t hang off the van opening the slider. We upgraded from a 2012 T5.1 manual California to a 2018 T6 DSG California as we elected to invest in the “family car”. However, in doing so we lost out on the full electric slider. I may look at retrofit power latching, but not the full power slider. There may be some folk on here who can advise on how to silence the blooming beeper!

 

[Texxaco]

T32 doesn't get you better brakes, it's the higher output engines that get those as standard.

Hi @rover220 I was under the impression that due to the extra weight of the T32 variant the bigger ARB and brake callipers were beefed up to contend with this. Happy to be proved wrong though.

I have the 204bhp chipped hence the bigger callipers, now painted ed blue

 

[Tic tac]

My 150 t32 has the big calipers.

 

[rover220]

Hi @rover220 I was under the impression that due to the extra weight of the T32 variant the bigger ARB and brake callipers were beefed up to contend with this. Happy to be proved wrong though.

I have the 204bhp chipped hence the bigger callipers, now painted ed blue

it is not standard on the t32, they are an option on anything less than the 180/199/204

 

[rover220]

my t32 150 has the smaller brakes

 

[mmi]

Linking another thread about brake size options -->

https://www.t6forum.com/threads/what-options-have-been-fitted-to-my-t6.14428/post-201561

 

[Keeff]

I have a kombi with manual 6 speed box . I have test driven two t6 DSG 150 hp vans and just could not get on with them as the gear are always changing up and down at town driving speeds and not good when it comes to parking . I have driven DSG cars and even a caddy van and found them completely different. My advice would be have a good test drive if you have never driven a van with DSG before you order . I am not against DSG and would have it in a car but the 7 gear on a van just seems to many . The only other thing is in winter the heater can take a long time to hear the van or you could fit a bulkhead behind the back seat .Mine is a T32 and the ride was very hard so fitted T30 rear springs and drives much better now So go for the T30 .