140PS or not 140PS?

[IanB]

After much consideration and penny saving I'm looking to buy a Cali. I've seen a beautiful pre-registered manual one with some nice extras, but just a little unsure about the fact that it's a 140PS example. Is it going to be powerful enough and fun to drive? - I've done enough struggling up hills in other campers I've owned - and will it be seen as less desirable and depreciate more than a 180PS when it comes to resale although I don't intend that to happen for a long time!
It also has manual air con - is Climatronic that much better?
Your thoughts and views would be much appreciated.

 

[calikev]

Hi Ian welcome along
Good question by the way. Here are my thought's
I have the 140 manual and I find it adequate cruises at 80 no problem having said that I live in a fairly flat part of the country so not sure what it would be like in say Devon or Cornwall.
You can remap a 140 up to 180 fairly easily. Depreciation I'm not sure they are worse than the 180
Because they are cheaper in the first place. The climatronic is an expensive extra can't comment
On that as I have just the climate that I find works well for me.
I'm sure more people will have their thought on this. I still smile every time I drive my 140
After all it's a cali

 

[IanB]

Thanks CaliKev for your quick response. Feeling reassured already!

 

[David Eccles]

we opted for 140ps and are more than happy with performance etc
likewise we did not upgrade to climatronic ... nice to have but not an essential ... precise temp control is not something we needed...

 

[MichaelB]

Hi

We have the 140 and love it but I have never driven the 180 to compare. You do find your self changing down more often on steep hills but it does not affect my driving pleasure.

As for Climatronic there are some factors that help to make the decission. The first is that there is no air con vents in the back with the standard set up. So we found to get air back to the back involved getting a bit chilly in the front on the road test we took. So for the confort of our little one we thought it was a worth while option. I have memorys of summer holiday trips to Cornwall with my parents in the days before air con that I didn't want the wee one to have.

Also Climatronic has a handy feature that you can use residule engine heat to keep the Cali warm even after you have turned the engine off. This is quite handy for the road side brew in winter without using the parking heater.

So if I wasn't going to have passengers in the back very often I won't bother. It you are then I would think carefully. Like all think Cali there are many view points but this is mine.

Good luck finding your dream on wheels.

 

[Andy]

Climatronic seems to be a generally desirable extra, along with privacy glass, so getting it will mean your van should be more sellable should you ever need to sell it.
I have it on my van & having done 1000's of miles with standard air con (in trucks & cars) I would not be with out it. Set temp & forget about it vs keep on adjusting it when you suddenly realise you are freezing cold !

 

[David Eccles]

yes one of factors for us was basically not needing back air con as its just 2 of us mostly..
but reading the above makes me think maybe it was something to have had done..oh well!

 

[IanB]

Thanks to all for your responses on this. It's been very helpful.

 

[Bjohnson]

I share a couple of the views posted here; as there are only 2 of likely to be in the cali most of the time, the climatronic isn't an option high on our wish list.

We are planning on buying nearly new though, so if our chosen Cali had it then it's no bad thing