motacyclist
Colin
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Dropped in at North Wales Volkswagen today to see the new vans which have just arrived. They have a white 204DSG in the showroom, and a beige 204DSG outside which Ben John (our salesman) kindly offered the keys for a drive on trade plates.
Looking at the white one, the first thing I noticed was VWCC bungee around the elevated roof canvas! The second thing was the new sliding blinds for the windscreen. These appear to be a vast improvement over the previous solution for the UK vans, there is a small gap at the top but this is filled in by dropping the sun visors down.
Note also that the window switches have been moved further forward, presumably to stop rainwater dripping in when you open the window. Took VW long enough to sort that out!
The glove box is now a lot smaller than previous, but there is an additional one underneath where the T5 has a net, so overall an improvement.
Outside now with the beige one, parked next to ours you can see some detail differences
Difficult to tell in the picture here, but the new beige is slightly darker than the old. Main detail differences are the headlights, grill, side repeaters and creases on the tailgate. The new van was fitted with optional 18" alloys.
Inside the beige van, the standard radio (without sat nav) has a smaller screen than mine. The A/C and other controls appear to be identical to my wife's Golf.
Below, top to bottom, "ashtray", cupholders and bottle holder.
On top of the dash the tray is now larger and has a cover. It is lined in soft velvet to protect your devices but sadly there is no 12v supply which seems to have gone awol ......
(Note the lovely weather outside!)
On the road, the additional power over the 180 was immediately noticeable (bearing in mind though, that my own van is 4motion and loaded with kit). Passing a learner driver doing 35mph, the time to reach 60 took no time at all and the manoeuvre was completed safely in what seemed like 2 - 3 seconds. DSG lag from standstill, although still there, was much reduced and would no longer be be an issue if considering this gearbox. The 204 engine would be the first option on the list I would tick!
Apart from the power, there is little to differentiate the driving experience in terms of ride or sound levels. Although I didn't try it, the test van was fitted with adaptive cruise, which I know from our Golf works very well and would be the second tick on my options list.
So there we have it, an interesting couple of hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon in North Wales. Thanks to Ben at North Wales Volkwagen for the test drive.
Looking at the white one, the first thing I noticed was VWCC bungee around the elevated roof canvas! The second thing was the new sliding blinds for the windscreen. These appear to be a vast improvement over the previous solution for the UK vans, there is a small gap at the top but this is filled in by dropping the sun visors down.
Note also that the window switches have been moved further forward, presumably to stop rainwater dripping in when you open the window. Took VW long enough to sort that out!
The glove box is now a lot smaller than previous, but there is an additional one underneath where the T5 has a net, so overall an improvement.
Outside now with the beige one, parked next to ours you can see some detail differences
Difficult to tell in the picture here, but the new beige is slightly darker than the old. Main detail differences are the headlights, grill, side repeaters and creases on the tailgate. The new van was fitted with optional 18" alloys.
Inside the beige van, the standard radio (without sat nav) has a smaller screen than mine. The A/C and other controls appear to be identical to my wife's Golf.
Below, top to bottom, "ashtray", cupholders and bottle holder.
On top of the dash the tray is now larger and has a cover. It is lined in soft velvet to protect your devices but sadly there is no 12v supply which seems to have gone awol ......
(Note the lovely weather outside!)
On the road, the additional power over the 180 was immediately noticeable (bearing in mind though, that my own van is 4motion and loaded with kit). Passing a learner driver doing 35mph, the time to reach 60 took no time at all and the manoeuvre was completed safely in what seemed like 2 - 3 seconds. DSG lag from standstill, although still there, was much reduced and would no longer be be an issue if considering this gearbox. The 204 engine would be the first option on the list I would tick!
Apart from the power, there is little to differentiate the driving experience in terms of ride or sound levels. Although I didn't try it, the test van was fitted with adaptive cruise, which I know from our Golf works very well and would be the second tick on my options list.
So there we have it, an interesting couple of hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon in North Wales. Thanks to Ben at North Wales Volkwagen for the test drive.
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