4motion corner take two

[crossa]

Can't believe that we got stuck getting off this pitch in Normandy on Thursday. The rear wheels had sunk in a bit (helped by cases of beer and wine in the back!) and there had been a lot of rain. But even so, it took quite a bit of heaving and pushing, with various bits of matting and the grating from a nearby water pipe under the front wheels. Eventually we got off the pitch after having removed all the beer and wine!

We are now seriously considering a 4motion!!!

Pete

 

[KernowLad]

Stephen - it may worry a Defender (our Cali replaced a 2007 110XS) because it wouldn't break down every four feet! :lol:

 

[choplee]

Can't believe that we got stuck getting off this pitch in Normandy on Thursday. The rear wheels had sunk in a bit (helped by cases of beer and wine in the back!) and there had been a lot of rain. But even so, it took quite a bit of heaving and pushing, with various bits of matting and the grating from a nearby water pipe under the front wheels. Eventually we got off the pitch after having removed all the beer and wine!

We are now seriously considering a 4motion!!!

Pete

you must have money to burn crossa having a 12 plate cali and looking at getting a 4motion already .... :laugh2

 

[stephen]

Land Rover defenders can sometimes be unreliable, primarily due to inconsistencies at point of manufacture, but I found the more recent models better in this respect, but one shouldn't underestimate the capabilities of these utility vehicles, considering 85% of all defender type vehicles are still running since 1948,
I certainly don't think that can be said of most other manufactures that I can think of?
Including Volkswagen! even though there's many still running, from the 60s and 70s, primarily Beatles, and a few split screens, mainly due to their simplicity and availability of parts, same as defenders.

As for getting stuck on wet grass, I can tell you from personal experience, at times it can be treacherous even though it looks rather innocent, but extremely slippery, especially if any slopes are encountered,
doubly so if the vehicle concerned happens to be rather heavy, which I feel the Cali certainly is, so I would have thought it's rather prudent to consider the 4 motion version, rather high on the list of priorities, especially since as far as I'm aware no other off the shelf camper has a four-wheel-drive capability, apart from the occasional converted vehicles,

So I suggest if anyone feels that they may venture off the beaten track or are likely to encounter wet grass I feel the '4 motion California' makes quite a lot of sense, and a certain amount of 'peace of mind, Especially in winter conditions or for towing; distributing the torque between all four wheels, especially if there's any chance of wheel spinning due to slippery surfaces like wet roads, after all it's only the cost of posh radio, which can lose its novelty value rather quickly, compared to the usefulness four-wheel-drive can realise, especially since the fuel consumption is of negligible difference compared to 2 wheel drive.

 

[viking]

Hi everyone
RE. 4MOTION M.P.G.
37 nights camping so far this year from 8 trips stayed at 14 different sites including - Hull, Chertsey Surrey, Bath, Swanage, Graffam W.Sussex, Sidmouth Devon, Luxulyan Cornwall, Bath (again), Crowborough E.Sussex, Henfield W.Sussex, Llangollen N.Wales and Much Wenlock Shropshire. Only managed to clock up 2,600 miles! from my S.E. London base.(only used for camping)

AVERAGED 28.5 MPG. That's with getting out and in of the inner M25 zone and about 4 hours of the diesel heater. (in one 50 mile period of driving the the best mpg achieved, according to the van's computer, was 35.6 mpg)

Can't boast any great escapes from muddy fields but as yet haven't needed to and I am getting increasingly confident of taking the 4Motion Cali on and off of sodden grass.

As a vehicle, no complaints, I'm very happy with my 4Motion Cali But as a campervan? well that's another story. Latest disaster on last trip was the fridge lid L.H. side hinge broken in two :headwall
Cheers everyone
Eric

 

[Linda]

We use grip tracks to park the wheels on in case the ground gets boggy ,after a close call at the New forest meet- cheers Kev and Martin

 

[Bjohnson]

We use grip tracks to park the wheels on in case the ground gets boggy ,after a close call at the New forest meet- cheers Kev and Martin

Having read this thread, considered the obvious merits of the 4Motion and then considered our new Cali which is not a 4Motion a solution like his was my next Internet search!

I'll be ordering up a set of these shortly,thanks Linda for highlighting them

 

[choplee]

We use grip tracks to park the wheels on in case the ground gets boggy ,after a close call at the New forest meet- cheers Kev and Martin

Having read this thread, considered the obvious merits of the 4Motion and then considered our new Cali which is not a 4Motion a solution like his was my next Internet search!

I'll be ordering up a set of these shortly,thanks Linda for highlighting them

i agree i carry a pair of £10 grip mats in my cupboard just in case i think it maybe slightly soggy ,but not had to use them ...a friend has used some on his t25 and they worked very well ... not really into cross country camping ,as much as i like a wild camp.
The 4motion as other options on the cali are lovely ,but the costs just keep rising and where do you stop ,so there has to be a top line unless money is no object of course or you prefer living in the cali to being in your house ....

 

[KernowLad]

We use grip tracks to park the wheels on in case the ground gets boggy ,after a close call at the New forest meet- cheers Kev and Martin

Having read this thread, considered the obvious merits of the 4Motion and then considered our new Cali which is not a 4Motion a solution like his was my next Internet search!

I'll be ordering up a set of these shortly,thanks Linda for highlighting them

i agree i carry a pair of £10 grip mats in my cupboard just in case i think it maybe slightly soggy ,but not had to use them ...a friend has used some on his t25 and they worked very well ... not really into cross country camping ,as much as i like a wild camp.
The 4motion as other options on the cali are lovely ,but the costs just keep rising and where do you stop ,so there has to be a top line unless money is no object of course or you prefer living in the cali to being in your house ....

Right now with the baby screeching all morning, I think I do prefer the van... :lol:

 

[Freeley]

We use grip tracks to park the wheels on in case the ground gets boggy ,after a close call at the New forest meet- cheers Kev and Martin

Having read this thread, considered the obvious merits of the 4Motion and then considered our new Cali which is not a 4Motion a solution like his was my next Internet search!

I'll be ordering up a set of these shortly,thanks Linda for highlighting them

i agree i carry a pair of £10 grip mats in my cupboard just in case i think it maybe slightly soggy ,but not had to use them ...a friend has used some on his t25 and they worked very well ... not really into cross country camping ,as much as i like a wild camp.
The 4motion as other options on the cali are lovely ,but the costs just keep rising and where do you stop ,so there has to be a top line unless money is no object of course or you prefer living in the cali to being in your house ....

Right now with the baby screeching all morning, I think I do prefer the van... :lol:

Our cali has come in very handy for this purpose, both my sisters in law have young babies/children so when we stay over we always sleep on the drive and get a lovely peaceful nights kip!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[crossa]

Thanks to Linda for the info on grip mats. Have just ordered 2 pairs. I must have money to burn!!
Pete.

 

[choplee]

Right now with the baby screeching all morning, I think I do prefer the van... :lol:[/quote]

Lol lol ...... I hear ya

 

[choplee]

Thanks to Linda for the info on grip mats. Have just ordered 2 pairs. I must have money to burn!!
Pete.

Grip mats are sort of a cheap ,but slower type of 4motion if u look at it in a warped 2 wheel drive sort of creeping out the mud a foot at a time kind of way ...lol .... But they work

 

[crossa]

Does ordering 2 sets of grip tracks mean I am no longer allowed to lust after a 4motion!!
Pete

 

[choplee]

Does ordering 2 sets of grip tracks mean I am no longer allowed to lust after a 4motion!!
Pete

i'm sure that's still acceptable pete :smile

let us know which mats you went for ....

 

[crossa]

We went for the Fiamma ones on the link that Linda provided.
We looked at others on the 'net,some cheaper,some more expensive,but went for Fiamma because they produce good quality stuff.
Pete.

 

[choplee]

true pete fiamma are a good brand

i got the pyramid one's from a vw show they look the same ,but the quality not quite as good as fiamma i think .

 

[KernowLad]

Is 4Motion corner being crashed by FWD drivers using plastic mats?!

:rofl :rofl

 

[JockMacMad]

It would seem so although I have to fess up to having an unopened set of mats in the 4motion lol.

Lee be off with you to the Berghaus room, shoo shoo :Op

 

[JockMacMad]

Drove from Scotland to Yorkshire on cruise at 56 and got 31.5 mpg. Drove from Yorkshire to London on cruise at 56 mph and got


......
.......
...........

40.5 mpg.

It really must be downhill all the way to London or the VW pixie worked magically on the engine overnight while we were asleep.

 

[SimonSpain]

I'd love a 4motion, but bought the 2 wheel-drive as I need a 5th seat! I love the Cali, but why that bench seat isn't for a possible 3 people, I do not know. My Mini is much smaller, and has a 5th seatbelt point? VW you are very odd sometimes! :? :?

HNY to all! :hello

 

[California4x4]

I can’t temember why I specified 4MOTION......


Oh yeah, that was it

 

[NZCol]

I’ve had 4m and now a fwd Cali. Tyres make more of a difference in my experience , I’ve rallied my 2wd in and out of places the 4m went as well with no issues. Runs in m+S tyres all the time. Had no issues in snow and mud, soft grass hasn’t been a problem either. Limiting factor in the 4m was clearance and we grounded it a lot inc a bit of undertray damage. Our 4m had normal tyres on it for a while and it was useless. I don’t doubt there are situations where a diff lock would help if you’ve specced it but I’d argue that in most cases decent tyres will make more of a difference. Just my opinion havig had both.

 

[SandyR]

I just did 990 miles from Scotland to North LONDON and back in my 204ps 4Motion Manual Ocean with a passenger, camping gear full tank of fresh water on the way South and 50% water on way back. Averaged 41mpg, which I was really impressed with.

 

[California4x4]

I’ve had 4m and now a fwd Cali. Tyres make more of a difference in my experience , I’ve rallied my 2wd in and out of places the 4m went as well with no issues. Runs in m+S tyres all the time. Had no issues in snow and mud, soft grass hasn’t been a problem either. Limiting factor in the 4m was clearance and we grounded it a lot inc a bit of undertray damage. Our 4m had normal tyres on it for a while and it was useless. I don’t doubt there are situations where a diff lock would help if you’ve specced it but I’d argue that in most cases decent tyres will make more of a difference. Just my opinion havig had both.

I agree, a FWD with the right tyres for the conditions will outperform an AWD with the wrong tyres. When you made the decision to go from 4MOTION to FWD, what was the difference in ground clearance as standard that sold the FWD for you?