Difference between 6.1 California 150hp and 204hp diesel drivetrains

[GrannyJen]

I find on motorways I can drive comfortably at 70 mph and still do my knitting.

I don't need any more power, I won't knit faster

 

[CaliAzur]

Four wheel drive makes no difference other than increased fuel consumption at high speed.
It’s of more use doing Grand Prix starts and on hairpin bends.

I totally disagree lol… try driving both in heavy rain or getting out of mud on a forest track and tell me the result.… true that the 4MO consumes more and is heavier, but it has many advantages over the 2WD depending on your usage. If one is on motorways, main roads and campsites, the 2WD will do a fine job, but off the beaten track and driving in extremely heavy rain, 4MO excels.

 

[CaliAzur]

A lot of 204 owners trying to justify why they went 204 instead of 150. The argument is valid both ways.
There is no doubt the 204 pulls away better than the 150. The torque is much stronger. With the 204 is easier to overtake, pull a trailer uphill. It will get off quicker at the traffic light.
Question is, how do you drive and do you need so much performance, considering it is a camper van?
How many bhp do you regularly use?
On the Autobahn, I travel usually at 150km/h. The van would go faster, but having a wind out awning on the side and a bike rack at the back, doesn't make much sense. The brakes are the same 150/204 with the 17". So both will need to be able to stop and have the same brakes.
At 150km/h I am not using 150bhp. I'm using less.
I don't floor the gas pedal at the traffic light as I don't need to be as quick as possible. Again not using the full torque. 150/204 have same transmission and gearbox.
If I were to have to pull a trailer uphill on a regular basis I would need the full torque of the 150 and benefit from the much higher 204 torque, but that's not my case.
It would be interesting to know how many of the 204 owners regularly need all the available power.
The braking and cornering limits are the same on 150/204.

Apart from the extra turbo and components, I wouldn't be surprise if the cooling system was upgraded on the 204 vs the 150.

150 is your no trouble work horse, and with 4MO I find it perfect to get off the beaten track. If I planned to tow a trailer, I may have gone for the 204, but I am not. For me, my 150 4MO is just perfect!

 

[CaliAzur]

4 Motion was an essential requirement in my case (steep gravel drive) and only option was, and still is on the T6.1, to have a 204 engine.

On the original question on the basis of parts simplification for production I would assume that DSG plus its front wheel drive system/components are common to both 150 & 204. 150 now shares the bigger discs that were previously only on 204's and similar variants.

I forget the UK does not have the 150 4MO engine like here in France, nor the 4MO Coast. That’s regrettable, it’s a great combo

 

[Corradobrit]

shame 204hp engine not available on Coast

It is in Europe. Thats what I ordered. 199/204 DSG 4Mo Coast Editions.

 

[G3WRT]

Always happy to take a pop at people with different views and then use the "stay on thread"response when called out on it.

As others have said before you are an amazing and helpful source of Cali knowledge, maybe leave out the "150 owners justifying their choices, just saying" replies. That was off thread.

The reality of carting all that weight about in my case, the cali coast, 150 becomes obvious going up hills. I do wonder about it up the pyrennes cols which I am intending to do. I assume the auto gbox will handle that? I also wonder about hammering the brakes going down. Obviously a lot of wear involved. I am from a sports car so I am yet to get used to the handling at 70mph down a hill. My experience is on flat terrain it likes about 65mph. I did think 300hp would be nice but with all that weight maybe not a sensible idea.

 

[JamesTT]

They're both slow and you will be hard put to feel a significant difference between the two until you tow a trailer.

I test drove all three variants before buying my Ocean and there is a clear and significant difference between the 150, 204 and 204 (4 motion). There is nothing wrong with 150 and it cruises brilliantly, but it is significantly slower to accelerate from 0 - 62 than the 204 (4 motion), in fact a whole 3 seconds and this gap increases when accelerating from 30 - 80. It is quite noticeable. You can also feel the difference in the 2 wheel drive version of the 204, from a stand still the wheels can spin but while driving its acceleration is also noticeably quicker than the 150.

Where the 204 comes into its own is when pulling out of junctions and accelerating away (4 motion), joining motorways, especially fast moving busy ones and when overtaking, so you can get around a slower vehicle much more quickly and safely (both 204’s). I haven’t attached a trailer to mine yet.

In terms of insurance the he of the engine was irrelevant to most of the insurance companies I spoke to as these are not fast vehicle. The only thing they were interested in was the cc, which is the same in all.

Can’t comment on the fuel consumption but if you are doing significant motorway miles i would imagine the fuel consumption would be fairly similar between 150 and 204, with the 4 motion using s fraction more.

I’m not a boy racer anymore and prefer to plod along, but prefer to have the extra power of the 204 4 motion on hand, for when i need it.

 

[pluc99]

Where the 204 comes into its own is when pulling out of junctions and accelerating away (4 motion), joining motorways, especially fast moving busy ones and when overtaking, so you can get around a slower vehicle much more quickly and safely (both 204’s). I haven’t attached a trailer to mine yet.

That's interesting, because pulling into roundabouts was my specific use case, where an improvement would have convinced me to go for the larger engine. I tested both vehicles with 2WD on dry tarmac and I didn't think that 4MO would make a difference, but now I'm wondering if that was mistake. Who knows, but since I ordered the 150 with 4MO, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I have 2 Mini Cooper Ss as my fun daily drives (Countryman in winter and Coupe in Summer) . The Cali is meant for leisure outings where waiting an extra few seconds for a traffic opening isn't going to impact on my holiday vibe.

 

[WelshGas]

That's interesting, because pulling into roundabouts was my specific use case, where an improvement would have convinced me to go for the larger engine. I tested both vehicles with 2WD on dry tarmac and I didn't think that 4MO would make a difference, but now I'm wondering if that was mistake. Who knows, but since I ordered the 150 with 4MO, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I have 2 Mini Cooper Ss as my fun daily drives (Countryman in winter and Coupe in Summer) . The Cali is meant for leisure outings where waiting an extra few seconds for a traffic opening isn't going to impact on my holiday vibe.

The 4Motion is a different animal to the FWD.
Whereas FWD has 100% drive to the front wheels 4Motion starts with 40% front 60% rear and varies from that point depending on the degree of traction front to rear . Hence no wheel spin on front on take off and with the correct tyres can cope with most things in a predictable manner.
Not really fair comparing FWD to 4Motion no matter which engine is powering it.

 

[JamesTT]

That's interesting, because pulling into roundabouts was my specific use case, where an improvement would have convinced me to go for the larger engine. I tested both vehicles with 2WD on dry tarmac and I didn't think that 4MO would make a difference, but now I'm wondering if that was mistake. Who knows, but since I ordered the 150 with 4MO, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I have 2 Mini Cooper Ss as my fun daily drives (Countryman in winter and Coupe in Summer) . The Cali is meant for leisure outings where waiting an extra few seconds for a traffic opening isn't going to impact on my holiday vibe.

I’m sure you will be very happy with your choice… In the U.K. we can’t get 4 motion with the 150, it’s only available with the 204 engine.

I’m also happy to wait for a traffic opening but it’s nice to know you have a bit more shove, if the need arises.