Is 130 bhp Cali under powered ?

[SusiBus]

I've been asked by a single lady friend, whom I've encouraged to become a Cali owner, and maybe the next Granny Jen(!), is a 130 bhp Cali under powered? I quite honestly haven't got a clue. For me, yes, it would be, but maybe for others not. Feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[calikev]

no not really she could always get it mapped to 170bhp

 

[Benh76]

I've been asked by a single lady friend, whom I've encouraged to become a Cali owner, and maybe the next Granny Jen(!), is a 130 bhp Cali under powered? I quite honestly haven't got a clue. For me, yes, it would be, but maybe for others not. Feedback would be much appreciated.

My first Cali was a 2.4D T4, now that was underpowered lol ! Afew friends have 130 T5s and seem to be ok with them as is, they don't expect to race anyone at the lights I guess they get up to speed reasonably quickly for todays traffic and can still hold 70mph up hills etc.

Having said all that I've had 2 x 140's and both have been mapped but that's just my preference, not a necessity imho.

 

[Velma's Dad]

The basic VW Transporter is sold in large numbers in 102 bhp format, and even 84 bhp, and even if fully loaded will (I presume) still be able to all the places needed, even if not so quickly.

So it would be hard to argue that a 130 bhp Cali would be under powered, by any practical yardstick. As Benh76 suggests, if it can get up a motorway incline without dropping below 70 mph then many would regard that as adequate performance for a campervan.

Beyond that, it's completely subjective.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Duplicate post, ignore.

 

[Jodalo]

I've been asked by a single lady friend, whom I've encouraged to become a Cali owner, and maybe the next Granny Jen(!), is a 130 bhp Cali under powered? I quite honestly haven't got a clue. For me, yes, it would be, but maybe for others not. Feedback would be much appreciated.

I’ve had 2 x 130 bhp 2.5 tdi’s as campers and I would describe them as strong. Great torque and reasonable acceleration. Nowhere near the 150 T6 speed but great longevity. I would not call them underpowered. I have also owned a T5 bluemotion 2.0 tdi 112bhp camper and that was definitely underpowered.

 

[WelshGas]

I've been asked by a single lady friend, whom I've encouraged to become a Cali owner, and maybe the next Granny Jen(!), is a 130 bhp Cali under powered? I quite honestly haven't got a clue. For me, yes, it would be, but maybe for others not. Feedback would be much appreciated.

What does she drive at present?

 

[B J G]

Torque is more important in a relatively heavy Cali or similar. Diesels produce more Torque than petrol engines and many tend to compare car bhp against vans bhp figures.

Presume that I am correct in thinking that the 130 bhp is the 2.5ltr engine. This seems to be a well liked engine with the DIY Campervan fraternity, 1/2 litre more than current 2 ltr which helps Torque, negative being its old age and can be subject to a high VED rate.

 

[westfalia]

What does she drive at present?

A Lambo

 

[WelshGas]

A Lambo

In that case 130 will be inadequate, for her.

 

[steve_b]

I think I said before, up and down the hills of Devon I rarely have to drop down from 6th into 5th so it's hardly under powered by any reasonable measure of necessity.

Whether you prefer more power is another matter

 

[Ch1pbutty]

No.

(...But then we never struggled with our past 20 year old T4 which was 68bhp (when new). It would sit nicely at 70mph on the motorway and had reasonable torque. Our 2nd car is 250bhp..but Brighton to Bristol would take almost the same amount of time when you take other traffic into consideration. You would catch the '100mph guy' at the next set of roadworks / tailback, usually driving 2cms away from the car in front of him).

 

[sidepod]

What holds a lot also holds a little. in other words, you can drive a quick motor slowly but not the other way around. Go big or go home.

 

[Calimili]

For sake of comparison, the huge 7.5m long Ducato based big whites that weight close to 3300kg dry have a standard 115cv engine. Many upgrade to 130cv. Some to 160cv and very few splash out lots of £££ for the 180cv version. That to move a vehichle 50 % taller than a cali, and 15% wider. Horrific wind resistant yet they travel just fine in permanent overweight above 3.5t.
The small cali with 130bhp, flies in comparison.
Last week I was asked if my 150cv are enough for a 4motion cali. I reached 180km/h on the Autobahn and reasonably quickly.
130bhp are adequate.

 

[sidepod]

Ah the "it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it" club?. Never seen any posts from people with 180 wondering if they have too much......

 

[clarinetbcn]

Ah the "it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it" club?. Never seen any posts from people with 180 wondering if they have too much......

Except for the unlucky 180 owners who had to cough up for a new engine and wish they'd bought the 140!

 

[clarinetbcn]

I've been asked by a single lady friend, whom I've encouraged to become a Cali owner, and maybe the next Granny Jen(!), is a 130 bhp Cali under powered? I quite honestly haven't got a clue. For me, yes, it would be, but maybe for others not. Feedback would be much appreciated.

Of the 2.5TD 5cyl generation I've heard several 174hp owners mention having to be careful about high consumption, but never heard a 130 owner complain about the lack of power.

 

[sidepod]

Tenuous at best.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Ah the "it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it" club?. Never seen any posts from people with 180 wondering if they have too much......

You wont see any from Beach Owners.

 

[OGII]

Is a 130 bhp Cali under powered?

I had a 102 lwb T5 conversion 10 years. It was fine, it's sweet spot was 80mph on motorways when everything just hummed along. If everything else about the van in question works for her circumstances it needn't be a deal breaker.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I had a 102 lwb T5 conversion 10 years. It was fine, it's sweet spot was 80mph on motorways when everything just hummed along. If everything else about the van in question works for her circumstances it needn't be a deal breaker.

To help give context to the OP, the difference between your profile pic (ed.and mine) and sidepod's explains a lot!
For daily drivers I've had everything from a 318is to a TR6 to a 5.0 V8 Mustang Cobra. My 140 is now my only car. Turns out that for a lot of us here on the forum we're fine with those who choose bigger engines, because "it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it."

 

[Perfectos]

Get a test drive sorted, I would be highly surprised is it’s not adequate for her needs insofar as power, unless she intends using the autobahn any time soon, or giving Guy Martin a run for his money around the Nurburgring!

 

[willwander]

I had a 2.5 130bhp T5 panel van. Nice engine, reliable and as others have said, plenty of torque.

 

[SusiBus]

Isn't the forum great? Ask a question in the morning. By the afternoon, loads of informative feedback. Thanks everyone. Conclusion, a 130 will be great for her.

 

[willwander]

BTW I was chatting to a guy who had same engine a while back, it had over 450k on the clock.