It's here...

[Rupes]

Picked up Ethel, our Ocean 150 DSG, this morning.

She drives beautifully - really pleased with the DSG, lowered suspension and ACC.

We've been busy loading up all our camping equipment this afternoon and will head off tomorrow for our inaugural camping expedition.

Much excitement in the house!

 

[T6 CFO]

Very pretty. Cascavels go well with the red.

Enjoy the trip.


Mike

 

[nasa959B]

Picked up Ethel, our Ocean 150 DSG, this morning.

She drives beautifully - really pleased with the DSG, lowered suspension and ACC.

We've been busy loading up all our camping equipment this afternoon and will head off tomorrow for our inaugural camping expedition.

Much excitement in the house!

you need to update your status from cali on order to owner. Have fun!!

 

[Hotel California]

Let the fun begin....!

 

[Toot-toot]

nice colour - enjoy

 

[Gez B]

Very smart. Enjoy!

 

[Gary&Heather]

nice colour now enjoy her

 

[Days out]

Have fun. Hope the weather holds for you. Having said that I'm sitting next to a roaring fire on the shore of Bala Lake enjoying cheese and biscuits at 8.52pm. Only possible because in a minute I will be back inside my Cali with the heater on and a nice brew!!! It's the best thing we ever bought!!!

 

[Wind Witch]

Oh congratulations Rupes. Hope your inaugral trip is going/has gone well. What a lovely colour Ethel is too! We'll give you a BIG wave if we see you around and about the A1

 

[Days out]

Picked up Ethel, our Ocean 150 DSG, this morning.

She drives beautifully - really pleased with the DSG, lowered suspension and ACC.

We've been busy loading up all our camping equipment this afternoon and will head off tomorrow for our inaugural camping expedition.

Much excitement in the house!

Hope you had a good first trip! You won't want to come home!!

 

[Rupes]

Hope you had a good first trip! You won't want to come home!!

Yes, very enjoyable first trip.

Everything went fairly smoothly from a Cali perspective. Having rented a cali previously there were a couple of issues we wanted to address and had prepared for:

- we fitted a Cali Cozy which seemed to do a great job of keeping the upstairs warm and dark.

- a Comfortz thermal windscreen cover which proved to be a big improvement compared to the front blinds from a useability, thermal and condensation perspective.

- we took a small Quechua pop up tent to put our two child car seats in overnight which proved an effective fix for that annoying problem.

A few minor mishaps (lessons learned)...

The plastic washing up bowl is too close to the gas burner but it dealt with this all by itself by simply remoulding itself to maintain an appropriate distance. It has melted in such a neat curve I wasn't actually sure it hadn't started life like this.

The stove-top toasting contraption I bought is useless and probably the cause of the washing up bowl incident.

I keep forgetting about the handbrake - I've been used to electronic handbrakes for the last 7 years. A wonderful vehicle full of all sorts of clever bits of equipment and then they stick a manual handbrake in it!!!??!

The storage net across the roof openeing to the upstairs is quite annoying so that has been removed already - a worthwhile option though for the extra seat drawer (which is why I selected it).

The DSG Coast function is interesting. Surprising how far you can coast and how quickly a 3-tonne lump on wheels will gather speed downhill!

Anyway - lots of fun and hopefully many wonderful adventures in the months and years ahead.

 

[Smiffy4bikes]

Gorgeous colour.... I so nearly went for the red, kids weren’t feeling it tho!

Every time I see one I have a slight tinge of regret !!

Here’s to many more adventures, enjoy

 

[calimera]

Sounds a good first trip ,we learn new things each trip.

We use a ridge monkey to make toast, toasties & omelettes etc. There is a thread on here.

 

[B J G]

Yes, very enjoyable first trip.

Everything went fairly smoothly from a Cali perspective. Having rented a cali previously there were a couple of issues we wanted to address and had prepared for:

- we fitted a Cali Cozy which seemed to do a great job of keeping the upstairs warm and dark.

- a Comfortz thermal windscreen cover which proved to be a big improvement compared to the front blinds from a useability, thermal and condensation perspective.

- we took a small Quechua pop up tent to put our two child car seats in overnight which proved an effective fix for that annoying problem.

A few minor mishaps (lessons learned)...

The plastic washing up bowl is too close to the gas burner but it dealt with this all by itself by simply remoulding itself to maintain an appropriate distance. It has melted in such a neat curve I wasn't actually sure it hadn't started life like this.

The stove-top toasting contraption I bought is useless and probably the cause of the washing up bowl incident.

I keep forgetting about the handbrake - I've been used to electronic handbrakes for the last 7 years. A wonderful vehicle full of all sorts of clever bits of equipment and then they stick a manual handbrake in it!!!??!

The storage net across the roof openeing to the upstairs is quite annoying so that has been removed already - a worthwhile option though for the extra seat drawer (which is why I selected it).

The DSG Coast function is interesting. Surprising how far you can coast and how quickly a 3-tonne lump on wheels will gather speed downhill!

Anyway - lots of fun and hopefully many wonderful adventures in the months and years ahead.

ref the coast function.
I found that it is very difficult to drive in traffic as it causes the Cali to freewheel into the back of the the vehicle in front, safety gap impossible to maintain without having to brake. Turn it off now for everyday use.
However I used it during 2 days scenic travelling in France and found that just a light touch on the brake pedal was enough to disengage it and get engine braking back when going down hill, approaching a bend or village speed limit. MPG was 38ish .
Cruise mode doesn't use the coasting function.

I watched the oil temp and noted that it went up to 103 when coasting but dropped back to 100 when coast cut off on going back into gear.

Bit more gleaned on internet, to quote--
IS COASTING ILLEGAL
Coasting is not directly illegal or against the law. Circumstances of a situation however could lead to prosecution due to coasting. If you are involved in a car accident and you were coasting at the time by having the gears in neutral, if it was found that the coasting participated somewhat to the accident, it could be deemed that the driver had a lack of control of the vehicle due to coasting.

IS COASTING BAD FOR YOUR CAR
Coasting significantly increases the load on your brakes as your car isn’t using the engine to help slow down. More braking is required and this will wear the brake pads and brake discs of your vehicle at a much higher rate. New brake pads and discs can easily cost upwards of £200 depending on the make and model of your vehicle.

DOES COASTING SAVE PETROL
Coasting is basically the same as a stationary car with an idle engine. An idle engine uses a small amount of petrol to keep the engine active. When slowing down in a modern car by keeping the clutch up and in gear cuts the fuel injectors and uses no petrol at all.

The net came straight out of Cali as i couldn't see any use for it other than if kids were sleeping up top.

Lots of worthwhile 'advice' on here which you are free to filter out to suit your own preferences.
Enjoy your Cali which isn't hard to do.

 

[SusiBus]

I agree with you, the storage net is quite annoying the way it hangs down when not in use, I've just removed ours. It would be better if you could just attach it when you needed it, and yes, the option is worth it for the additional draw anyway.
The coasting function as you say is interesting, it takes a little bit of you getting used to. I'm sure it helps quite a lot with economy, the only trouble is you lose it if you use ACC.

Oh, and YES, Ethel looks great in her red coat!

 

[Jabberwocky]

Nice colour - not that common.

 

[Dodger01]

Hi Rupes,
Having received your Cali recently could you give an insight as to the time from production to delivery. Our Ocean was in production (whatever that means) last week and I was wondering what the potential time scales could be for delivery.

Many thanks.

 

[JohnnyP]

Picked up Ethel, our Ocean 150 DSG, this morning.

She drives beautifully - really pleased with the DSG, lowered suspension and ACC.

We've been busy loading up all our camping equipment this afternoon and will head off tomorrow for our inaugural camping expedition.

Much excitement in the house!

Hi Rupes, I will keep an eye out for you on the roads, I dont think I have seen a red T6 yet.- I am just a bit further North than you

 

[Seaside Sussex]

Mishaps makes memories! Enjoy Ethel (loving the name!) and your adventures

 

[Grumpy Mike]

Hi Rupes,
Having received your Cali recently could you give an insight as to the time from production to delivery. Our Ocean was in production (whatever that means) last week and I was wondering what the potential time scales could be for delivery.

Many thanks.

Dodger, mine was approx 4 weeks and one of those stuck at dock in uk going through stringent security apparently..

 

[El Greco]

Ethel looks superb! Did you consider naming her as Red Riding Hood?

 

[Fast Freddie]

Love the colour - +1 for recommending the Ridgemonkey as well - get the bigger one in my humble opinion as its a better all rounder - and I highly recommend it.

Hope that helps