Second spin in my new California (reflection)

[Eber123]

Hello,

On my last holiday day of the Christmas season I decided to go for a spin. The weather was nice so I though I will drive to the Wicklow Mountains and see where I end up. I just thought I summarize my impressions from the day about the California.

Driving

• In general it is very pleasant to drive the California. It is certainly high enough to look over hedges, fences and other cars )).
• The van is small enough for small country roads (and there are a lot of them in Wicklow), but it feels still bigger than I expected.
• The suspension is rather hard. This is from advantages around corners, but on bumpy roads it can be uncomfortable. Also it triggers rattling sounds coming from all over the car (which disappear on smooth roads).
• The 150 HP engine is powerful enough to cruise along. I am happy with this (I was afraid that the 150 HP engine was not powerful enough)
• What I am still missing is the DSG, but I will get use to the manual gears (I have no other option anyway).

Kitchen

• Camping and using the van (kitchen) is still so new for me. It will take a while to get use to it.
• Workflow to prepare coffee / tea (not to speak of some sort of food) needs a lot of improving.
• Even though it was cold (1.5 degrees) with the heating it was very cosy

Diesel consumption

• At the start the van used 9.5 l / 100 km. This came down to 7.5 l / 100 km (checked at the beginning of the week).
• I forgot to check it today (maybe the information is still saved, so I will check it tomorrow). I would be interested to know how much Diesel I have used per 100 km today, because the driving environment from today would be a good example for the future.

Entertainment System

• Installation of the VW App has proven useful, just for Google Maps it works very well.
• Phone calls (which I received a few today) worked well
• VW Connect still works via Bluetooth, even though it the phone is connected via the USB cable to the radio and Android Auto is working - very happy about this.
• Speaker system (not the big, expensive one) is very goo (well for me). I tested it on the way home and the sound is powerful and clear.
• Switching to the different functions (eg Radio, Google Maps, music) works well

Cleaning

• The van was rather dirty, so I washed it in the afternoon. Even though it is a big vehicle it is doesn't take that long. I got some car wash / vax from VW the other day (5 l for EUR 9.95). I am quite happy with the result.
• To keep the car tidy and clean from the inside is a challenge. I have the California only for a few weeks and already have some stains in the front seats (how that could happen I don't know ). Before I make it worse I will go to a professional car cleaner to see if they can help me.

In general it is a fantastic experience to drive and use the VW California. It is certainly not a vehicle just to go from A to B. I am looking forward to 2018 to use it and explore more of Ireland (Wild Atlantic Way, Summer 2018 ).

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[DGM]

Excellent, enjoy!