Slightly Disappointed

[Grumpy Mike]

Just cleaned Jen today.... Wax on wax off.... Is it just me or does she look sexy? Thats six months 12,000 miles into our relationship. One trip to Southern Spain together and I am not dissapointed in any way at all.. Even when we go to drop the lad off for football I can work in the back... Yesterday frosty outside.. on with the heater for 15 min before going out.... Come on, she is some girl. Just emptied the water tanks.... Getting ready for the white stuff.. Takes some emptying.. May leave taps open all night to make sure.... Would not go back to Range Rover.... She really is a multi purpose girl and still gets me to work daily as well...

 

[Sonas]

Just cleaned Jen today.... Wax on wax off.... Is it just me or does she look sexy? Thats six months 12,000 miles into our relationship. One trip to Southern Spain together and I am not dissapointed in any way at all.. Even when we go to drop the lad off for football I can work in the back... Yesterday frosty outside.. on with the heater for 15 min before going out.... Come on, she is some girl. Just emptied the water tanks.... Getting ready for the white stuff.. Takes some emptying.. May leave taps open all night to make sure.... Would not go back to Range Rover.... She really is a multi purpose girl and still gets me to work daily as well...

View attachment 27744

Looks great.

 

[David Eccles]

well I s'pose its what you are used to in the past and what car you liked driving and what you expect
yes its a van but not a van as I know it!
after 34 years in a Split driving a Cali is like a whole new world .... and it has way more gadget things than cars I have driven / owned
but then again I do notice a lot of people on here do seem to have more expensive posher car history than me so will have very different expectations...

 

[Sonas]

well I s'pose its what you are used to in the past and what car you liked driving and what you expect
yes its a van but not a van as I know it!
after 34 years in a Split driving a Cali is like a whole new world .... and it has way more gadget things than cars I have driven / owned
but then again I do notice a lot of people on here do seem to have more expensive posher car history than me so will have very different expectations...

Ive only ever had normal family cars , my last was a VW caddy. I just a little surprised how it rolled etc, Ill get used to it. Thanks

 

[alter]

as far as I'm concerned, I drive my Ocean as my Subaru Sti ... so always at the most! and the faces of the overtaking people are the same ... terrified ... and with the well-tied Portapotty hahaha

 

[WelshGas]

as far as I'm concerned, I drive my Ocean as my Subaru Sti ... so always at the most! and the faces of the overtaking people are the same ... terrified ... and with the well-tied Portapotty hahaha

Ah, that’s the difference. The Ocean has more weight on the suspension to begin with.
Sports Mode on the DSG can easily upset some people at the traffic lights.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

I think as others have mentioned, it will ride better once weight is added. I hope you get to love it and have great times in it.

I’ve ordered a new one with dcc. My present one handles pretty well but I am a truck driver so drive it more like a small truck than a large car.
Going from Errachidia to Marrakech you go over one of the highest road passes in Morocco. It has many interesting hairpin bends and overhangs but in my time I’ve driven on many roads in Europe too so I guessed what was in store. There were two passengers so only one on the back seat but he didn’t complain about the ride
I’m hoping that with 4wd and dcc I’ll be able to do more driving on the pistes.
I’ll let you know next spring.

 

[WelshGas]

Just cleaned Jen today.... Wax on wax off.... Is it just me or does she look sexy? Thats six months 12,000 miles into our relationship. One trip to Southern Spain together and I am not dissapointed in any way at all.. Even when we go to drop the lad off for football I can work in the back... Yesterday frosty outside.. on with the heater for 15 min before going out.... Come on, she is some girl. Just emptied the water tanks.... Getting ready for the white stuff.. Takes some emptying.. May leave taps open all night to make sure.... Would not go back to Range Rover.... She really is a multi purpose girl and still gets me to work daily as well...

View attachment 27744

Don’t forget to drain the pump to tap pipes.

 

[Stuart]

If I had to think rationally, I would probably have to admit that the ride is not the best in the world.

However just sitting in the drivers seat makes me so happy that none of that matters There really is no other vehicle I would rather own. When I first got it I assumed this was just a honeymoon effect, but 18 months later it hasn't faded.

 

[jamessclarke]

We've had our Beach for 3 years. I still love driving it. Its a great multipurpose vehicle but yes, ride on beaten up minor country lanes is pretty poor compared to a car. Absolutely does not put me off- its all a compromise and I wouldn't be without our lovely Beach.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Just cleaned Jen today.... Wax on wax off.... Is it just me or does she look sexy?
View attachment 27744

Ohh errr!!!
No it's not just you.

 

[Pete Wilkins]

Thanks. I did test drive one, but its was just a normal test drive, and not for hours or overnight. Yesterday I did a 400K round trip for the first time. So really it was my first experience over a longer period. It was a little disappointing and coupled with tiredness and those rattles which I seem to have cured, I guess it added up to a bit of a moan. I still love the van, and Im sure it will get better with time.

For long distances on good roads they are great, I do not feel tied at all compared to a number of cars I have owned, I do not have any rattles have sorted the packing to stop that. I

 

[jqp]

Don’t forget to drain the pump to tap pipes.

How do you do that? The tap is higher than the pump.

 

[EddieEagle]

How do you do that? The tap is higher than the pump.

Pull the water pump fuse and lift the tap switch, there is a picture posted on here somewhere showing its location under the passenger seat.I have dobbed mine with some correction fluid so I can find it again...H.T.H.

 

[Amarillo]

Comments like the one above just make forum a total waste of time. There is always some dead heads making plain unhelpful,not funny useless posts and thinking its clever. These people need to just grow up.F

Humour is always welcome over incomplete or misleading information.

Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[T6 CFO]

Pull the water pump fuse and lift the tap switch, there is a picture posted on here somewhere showing its location under the passenger seat.I have dobbed mine with some correction fluid so I can find it again...H.T.H.

This is the information I have on fuses under the seat.

Mike

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Hi.there are a few people who do over rate the ride and drive of these vans for sure. But as the above posts point out the chassis base is that of a van which is designed to carry loads. More weight will improve the ride, and unless it is snowing or below zero you really dont want to driving on winter tires. Not only do they make a lot of noise but they will effect the ride and are just not designed for use above zero. Car like, they can never be, but with improvements a ride better then a standard van is possible.F

As the OP is located in Switzerland winter tyres may be compulsory during winter months, and, winter tyres are designed to work better than summer tyres when the the temperature is below 7c.

 

[Joker 1299]

I don’t get how you would go from a car derived van (a caddy), to a van derived van (a beach), and expect it to be more like a car? Sorry. It is what it is.

 

[WelshGas]

How do you do that? The tap is higher than the pump.

Correct, but the Tap is closed and in order to empty the pipe you have to open it , without the pump running.
As mentioned, VW say to pull the Fuse. I prefer to just unclip the in-line wiring connection to the tap.
Remove cutlery draw. Feel for the underside of the tap and follow the wiring backwards and you will find an in-line connecter with a foam cover tucked up between the sink and the front wall of the kitchen unit. Undo connection, open tap and once drained then close tap and re-connect connector.

 

[CALI FATE]

Well there you go Sonas - you are the only slightly disappointed VW California owner on the forum - the rest of us are simple folk, living the dream and happy with our collective California tinted lots. Just let your tyres down a bit and all your dreams will come true - like our have

 

[EddieEagle]

This is the information I have on fuses under the seat.

Mike

That’s the one!

 

[Sonas]

Well there you go Sonas - you are the only slightly disappointed VW California owner on the forum - the rest of us are simple folk, living the dream and happy with our collective California tinted lots. Just let your tyres down a bit and all your dreams will come true - like our have

Ill do that. All the best

 

[B J G]

Ref winter tyres, rather than having 2 sets of tyres I've been investigating using SUV spec tyres as they are obviously run on SUV's all year and can be found with the required load rating.

this article is helpful and it could well be indicating that tyre manufacturers are beginning to supply this emerging market.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2017-235-55-R17-SUV-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

[Sonas]

Ref winter tyres, rather than having 2 sets of tyres I've been investigating using SUV spec tyres as they are obviously run on SUV's all year and can be found with the required load rating.

this article is helpful and it could well be indicating that tyre manufacturers are beginning to supply this emerging market.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2017-235-55-R17-SUV-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

Thanks for that. Im in Switzerland so its the law to have winter tyres. But for the UK I would agree that all year round tyres would be a great option. I spoke to the dealer today and he confirmed that Winter tyres can get noisy. I also think the sound get amplified because of the Van size. Thanks for your help.

 

[Grumpy Mike]

Don’t forget to drain the pump to tap pipes.

Oh..... So Welsh man, is that like The Eagle says.. Take the fuse out and I think we are saying raise the tap? Is that it? Then open the drain tap again? Thats not in the manual is it?

Many thanks....