T6 test drive tomorrow

[Tronic]

evening all,
Thought I'd introduce myself before my first appointment to view and drive the T6 tomorrow at Lookers, Newcastle. I'm seriously considering selling my beloved Land Rover Discovery and buying a 204 DSG 4 motion. 4 wheel drive Certainly helps up here in Northumberland. It will take a good vehicle to persuade me to part with the Land Rover but I must say I'm Very excited about tomorrow which is a good sign.

according to my appointment we'll be meeting a guy called George, hope he can explain the must have extra options worth having and of course the ones we can live without.

Thinking Blackerry colour at the moment, my last three cars have been grey- I need a change.

My wife and I are both keen road cyclists so hoping for some amazing adventures if we decide to take the plunge..

 

[calikev]

Hi rob welcome along. I'm sure you will enjoy your test drive

 

[larrylamb]

Rob.

 

[Wind Witch]

evening all,
Thought I'd introduce myself before my first appointment to view and drive the T6 tomorrow at Lookers, Newcastle. I'm seriously considering selling my beloved Land Rover Discovery and buying a 204 DSG 4 motion. 4 wheel drive Certainly helps up here in Northumberland. It will take a good vehicle to persuade me to part with the Land Rover but I must say I'm Very excited about tomorrow which is a good sign..

Hi Rob
Welcome. We are buying our California from Lookers - we're picking it up early in November. We've been dealing with Tony but there are good reviews around on here for all the team. We had a quick test drive along the Coast Road and back), then hired for a few days via Vacations, which is Lookers's Cali hire arm. This gave us a much better idea of what it was like to drive the California as an everyday car (and as a camper as well).

Ours is a 204, 4 motion, DSG as well - Candy White as we also have a grey car and I really fancied a change.

You will find a number of people on here who have sold their Land Rovers to buy Californias and they seem to be pleased with their purchases

Let us know how you get along with your test drive...

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , don't know witch LR you own but seems lots of us did owned or still own a LR....
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/from-defender-to-california-a-natural-progression.15681/

 

[Smiffy4bikes]

As keen cyclists you'll love the Cali. Somewhere warm and dry to get changed after a long ride with a cuppa on the go at the same time, perfect!

If you've ever watched the Tour de France on the TV, the route is awash with VW campers by the side of the road...

If you're looking at a towbar bike rack, don't forget to specify the towbar at the point of ordering, it's a total nightmare to retro-fit.

Also, if you're vertically challenged like me, you'll have to have a towbar rack as you won't be able to reach the higher tailgate VW rack!! I've specified the detachable one, and am now the proud owner of a new Thule towbar rack to go with it. When it arrives that is....

 

[Tronic]

Thanks everyone, I'll give you my first impressions tomorrow. I think hiring one for a couple of days is a great idea, I'll certainly ask that question tomorrow.
Wind Witch thanks for your reply- good to hear you were impressed with Lookers. How did you get on with persuading them that giving a discount is a good thing?

 

[ferret99]

Rob, I sold my Disco in August and am hoping to collect a 4motion next week!

 

[Tronic]

As keen cyclists you'll love the Cali. Somewhere warm and dry to get changed after a long ride with a cuppa on the go at the same time, perfect!

If you've ever watched the Tour de France on the TV, the route is awash with VW campers by the side of the road...

If you're looking at a towbar bike rack, don't forget to specify the towbar at the point of ordering, it's a total nightmare to retro-fit.

Also, if you're vertically challenged like me, you'll have to have a towbar rack as you won't be able to reach the higher tailgate VW rack!! I've specified the detachable one, and am now the proud owner of a new Thule towbar rack to go with it. When it arrives that is....

I've tried both types of carriers on cars and like you favour the tow bar rack option. I bought a three bike tilting Thule carrier which has been fantastic.

 

[Tronic]

Rob, I sold my Disco in August and am hoping to collect a 4motion next week!

Bet your excited with only a week to go?

 

[ferret99]

Frustrated more like, still don't know when it will arrive for certain as it was still at Grimsby port yesterday when I checked.

 

[Wind Witch]

Thanks everyone, I'll give you my first impressions tomorrow. I think hiring one for a couple of days is a great idea, I'll certainly ask that question tomorrow.
Wind Witch thanks for your reply- good to hear you were impressed with Lookers. How did you get on with persuading them that giving a discount is a good thing?

Pretty well on the discount front - let's just say that it wasn't as good as Guy in Preston - 8% with no quibbles - but it was pretty near and we were happy with what we paid in the end. We ordered very early June so I'm not sure if they are still willing to give a good discount. Have heard recent posters say Guy is still good for 8% if that helps as a bargaining tool... "Shy bairns..."

 

[Tronic]

Hi rob welcome along. I'm sure you will enjoy your test drive

Hi can my user name be changed from Rob Pughe to Tronic

 

[Days out]

True about bike rack. As you can see from my avatar I have the VW tailgate mounted rack. I'm 185cm / 6'2" height and can just reach the mechanisms to put my bikes on the back. Suggest anyone short will struggle.

Great vehicle for taking the bikes out and having a brew after the ride.

Good luck with the test drive.

 

[Tronic]

Hi rob welcome along. I'm sure you will enjoy your test drive

Hi CaliKev, could you change my username to Tronic please.

 

[Dodger01]

Hi Rob we ordered an Ocean 4motion manual yesterday from lookers didn't manage 8% but very close make sure they give you the same discount off your options as well.
Interesting about the bike rack and the height will have to check this out.

 

[HectorPascal]

Hi Rob,
I have been 'hanging' with the lads and the lassies of this forum for over a month now and they will keep you right.
Missus and I rented for a week last week and did enjoy the scene. In fact we were both a bit sad when the week ended. The flexibility of the vehicle, daily variety of activities on offer, comfort, independence, quickness of set-up all help VW to justify the price. They very nearly succeed.
We will most likely be opting for the 204 4-M DSG too once I manage to sell off the kids, dog and potatoes out of the veg plot.
Keep us all posted - happy negotiating.

 

[Tronic]

Just thought i'd give you a little feedback from my test drive.

First impressions are that the van looks great on the outside. The van in the showroom was grey, i think that grey would be the most popular choice but like I said before my last three cars have been grey. For us Black is the preferred colour, maybe blackberry.

I was keen to see how far the back seats moved forward for extra storage/ bikes. I don't like putting my best carbon road bike on a rack for security reasons, Mountain bikes fine though. Being just the two of us we would probably not use the downstairs bed that often. Overall I was happy with the space inside, there was so much room when the roof was up. I also liked the security box which iPads can fit in nicely.

Swivel seats are a great idea, Do the seats still swivel if you go for the heated seats option?

Took out the 204DSG for a spin, plenty of power not as much grunt as the Discovery4 but I wasn't expecting it to be. Actually when you put your foot down there is very little time lag for the engine to respond compared to the landy so all in all a smother quieter engine.

Back to showroom to talk options.

Thinking 17" cascaval black diamond alloys, Roll out awning in black, adaptive cruise control, discover media pack, lights and vision pack, lockable storage, mudflaps, detachable tower, F&R parking sensors.

Maybe stainless Side bar

I wasn't that keen on the suede leather seat option so I'll probably upgrade to full leather at re-trim shop for about £950, then we can choose full leather in a chosen colour.

Figures, well its a big wedge to part with and the starting discount was not that impressive but he soon warmed up. Still work to do on that front but were heading in the right direction.

To top it all of my wife loves it.

Got a van booked out to try in November for the weekend. were down for a bike sportive in the lakes so a good time to try it out.

Cheers,
R

 

[calikev]

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes heated seats swivel

 

[ferret99]

Tronic, I looked at the figs against the D4 and against the last engines even the 204 is a decent amount down on torque against the SDV6. After all it's 2l against 3 and is missing 2cyls. There's no replacement for displacement!

 

[Wind Witch]

Just thought i'd give you a little feedback from my test drive.

First impressions are that the van looks great on the outside. The van in the showroom was grey, i think that grey would be the most popular choice but like I said before my last three cars have been grey. For us Black is the preferred colour, maybe blackberry.

I was keen to see how far the back seats moved forward for extra storage/ bikes. I don't like putting my best carbon road bike on a rack for security reasons, Mountain bikes fine though. Being just the two of us we would probably not use the downstairs bed that often. Overall I was happy with the space inside, there was so much room when the roof was up. I also liked the security box which iPads can fit in nicely.

Swivel seats are a great idea, Do the seats still swivel if you go for the heated seats option?

Took out the 204DSG for a spin, plenty of power not as much grunt as the Discovery4 but I wasn't expecting it to be. Actually when you put your foot down there is very little time lag for the engine to respond compared to the landy so all in all a smother quieter engine.

Back to showroom to talk options.

Thinking 17" cascaval black diamond alloys, Roll out awning in black, adaptive cruise control, discover media pack, lights and vision pack, lockable storage, mudflaps, detachable tower, F&R parking sensors.

Maybe stainless Side bar

I wasn't that keen on the suede leather seat option so I'll probably upgrade to full leather at re-trim shop for about £950, then we can choose full leather in a chosen colour.

Figures, well its a big wedge to part with and the starting discount was not that impressive but he soon warmed up. Still work to do on that front but were heading in the right direction.

To top it all of my wife loves it.

Got a van booked out to try in November for the weekend. were down for a bike sportive in the lakes so a good time to try it out.

Cheers,
R

Glad you've had a good experience with your visit today. While you're waiting for your November trip to arrive you can pore over the specs/options brochure - good idea to keep the price list to hand though as it's really easy to get carried away

It might be useful to look up the threads in which people discuss the best colour - in short: black not good, Blackberry better. Loz has JUST picked up his Blackberry Cali and has posted early pictures.

 

[HectorPascal]

By the sound of it you are pretty well sold. Agree with most of the spec. I think the silver awning will be a worthwhile heat reflector. Standard wheels will do for me but the suede-effect stuff is nice. I tried cleaning it a bit with a Karcher Puzzi and it cleans up fine. (rental was not the cleanest inside when we picked it up).

I think the adaptive CC would be a pain from what I have read though - the mirrors are great. Side bar seems to be cosmetic rather than functional so that would stay in the shop.

Our rental had heated seats and they swivelled. I think the 'comfort' seats may not - there is a thread on this one. I doubt we would ever really use heated seats because you can warm the vehicle up with the parking heater remotely - surely one step better.

Where would we all be without this forum to assist picking through the myriad options and their pros and cons? There is a lot to consider over a normal car.

Thanks for the report.

 

[Wind Witch]

[QUOTE="Wind Witch, post: 175983, member: 11469"
It might be useful to look up the threads in which people discuss the best colour - in short: black not good, Blackberry better. Loz has JUST picked up his Blackberry Cali and has posted early pictures.[/QUOTE]

Though we've ordered a Candy White one so who am I to talk?

 

[MattBW]

You can also get handy bike mounts for the rails in the floor like this:

https://www.gecleant.de/shop/bikefix/bikefix.html