T6 TO T6.1

[The Merle]

Didn’t think a new order eu joker would running at that as they are about 10k cheaper than uk one, last time I looked

 

[Niborn]

Didn’t think a new order eu joker would running at that as they are about 10k cheaper than uk one, last time I looked

I've been looking for the Joker for sale in France, so far so far no luck , I'll contact a Westfalia dealer

 

[Perfectos]

There is a chap on the T6 forums that will add ACC if you have the front sensor I believe you need to swap the buttons on the steering wheel then the rest is coding he was talking about £350 if my memory is correct

Hi @scooter

very interested in the thread on the T6 forum.
when I enquired about this i was told it is possible but the suppliers insurer would not allow them to do it, so I binned the idea.

Any chance you could post the link (I cant find the thread on the T6 forum)?

 

[edocali]

Hi @scooter

very interested in the thread on the T6 forum.
when I enquired about this i was told it is possible but the suppliers insurer would not allow them to do it, so I binned the idea.

Any chance you could post the link (I cant find the thread on the T6 forum)?

I could not find the info, so I started a new thread there:

Specialist to retrofit ACC to a T6

Hi, I am the 2nd owner of a 2020 registered California T6 - 2019 model. It comes with cruise control and speed limiter, but no ACC. I am not handy enough to try any hacking. Are there specialists that can retrofit the ACC ? I am located in Surrey Thanks

www.t6forum.com

 

[Pure Worktop Protection]

Again, nor sure where your figures come from? We sold our 2017 T6 a year ago for £1k more than we paid for it. Our new T6.1 was delivered a month ago just shy of £65k, it cost us £10k to trade up. The T6.1 is infinitely better.
We got a really nice spec with sport pack, and so much of what were extras on the T6 now comes as standard.
Definitely a great trade up for not a lot of money.

 

[Mollymoo]

I'm just wondering who has sold their T6 and moved onto a T6.1 and what their experiences were comparing the two. In my case for the same specification, it's around £35k extra , I'm wondering what differences there will be . Personally I have to change to a LHD now but 110k euro is a lot of money ...makes one wonder at least

We did exactly that but felt the T6 was a better vehicle. Lots of cost cutting on T6.1.
No Sport box
No paddle gear change
No seat height adjustment
No comfort dash
No bottle cooler below gear shifter.
Build quality not as good.
Jack missing from boot.
1 plus point the plastic cover for the cruise control radar hasn't fallen off which it did on my T6

 

[Corradobrit]

We did exactly that but felt the T6 was a better vehicle. Lots of cost cutting on T6.1.
No Sport box
No paddle gear change
No seat height adjustment
No comfort dash
No bottle cooler below gear shifter.
Build quality not as good.
Jack missing from boot.
1 plus point the plastic cover for the cruise control radar hasn't fallen off which it did on my T6

Not to mention the left foot rest deletion on DSG equipped Cali's

 

[Mollymoo]

Not to mention the left foot rest deletion on DSG equipped Cali's

I can't believe I forgot that one

 

[Hedley Wright]

We did exactly that but felt the T6 was a better vehicle. Lots of cost cutting on T6.1.
No Sport box
No paddle gear change
No seat height adjustment
No comfort dash
No bottle cooler below gear shifter.
Build quality not as good.
Jack missing from boot.
1 plus point the plastic cover for the cruise control radar hasn't fallen off which it did on my T6

The jack is under a cover on the rear of the back seat on my 6.1 Ocean. I wouldn’t have known if the dealer hadn’t pointed it out, though no doubt it’s in the manual somewhere.

 

[Roger Boeken]

But is that worth £30,000 to upgrade. I'm not sure.
Hybrid or full EV with 300+ range + use of accessories such as fridge/heater, maybe.

But is that worth £30,000 to upgrade. I'm not sure.
Hybrid or full EV with 300+ range + use of accessories such as fridge/heater, maybe.

There is no short answer to this since many factors in play:
this is my short version
is it your only daily drive vehicle ?
how old is the cali you want to replace ?
what do you use it for?
What is your personal/financial situation..?
when will there be a T7 cali available , concept has yet to prove itself ?

I changed from T6 ocean 150HP 4motion to T6.1 204hp 4motion ocean 4 days ago (after 18 months waiting delivery).
My T6 is 6 1/2 years old (84.000 km, 52200 miles) and I still got 60% trade-in value from dealer.
I ordered now after 6 years experience wit cali 6.0 , the 6.1 with many more options and I must say after only 4 days of use it is a complete new vehicle for me. So many details have changed and improved in response of 6.0 user feedback.(despite some exceptions like dashboard cupboards..)
The longer you keep your cali the more maintenance it will need, possible expensive replacement parts and second hand value drops..
My new cali is under warranty, costs me less than the 6.0 because of trade-in value and has all modern safety options, more power, more comfort for only £30.000 .I will be able to pay off before I retire 3 years from now. All accessories are transferable from old to new vehicle.
Many negative opinions about the new 6.1 not being innovative enough are fed by threads on forums like vwcaliforniaclub.. but honestly if you read all threads you'll never buy a cali because fora are a gathering place for problem solving. I have yet to read a thread from someone who regrets upgrading to 6.1. It is people not having a 6.1 who come with loads of arguments not to upgrade to 6.1 (not yet) .
Let me rephrase some of my personal reasons for upgrading recently my only daily driver from 6.0 to 6.1:
1.high trade-in
2. pay off before retirement in 3 years (using the cali even much more then...)
3.avoid expensive repair costs coming with age(waterpump, braking discs, belt, batteries..)
4. New car with 5 year warranty (I added 3 year extra warranty this time) possibly avoiding expensive repairs.
5. lots of improvements (DSG, cupboard doors and lights, led headlights, controller, digital cockpit.. and many many more)
6. adding options I had not chosen before (204hp, DSG, electric sliding door, dcc, all safety options, ..) but I can afford to buy now.
7. transfer accessories (carpets, seat covers etc..)
For me it is going from 6.0 to 6.5 at least
Roger

 

[Mollymoo]

The jack is under a cover on the rear of the back seat on my 6.1 Ocean. I wouldn’t have known if the dealer hadn’t pointed it out, though no doubt it’s in the manual somewhere.

It was missing from the box on delivery.
The dealer posted one out which was wrong and after waiting nearly 4 months I am still waiting on the correct one.

 

[Blueeyedboy]

We changed this year from T5.1 to T6.1
I was rather nervous if I would like it as tbh I never had any issues at all with the T5.1.
After 4 months I must say it is a big game changer in my opinion.
Particularly how smooth and refined the driving is.
Our previous and this one is 4 motion but this must have a stiffer chassis, fuel economy is fantastic considering the costs of that at moment.
I like the dash layout, roof canvas is much thicker , seats are so much more comfortable but VW have always made hard seats.
The roof bed is so comfortable but downstairs is useless even thinner mattress than the T5.1
The deal we have 16 months ago to order a new California and keep ours at a guaranteed px was a non brainier especially jumping up 7 years newer.
I would say it makes the camping experience no more enjoyable for us our son is going to university in a city we just decided to embrace euro6.
Good luck

 

[apreading]

I had a T6.1 rental for 2 weeks, these were my thoughts (purely personal opinion):

* Still hate the front end of T6.1 - although some colours it doesnt look too bad in
* Hated the dash in T6.1, cheap, nasty and storage was rubbish.
* Hated the touch screen stereo - touch screen is not the way to go VW, and I HATED wireless car play - when doing short journeys where you dont need the car play, your phone connects even when you dont want it to and just runs the battery in the phone down (unless you turn bluetooth off but I dont want to as I have it synced with my smartwatch). You have to plug the phone in to stop the battery running down when using car play, so what is the point of making it wireless?
* Hated the digital dash - presumably to reduce reflections/glare it is angled downwards and didnt feel nice to use even after 2 weeks getting used to it. The features are great (flashy) but you dont use them while driving and I dont want any display other than the one which replacates the old normal dials. You cant have your sat nav on there if you are using sat nav through an app on car play either.
* Hated the door cards - cheap feel and the rubbish storage there - not much space for stuff and low sides so it feels like if you put much in there it would fall out.
* I think the door cards were slimmer and possibly allowed swivelling of passenger seat without having to open door? (maybe this is why they changed the design)
* change to cupboard doors better than the fragile old tambour doors
* dark colour fabric in pop top better for reducing light transmission
* Bed was shorter by about 40cm, which was OK but as I am tall would not be my preference - shorter bed did mean that the left hand lower cubboard door was easier to access though.
* Tilting head end of the bed is good
* thinner comfort mattress in T6.1 is terrible, the T6 was much better
* FROLI bed upstairs is a BIG improvement, but the T6 slats are great already so no issue with either
* All interior lights can be dimmed - this is really nice
* Much better interior control panel, although the old one was quicker and easier to use for many things

On FRONT END LOOKS and DASHBOARD alone, I would actually pay more for the T6 if I had to.

 

[andyinluton]

* Bed was shorter by about 40cm, which was OK but as I am tall would not be my preference - shorter bed did mean that the left hand lower cubboard door was easier to access though.

If it was 40cm shorter I am sure I would have noticed, do you mean 40mm?

 

[apreading]

If it was 40cm shorter I am sure I would have noticed, do you mean 40mm?

oops!

 

[66tim99]

There is no short answer to this since many factors in play:
this is my short version
is it your only daily drive vehicle ?
how old is the cali you want to replace ?
what do you use it for?
What is your personal/financial situation..?
when will there be a T7 cali available , concept has yet to prove itself ?

I changed from T6 ocean 150HP 4motion to T6.1 204hp 4motion ocean 4 days ago (after 18 months waiting delivery).
My T6 is 6 1/2 years old (84.000 km, 52200 miles) and I still got 60% trade-in value from dealer.
I ordered now after 6 years experience wit cali 6.0 , the 6.1 with many more options and I must say after only 4 days of use it is a complete new vehicle for me. So many details have changed and improved in response of 6.0 user feedback.(despite some exceptions like dashboard cupboards..)
The longer you keep your cali the more maintenance it will need, possible expensive replacement parts and second hand value drops..
My new cali is under warranty, costs me less than the 6.0 because of trade-in value and has all modern safety options, more power, more comfort for only £30.000 .I will be able to pay off before I retire 3 years from now. All accessories are transferable from old to new vehicle.
Many negative opinions about the new 6.1 not being innovative enough are fed by threads on forums like vwcaliforniaclub.. but honestly if you read all threads you'll never buy a cali because fora are a gathering place for problem solving. I have yet to read a thread from someone who regrets upgrading to 6.1. It is people not having a 6.1 who come with loads of arguments not to upgrade to 6.1 (not yet) .
Let me rephrase some of my personal reasons for upgrading recently my only daily driver from 6.0 to 6.1:
1.high trade-in
2. pay off before retirement in 3 years (using the cali even much more then...)
3.avoid expensive repair costs coming with age(waterpump, braking discs, belt, batteries..)
4. New car with 5 year warranty (I added 3 year extra warranty this time) possibly avoiding expensive repairs.
5. lots of improvements (DSG, cupboard doors and lights, led headlights, controller, digital cockpit.. and many many more)
6. adding options I had not chosen before (204hp, DSG, electric sliding door, dcc, all safety options, ..) but I can afford to buy now.
7. transfer accessories (carpets, seat covers etc..)
For me it is going from 6.0 to 6.5 at least
Roger

How are you getting on with the DCC?

 

[Niborn]

We did exactly that but felt the T6 was a better vehicle. Lots of cost cutting on T6.1.
No Sport box
No paddle gear change
No seat height adjustment
No comfort dash
No bottle cooler below gear shifter.
Build quality not as good.
Jack missing from boot.
1 plus point the plastic cover for the cruise control radar hasn't fallen off which it did on my T6

Yes, the T6 is very solid , I've not yet seen a 6.1 to compare , however seems all new cars use less materials it seems

 

[Niborn]

There is no short answer to this since many factors in play:
this is my short version
is it your only daily drive vehicle ?
how old is the cali you want to replace ?
what do you use it for?
What is your personal/financial situation..?
when will there be a T7 cali available , concept has yet to prove itself ?

I changed from T6 ocean 150HP 4motion to T6.1 204hp 4motion ocean 4 days ago (after 18 months waiting delivery).
My T6 is 6 1/2 years old (84.000 km, 52200 miles) and I still got 60% trade-in value from dealer.
I ordered now after 6 years experience wit cali 6.0 , the 6.1 with many more options and I must say after only 4 days of use it is a complete new vehicle for me. So many details have changed and improved in response of 6.0 user feedback.(despite some exceptions like dashboard cupboards..)
The longer you keep your cali the more maintenance it will need, possible expensive replacement parts and second hand value drops..
My new cali is under warranty, costs me less than the 6.0 because of trade-in value and has all modern safety options, more power, more comfort for only £30.000 .I will be able to pay off before I retire 3 years from now. All accessories are transferable from old to new vehicle.
Many negative opinions about the new 6.1 not being innovative enough are fed by threads on forums like vwcaliforniaclub.. but honestly if you read all threads you'll never buy a cali because fora are a gathering place for problem solving. I have yet to read a thread from someone who regrets upgrading to 6.1. It is people not having a 6.1 who come with loads of arguments not to upgrade to 6.1 (not yet) .
Let me rephrase some of my personal reasons for upgrading recently my only daily driver from 6.0 to 6.1:
1.high trade-in
2. pay off before retirement in 3 years (using the cali even much more then...)
3.avoid expensive repair costs coming with age(waterpump, braking discs, belt, batteries..)
4. New car with 5 year warranty (I added 3 year extra warranty this time) possibly avoiding expensive repairs.
5. lots of improvements (DSG, cupboard doors and lights, led headlights, controller, digital cockpit.. and many many more)
6. adding options I had not chosen before (204hp, DSG, electric sliding door, dcc, all safety options, ..) but I can afford to buy now.
7. transfer accessories (carpets, seat covers etc..)
For me it is going from 6.0 to 6.5 at least
Roger

Great review thank you

 

[Jay586]

I'd agree the door cards are thinner, I no longer pull the door shut using the pockets.

The indicator stalk isn't as chunky.

Otherwise, all good.

 

[reserves]

I’ve owned T5, T5.1, T6 & T6.1 Californias

In my opinion the T6 to T6.1 upgrade is nowhere near worth £30k.

For me the T5.1 or T6 are the sweet spots in terms of value.

Of course if you have the spare money then that’s a different story.

 

[Roger Boeken]

How are you getting on with the DCC?

I like dcc ver much so far, very comfortable even in sports mode. Only surprise was the lowered chassis, I ordered also dynamic chassis and dealer did not tell me this lowers the car.

 

[Roger Boeken]

The jack is under a cover on the rear of the back seat on my 6.1 Ocean. I wouldn’t have known if the dealer hadn’t pointed it out, though no doubt it’s in the manual somewhere.

It was at exact the same place in my t6 as in my t6.1.

 

[66tim99]

I like dcc ver much so far, very comfortable even in sports mode. Only surprise was the lowered chassis, I ordered also dynamic chassis and dealer did not tell me this lowers the car.

I didn’t know that either!
You measured the height of the van?
I do like sports mode if I’m pressing along on twisties, or funnily enough over eg 20mph type speed humps. Less vertical bounce. And then wafting along the motorway in comfort. I use individual for soft suspension and heavier steering

 

[Roger Boeken]

In the german configurator it is mentioned as 20 mm..
I will measure myself later, its raining today

 

[Peter84]

@apreading I agree on the touchscreen, I have the Pro version and although I like the big screen it's quite annoying to first go to the menu and then radio for instance. I would have preferred a physical button to switch to radio, navigation, carplay etc.

I like the digital cockpit though! It's nice how you can change the layout, for instance I have the altitude in my dials now!

Like the Wireless Carplay a lot as well!