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Thoughts on Beach Ownership.

James

James

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Location
Broadclyst, Devon
I thought I should add some final thoughts after nearly three years of Beach Ownership

Selling Betty Custard was never an easy decision, as a one car household, any vehicle we have has to perform a multitude of roles. Had we stayed living in the badlands of Essex, owning Betty would have been easier, the country roads and the nature of traffic and the nature of my job does make it a completely different prospect down here in Devon.

So after nearly three years, what didn't i like, i guess that is easier to answer because the things I didn't like were few and quite straightforward.

The first thing is the basic 112bhp engine, it has enough power but it needs a six speed gear box. In an effort to get more fuel economy out of it, the gearing is set up to maximise this. Bearing in mind that economy was at best, 'reasonable', then i'd rather just had the power. I found it particularly noticeable around town, pulling away or on slip roads. This is in part because it is a big heavy van and it will never drive like a car but I did feel at times the gearing strangled the power. Once up to speed, it never struggled, in fact by the end of my ownership it sat at 80mph comfortably and without fuss.

I also never quite got on with the 'climatic' air con, it seemed to be fairly cold on all settings and then suddenly very warm. In fact at times, I relied on the rear heater which kept things very toasty in the winter.

They were my only niggles really, the rest was amazing, fuel economy was not the best and by the end, when the van was having to do much more start stop town driving, it was pretty bad. On a long run, it was good, but all that town driving just ruined it and stop start makes no difference to MPG whatsoever, clearly it's just there to lower CO2 emissions.

The Beach offers a great blend of practicality, nothing can rival that and even for the two of us it never failed to be useful, it done several house moves, carried furniture and everything else in-between. The driving position is superb, although I found the drivers seat lacking in upper back support, but it has to be said, i am awkward shape and often struggle to get comfortable in cars.

Then there is the going away aspect, that sense of freedom and potential change to your lifestyle does have an impact, and we shall miss that. It's sweetened a little but being in Devon and that we can access most of it in a day.

There's also a feel good factor, few other vehicles will make you smile as much or feel as good and i shall miss the smiles, the people chatting to me, and the occasional wave. It's also easy to drive, although i always found the clutch heavy, but again, it's a big vehicle. Anyway he says modern vans drive like a car are lying, they don't, but this gen Transporter gets close all things considering.

I hope one day to come back to the Beach, I am hoping by then, we will be onto the T6. There are a number of things VW could do to make the vehicle easier to live with on a day to day basis. Firstly running costs could be introduced by a plug in hybrid system, similar to the forthcoming Golf GTE, this could make a significant different to fuel costs. Also the general architecture in the Beach is feeling a little dated but that's the nature of cars and new tech. VW have always done well by offering car like options and kit on their Transporters and this negates a lot of that.

If I was buying again, it would be from factory (ideally) and it would be the 140, possibly with DSG but I certainly wouldn't go for the lesser powered version. MPG actually got worse for me over time but then I did change the tyres so maybe that had an impact. I'd also take the darker Milan Trim option, less 'funky' but more practical, the grey does show marks.

I would not hesitate to recommend a Beach as a family vehicle or a camper, it does both, and both versions, whether it is the three seater or two seater perform well.

Depreciation was good - despite my silliness with doing stuff with my vehicle, I've been able sell privately and still order a new Golf from the factory without any additional finance, that's not too bad.

I will miss the community, the Golf Mk7 Community is just not the same :) So I all probably here, hopefully joint in the excitement, particularly when the new T6 comes along.

You can't help love a vehicle like the Beach, it is so well executed, storage space and accommodation is so well thought out. I would take one over the full California every time, the rear bed is so comfortable.

Build quality... I approached it as a commercial vehicle, and I feel, that's what I got, I had no ongoing issues, and I never really had the rattles or the steering clonk that others experienced but it's not a luxury car and the hard plastics attested to that. That said, nothing fell off or broke, apart from the much discussed roof, which suffered like everyone else's.

If I had the money today, would i buy another, even at this stage, yes, without a doubt and I know exactly what spec I would have :)

James
 
Nice to hear your post Beach ownership review :hello
 
I thought I should add some final thoughts after nearly three years of Beach Ownership

Selling Betty Custard was never an easy decision, as a one car household, any vehicle we have has to perform a multitude of roles. Had we stayed living in the badlands of Essex, owning Betty would have been easier, the country roads and the nature of traffic and the nature of my job does make it a completely different prospect down here in Devon.

So after nearly three years, what didn't i like, i guess that is easier to answer because the things I didn't like were few and quite straightforward.

The first thing is the basic 112bhp engine, it has enough power but it needs a six speed gear box. In an effort to get more fuel economy out of it, the gearing is set up to maximise this. Bearing in mind that economy was at best, 'reasonable', then i'd rather just had the power. I found it particularly noticeable around town, pulling away or on slip roads. This is in part because it is a big heavy van and it will never drive like a car but I did feel at times the gearing strangled the power. Once up to speed, it never struggled, in fact by the end of my ownership it sat at 80mph comfortably and without fuss.

I also never quite got on with the 'climatic' air con, it seemed to be fairly cold on all settings and then suddenly very warm. In fact at times, I relied on the rear heater which kept things very toasty in the winter.

They were my only niggles really, the rest was amazing, fuel economy was not the best and by the end, when the van was having to do much more start stop town driving, it was pretty bad. On a long run, it was good, but all that town driving just ruined it and stop start makes no difference to MPG whatsoever, clearly it's just there to lower CO2 emissions.

The Beach offers a great blend of practicality, nothing can rival that and even for the two of us it never failed to be useful, it done several house moves, carried furniture and everything else in-between. The driving position is superb, although I found the drivers seat lacking in upper back support, but it has to be said, i am awkward shape and often struggle to get comfortable in cars.

Then there is the going away aspect, that sense of freedom and potential change to your lifestyle does have an impact, and we shall miss that. It's sweetened a little but being in Devon and that we can access most of it in a day.

There's also a feel good factor, few other vehicles will make you smile as much or feel as good and i shall miss the smiles, the people chatting to me, and the occasional wave. It's also easy to drive, although i always found the clutch heavy, but again, it's a big vehicle. Anyway he says modern vans drive like a car are lying, they don't, but this gen Transporter gets close all things considering.

I hope one day to come back to the Beach, I am hoping by then, we will be onto the T6. There are a number of things VW could do to make the vehicle easier to live with on a day to day basis. Firstly running costs could be introduced by a plug in hybrid system, similar to the forthcoming Golf GTE, this could make a significant different to fuel costs. Also the general architecture in the Beach is feeling a little dated but that's the nature of cars and new tech. VW have always done well by offering car like options and kit on their Transporters and this negates a lot of that.

If I was buying again, it would be from factory (ideally) and it would be the 140, possibly with DSG but I certainly wouldn't go for the lesser powered version. MPG actually got worse for me over time but then I did change the tyres so maybe that had an impact. I'd also take the darker Milan Trim option, less 'funky' but more practical, the grey does show marks.

I would not hesitate to recommend a Beach as a family vehicle or a camper, it does both, and both versions, whether it is the three seater or two seater perform well.

Depreciation was good - despite my silliness with doing stuff with my vehicle, I've been able sell privately and still order a new Golf from the factory without any additional finance, that's not too bad.

I will miss the community, the Golf Mk7 Community is just not the same :) So I all probably here, hopefully joint in the excitement, particularly when the new T6 comes along.

You can't help love a vehicle like the Beach, it is so well executed, storage space and accommodation is so well thought out. I would take one over the full California every time, the rear bed is so comfortable.

Build quality... I approached it as a commercial vehicle, and I feel, that's what I got, I had no ongoing issues, and I never really had the rattles or the steering clonk that others experienced but it's not a luxury car and the hard plastics attested to that. That said, nothing fell off or broke, apart from the much discussed roof, which suffered like everyone else's.

If I had the money today, would i buy another, even at this stage, yes, without a doubt and I know exactly what spec I would have :)

James
I have just read your post for the first time. Very interesting.
I can't help thinking that you will be back with another Beach before too long.
Good luck.
 
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