VW T7?

[RoB5urf]

Yes I switched it off in my current car due to similar behaviour. I'm not a major fan of automatic lights either - I find that driving down leafy lanes in the summer causes the lights to go on-off-on-off each time I go into and out of shadows.

 

[Teejay]

Yes well said.
I've got high beam assist on my T6 transporter and it's a right royal pain in the ####!
Performs erratically by either refusing to dip when vehicles approach, not activating when in complete darkness, and even dipping correctly when one car approaches then immediately reactivating even though there's another car right behind it!
I guarantee that when I take it in for it's first service they'll say there's nothing wrong with it and that "they all do that".

I have it and it works exactly how I would use the lights. Never seems to be on at the wrong time, sounds like your's has a problem, I cannot be that lucky.

 

[Loz]

Mine works fine also.

Once you know the "rules" of operation it works as expected.
I.e. Not below 35mph(unless you reprogram with VCDS), not with streetlights around etc. so around the country lanes, house flood lights can bring them off etc.

 

[Freeley]

Mine used to work better than it does now so there may be an issue with it. But on any longer bits of road it never dips till the oncoming vehicle is uncomfortably close and can result in flashing unless I dip manually.

 

[Loz]

Mine used to work better than it does now so there may be an issue with it. But on any longer bits of road it never dips till the oncoming vehicle is uncomfortably close and can result in flashing unless I dip manually.

try giving the sensor(Camera) area a good polish incase there is smearing on the glass??

 

[Freeley]

Actually now I think about it its been a bit iffy since I knocked the rear view mirror off when loading a carpet. Maybe I've got finger prints on the sensor lens.
I can't bear the thought of taking the mirror off again as it took me 2 days to get it back on last time!
Will get Carrs to check it when it goes in for it's first service.

 

[Loz]

Actually now I think about it its been a bit iffy since I knocked the rear view mirror off when loading a carpet. Maybe I've got finger prints on the sensor lens.
I can't bear the thought of taking the mirror off again as it took me 2 days to get it back on last time!
Will get Carrs to check it when it goes in for it's first service.

Ahh, perhaps its that or knocked out of alignment.

 

[Days out]

Sorry. I meant have you seen the gnome levitating on the dashboard.

View attachment 18463 View attachment 18464

At Geneva motor show last week and I see VW have upgraded the gnome to a Swiss version sat on a block of cheese!



No end to their sense of humour!



But I must admit to liking the concept overall. I would have preferred more shape in the body side as it was a little plain. The glazing was nice though with the glass having white obscuration which gave the vehicle a very clean appearance.

 

[Borris]

"It has a claimed range of 372 miles". With all that state of the art electrickery, I'll believe that when I see it!

I am yet to be convinced that the battery electric vehicle has much of a future. Manufacturers are good at claiming all sorts of things based on their tests but when it comes to actual practical day to day use these claims usually fall well short. A T7 battery electric California would have to be bl#+y good to meet the type of use we are likely to put it to. Could it be driven for long distances and then have enough juice left to run the camping bits and bobs when not on an EHU? I doubt it. Imagine touring the remote Scottish Highlands.

Also one of the biggest problems with BEVs seems to be their cost. How much will this offering cost? With a current conventional T6 Cali Ocean, with only two wheel steering, costing £60K plus, how much will this concept cost, IF it ever goes into production, which I doubt.

 

[2haw]

At Geneva motor show last week and I see VW have upgraded the gnome to a Swiss version sat on a block of cheese!

View attachment 19961

No end to their sense of humour!

View attachment 19962

But I must admit to liking the concept overall. I would have preferred more shape in the body side as it was a little plain. The glazing was nice though with the glass having white obscuration which gave the vehicle a very clean appearance.

How did the size compare to the current T6, bigger or smaller?

 

[Days out]

How did the size compare to the current T6, bigger or smaller?

It seems similar size to a T6 as if you look at the seating arrangements it's very similar. I liked the clean floor arrangement and the seat rails embedded into the wood effect flooring.

It's quite devoid of detail inside and very spacious feeling. The steering wheel sits into a well when in autonomous mode which is nicely integrated.

Battery life and range will constantly improve over the next few years. There will be more BEV vehicles produced and we will see the reduction in ICE (internal combustion engines) too.

The future is happening now. It's an exciting time in the car industry. But we should separate the electric drive story from the autonomous drive issues. They are totally separate discussions. One will happen as batttery and motor technology improves. The other is a legal issue. There are many cars on the market today that could drive autonomously but until the legal side is understood this cannot happen.

A BEV camper van could work. When fuel stations have charging points and when cars can be charged quickly they will take off. Also dont forget you can "refuel" them at home or on an electric hook up (overnight) You can't refil a petrol car at a campsite can you?

As for mileage BEV cars will soon run for 500 to 600 miles. And they are a lot cheaper to refuel. I worked out for me a Tesla would cost me £550 a year in electricity for 12,000 miles. (Appreciate that you have to get electricity from somewhere but let's ignore that for now!)

I also run an electric bike and do 60 miles a week for my work run only using my California on very wet days or if I have to do a school run. My electric bike is saving me around 240 miles a month and costs me pennies to charge! I get 50 miles out of a full charge.

Last word on the subject. I used to own a Victorian house and found an old magazine embedded in the wall. It was from the 1940's. In it the lady author wrote how TV would never take off and be popular because "one couldn't darn socks whilst watching programmes". She was convinced that the radio would be the main staple for entertainment. Yeah right!

Now listen to the people saying electric cars won't happen soon. I promise that they are wrong. They are happening.... now.

 

[Days out]

"It has a claimed range of 372 miles". With all that state of the art electrickery, I'll believe that when I see it!

I am yet to be convinced that the battery electric vehicle has much of a future. Manufacturers are good at claiming all sorts of things based on their tests but when it comes to actual practical day to day use these claims usually fall well short. A T7 battery electric California would have to be bl#+y good to meet the type of use we are likely to put it to. Could it be driven for long distances and then have enough juice left to run the camping bits and bobs when not on an EHU? I doubt it. Imagine touring the remote Scottish Highlands.

Also one of the biggest problems with BEVs seems to be their cost. How much will this offering cost? With a current conventional T6 Cali Ocean, with only two wheel steering, costing £60K plus, how much will this concept cost, IF it ever goes into production, which I doubt.

VW just like any other car manufacturer will produce a battery chassis and add whatever "hat" to it to make different cars. Once they have the chassis and battery packs sorted all cars will have similar range similar performance etc. It will be down to brand and design and Body style. And because all cars will be the same under the skin the refinement and reliability will improve too. Look at Tesla to see this in action. One platform with 2 and 4 wheel drive plus various power upgrades etc. You should look at Lucid Air and Fariday Future too there are many more electric start ups on the way all will have amazing performance and the range will get better.

Lucid Air is claiming 1500bhp from thier motors!!! That's more than a Veyron!

 

[Borris]

It seems similar size to a T6 as if you look at the seating arrangements it's very similar. I liked the clean floor arrangement and the seat rails embedded into the wood effect flooring.

It's quite devoid of detail inside and very spacious feeling. The steering wheel sits into a well when in autonomous mode which is nicely integrated.

Battery life and range will constantly improve over the next few years. There will be more BEV vehicles produced and we will see the reduction in ICE (internal combustion engines) too.

The future is happening now. It's an exciting time in the car industry. But we should separate the electric drive story from the autonomous drive issues. They are totally separate discussions. One will happen as batttery and motor technology improves. The other is a legal issue. There are many cars on the market today that could drive autonomously but until the legal side is understood this cannot happen.

A BEV camper van could work. When fuel stations have charging points and when cars can be charged quickly they will take off. Also dont forget you can "refuel" them at home or on an electric hook up (overnight) You can't refil a petrol car at a campsite can you?

As for mileage BEV cars will soon run for 500 to 600 miles. And they are a lot cheaper to refuel. I worked out for me a Tesla would cost me £550 a year in electricity for 12,000 miles. (Appreciate that you have to get electricity from somewhere but let's ignore that for now!)

I also run an electric bike and do 60 miles a week for my work run only using my California on very wet days or if I have to do a school run. My electric bike is saving me around 240 miles a month and costs me pennies to charge! I get 50 miles out of a full charge.

Last word on the subject. I used to own a Victorian house and found an old magazine embedded in the wall. It was from the 1940's. In it the lady author wrote how TV would never take off and be popular because "one couldn't darn socks whilst watching programmes". She was convinced that the radio would be the main staple for entertainment. Yeah right!

Now listen to the people saying electric cars won't happen soon. I promise that they are wrong. They are happening.... now.

I am afraid that where we get the electricity from in the UK specifically, cannot be ignored and will probably prove to be the stumbling block for the BEV if they ever become as popular as you suggest.

The following article states:
"Latest figures show there were 25.8 million licensed cars in the third quarter of 2015 compared with 25.2 million in the same period of 2014". An increase of 600,000 cars in one year on UK roads.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35312562
In my mind this raises some very important points:

1. If the numbers of BEVs on our roads increase sharply to replace at least some of these current ICE vehicles, how many power hungry rapid charging points would be required to service these vehicles. Think of the number of cars entering a leaving the average petrol station each hour. We would probably need large car parks every where with these rapid charging points to service demand, not to mention the infrastructure issues that that would create.
http://leadin.fi/blog/gas-guzzling-to-current-guzzling/

2. As it has been widely reported that our national electricity generating system is often working at very near to maximum capacity I doubt if a rapid increase in the numbers of BEVs could be/should be fully supported.
https://www.theguardian.com/big-ene...4/-sp-how-close-uk-power-blackout-energy-data

If there is any truth in these articles then IMO the BEVs popularity in the UK will be self limiting and it's future will continue only as a low volume alternative to hybrid or conventional but improved ICE vehicles. Unless our UK electricity generating capacity increases substantially in the near future then the costs of rapid charging will sooner or later rise substantially and that along with the delay to recharge will put people off buying BEVs, regardless of how green they are perceived to be.

Just my opinion.

 

[Bellcrew]

I am afraid that where we get the electricity from in the UK specifically, cannot be ignored and will probably prove to be the stumbling block for the BEV if they ever become as popular as you suggest.

The following article states:
"Latest figures show there were 25.8 million licensed cars in the third quarter of 2015 compared with 25.2 million in the same period of 2014". An increase of 600,000 cars in one year on UK roads.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35312562
In my mind this raises some very important points:

1. If the numbers of BEVs on our roads increase sharply to replace at least some of these current ICE vehicles, how many power hungry rapid charging points would be required to service these vehicles. Think of the number of cars entering a leaving the average petrol station each hour. We would probably need large car parks every where with these rapid charging points to service demand, not to mention the infrastructure issues that that would create.
http://leadin.fi/blog/gas-guzzling-to-current-guzzling/

2. As it has been widely reported that our national electricity generating system is often working at very near to maximum capacity I doubt if a rapid increase in the numbers of BEVs could be/should be fully supported.
https://www.theguardian.com/big-ene...4/-sp-how-close-uk-power-blackout-energy-data

If there is any truth in these articles then IMO the BEVs popularity in the UK will be self limiting and it's future will continue only as a low volume alternative to hybrid or conventional but improved ICE vehicles. Unless our UK electricity generating capacity increases substantially in the near future then the costs of rapid charging will sooner or later rise substantially and that along with the delay to recharge will put people off buying BEVs, regardless of how green they are perceived to be.

Just my opinion.

At the moment electricity is taxed at 8%, the chancellor cannot watch his £multi billion tax take from fuel duty/VAT disappear, sophisticated systems of road tolls will replace taxes to ensure all the electric cars pay their way, probably.