Caddy Life Camper

**Wino** · 17-08-2007, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by CaddyShack

Wino,

My other car is a Mazda Tribute 03 Classic. I love it to bits. I no longer drive it, as I have the Caddy as a company car. My wife drives it whilst the kids have ruined it

But it goes like the clappers, is excellent to drive, holds the road better than most cars, and is extremely safe with 4wd.

I am a Mazda fan from way back, but VW has won me over as well. Have driven a Mercedes Vito for 3 years, and I am definetly not a Benz fan.

Good luck with looking for the right car, it gets very confusing

Just remember, you only need 4 things: Aircon, automatic, cupholders, cruise control. Diesel is 5 things. Everything else is just a luxury.

CaddyShack

it sure can get much more complex than it needs to be!
We've been changing over our cars every 3 years for ..umm 9 years with a couple of short term cars in the mix. I'd say that this year has been the most confusing.. well maybe not confusing, just not a straight out easy choice
This new car will be my wifes car (I'm still happy enough with my TDI syncro Dualcab transporter) I do think that some of the VW range is over priced.. actually no, not over priced .. I think there are some large gaps in the VW range that must be hurting sales in some way. Mid sized 4wd's make alot of sense for active young families .. and I'd love to buy a new Toureg but I simply can't justify that kind of money ( I think they start at about $75-80k) I put a cap on prices at $60k and I think that's a pretty generous budget, however just because a car falls under that price dose not mean it's automatically good value, naturally this is just my opinion, many will take a different view, as is their perogative (sp).
So far in my shopping around it's been the Mazda (V6 Tribute) that has ticked all the boxes and offered what I consider to be value for money. Also the Turbo Territory seems a good deal ($51 drive away) but high..uhh.. huge fuel costs soon move it to being an expensive car (the standard uses less fuel.. but it needs better brakes IMHO)
The Forester XT Luxury is an good example of what I consider to be an over priced car.. I think it's a good car for what it is (we've had a Forester GT in the past) but it simply is not refined enough for an almost $50k car. During the XT test drive I felt like I was straight back in our old GT and this was both a good and bad thing.. but not really the feeling you want when buying a new car. I feel that the XT would be priced right (from a customers point of view) at $40k on the road all done.

CaddyShack · 17-08-2007, 05:01 PM

I'm not a fan of the Territory, it is a huge petrol chewer... as you have said. The Subarus are ok, but the Tribute is the pick. The Subies are do not give enough ground clearance for my liking. I have taken the Tribute off road a few times, and it will get you further than the Subies. It gets me as far as I want, any further and a dedicated 4wd is the go.

Good luck!

CaddyShack

**phaeton** · 17-08-2007, 05:02 PM

Wino if you can wait 1-3 years

Tiguan should be here next year.
&
RPU is due 2009/10 (VWs HiLux Competitor)

**Lams** · 25-08-2007, 10:16 AM

Phaeton, your knowledge of VW models makes me think you work for VWA!!

**phaeton** · 25-08-2007, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Lams

Phaeton, your knowledge of VW models makes me think you work for VWA!!

I wish

On that subject if anyone from VGA is reading this and want to hire me send email to vwphaetonfan<at>hotmail.com

**Lams** · 25-08-2007, 11:31 PM

I too checked out the Camper today. I have seen 2 campers from 2 showrooms, and both of them run out of power... so I couldn't test the sound system.

The Caddy Life's sound system is not bad. I hope it stays the same for the Camper.

Coming from a Golf, there are some nice features that you'd normally take for granted that aren't there in a van, such as the light for the sunvisor mirrors. The car does impress with the amount of stuff it has packed - like you guys said, 4motion would be great!

**Lams** · 08-09-2007, 01:59 PM

damn, you guys are right about those bags muffling the sound!

doesn't seem to bother my little one though

so far so good... wouldn't mind the 125kw DPF motor though

CaddyShack · 14-09-2007, 01:18 AM

Lams,

I've never seen the Camper b4, WOW... how cool is that!

Obviously the side curtains etc. roll up the sides, out of the way.

Is it still a 7 seat or just 5?

Regards
CaddyShack

**Lams** · 14-09-2007, 02:57 PM

hey mate -

It's a 5 seater only, although the bed and everything comes out and technically you just swap it with the 3rd row seats as the mounting points are the same.

The curtains clip off and fold onto the matress before you fold it away.

It's very cleverly built, I now have a place to hide at work!

Alex