Learning about my new Caddy Maxi Life

[wai]

Well, I collected my new Caddy Maxi Life yesterday. Most impressed with it. The TDI250 has no problems getting to 110 km/h and surprised some on the M4. There is a long progressive uphill stretch from Mulgoa Road heading towards Blacktown and it got up to speed without a fuss and no revving to speak of. My Hiace used to have to be really pushed up that stretch.

I learned one thing. Don't fiddle in the dark I tried to get the MFD to display what I want, but can't quite get it to work the way I want. Also, I discovered that you have to be reasonably firm with the tailgate when closing it as otherwise the alarm function still sees the tailgate as open even though the graphic in the MFD shows it closed. It was only when putting things to take in to work this morning that I saw the fit between the tailgate and lights was not what I expected it to be!

Before I discovered that, I thought my fiddling has screwed things up and so did some factory resets, so I now have the digital speed readout in mph even though everything else is in km.

How do I get it to show km/h? When doing test drives the cars had a big character (almost half the height of the MFD) display for the digital speed readout. I have a rather small display just above the total km and trip km. How do I get the large display, or is it because there are too many items checked?

Any help appreciated. I have read the fine manual, but no luck.

Thanks.

[Lams]

hi wai, I got no idea. how is the new bus? What's your fuel consumption figures like? I can't get mine anywhere near 5.9 as VW claims. My old one, I was averaging 5.3L/100km, when VW claimed 6.2 for that one. But it seems this is a common story with this new 1.6TDI

[wai]

hi wai, I got no idea. how is the new bus? What's your fuel consumption figures like? I can't get mine anywhere near 5.9 as VW claims. My old one, I was averaging 5.3L/100km, when VW claimed 6.2 for that one. But it seems this is a common story with this new 1.6TDI

I managed to find out what I had done. Somewhere along the line I had set the display to show alternate speed - hence the mph!

On fuel consumption, I am still on the tank of fuel provided by the dealer. I have done around 400 km and used just over 1/4 tank. The display tells me I have almost 600 km range left. It will get a good workout as I head down to Bendigo on Wednesday for a few weeks.

The problem with this initial tank of fuel is that there was a bit of stationary running done by the dealer to set things up, so when picked it up, the display said I had a range of 630 km. After doing around 125 km, the display said I had 730 km range left!

It drives very well. I have had to drive it in the torrential rain Sydney recently had. The auto lights and wipers have all been properly tested. It has taken some getting used to. In the Hiace, visibility was so much better because of the high seating position. This is where the optical parking system is a real boon.

The only real issue I have is that the cigarette lighter socket remains live even when the ignition is turned off and the key removed.

When I get to Bendigo I will take some pictures of it and have a much better idea of the fuel consumption. After 35 years of driving between Sydney and Bendigo, I will be able to do it on one tank.

The DSG also takes some getting used to when parking. I have to brush up on my left foot braking. It is a touch harsh.

[Lams]

wow 400km using only 1/4 tank is what I used to get from my old one, which on average would get 1000km a tank. Sounds like your fuel consumption is spot on. Mine is now 12000km old and still doing 6.5L/100km, maybe it's time for another wheel alignment. Could be the 235 tyres that I'm running too...

may have to sell mine soon. Got other things that need money

[Lams]

did I suggest you find the wedge fuse for the ciggy lighter, and replace it with a wire coming from one of the ignition-powered sources (with an in-line fuse) ? that's what I did to our Jetta to fix that problem

[wai]

did I suggest you find the wedge fuse for the ciggy lighter, and replace it with a wire coming from one of the ignition-powered sources (with an in-line fuse) ? that's what I did to our Jetta to fix that problem

No, but this is something that I will look into or get them to do it at the first courtesy service. As a matter of interest, where would I check this?

I just did the first "top up" with Caltex Vortex Diesel. The pump does display it as Vortex Premium Diesel.

Anyhow, this has been predominantly city driving, and there was a reasonable amount of stationary engine operation by the dealer to set things up. The first fill was 30.09 litres and the distance travelled was 409 km giving an average fuel consumption of 7.55 l/100 km.

I head off tomorrow, and Tarcutta will be the check point as it is half way down. Depending on what the gauge shows there will determine whether I need to do a safety fill up at either Albury (Shell) or Glenrowan (BP) service centre.

[Lams]

cool. I started tracking mine using fuelly.com, it's quite good to log your fuel usage and how much you're spending on fuel. I think VW is getting optimistic with their latest fuel figures - I had no issue matching quoted figures in my previous cars

They say these things take 15000-20000km to loosen up... and expect an improvement after first oil change, so we'll see

[wai]

Well, I made it to Bendigo yesterday. Everything went perfectly. I did "chicken out" and do a top up at Albury. From Sydney to Albury, the fuel gauge was sitting on half, so I could have made it to Bendigo on one tank, but I needed a break. Going by the figures, the fuel consumption was 6.1 to 6.2 l/100 km, so around 1000 km per tank.

The Caddy would have had probably 200 kg of my gear etc, and there were no problems at all. Yes it did change down to 6th at times when there was a reasonable hill, but then that's what gears are for. I had no problems maintaining 100 to 110 km/h as the limit dictated.

When I got to Bendigo, my dash mat was waiting for me.

On the additional accessory sockets, the relatively thin strip I was using did not work. As it turns out, the fiddly little box that passes as what used to be the ash tray is the right size for the accessory socket unit. I can remove the tray and the space left looks like it was built for it. I can fit some more adhesive strips so it should be OK.

Anyhow, more news later.

[Lams]

I'll have a go at rewiring that ciggy lighter this weekend (if i get time) and let you know if it worked.
had a guy say "nice van! is it a holden?"