westfalia california with 1.6 TD

[crally]

looking at getting one. is the engine big enough, is it comfortable on long journeys = really appreciate some feedback. ta

[horns]

You're not going to win any races, but a 1.6TD, in proper working order, should see you cruising along happily at 60ish and get you up most hills without too much drama. And yes, they're nice and comfy - should have the nicer seats with armrests. I've driven mine all day without getting any aches and pains.

[Gandalf]

What he said.

[kaminokid]

Yeah we loved ours, then some b********* stole it.
Great vans and pretty good on the juice, got a 1.9dg now quite a bit diff in mileage per gall.
If you get one make sure you keep it safe......
Enjoy
Emma

[D&DCAMPA]

Em sweetie,
your'e repeating yourself!!!!

[crally]

Yeah we loved ours, then some b********* stole it.
Great vans and pretty good on the juice, got a 1.9dg now quite a bit diff in mileage per gall.
If you get one make sure you keep it safe......
Enjoy
Emma

just the person i need then. what is diff bet 1.9 and 1.6D??? more power but how much more expensive on diesel. other option is a VW hitop 1.9 looks like a much bigger van.

[kaminokid]

Hiya
The 1.9dg is petrol and does about 26/27 per gallon if your not too heavy footed.
Also have a crewie 1.9 tdi which does about 35 per gallon, much more torque.
Both are great fun, diesels are def more economical, we didnt want another westy after what happened.
We didnt want a high top coz of height bars on some carparks, so went for a pop.....
Good luck, you will know when you see the right one!
Emma n Dave

[Big Boris]

We have a Westy california with hitop and 1.6td engine. Toured 2500miles round France last summer, a couple of days driving 6 hours+ just to get where we wanted to go and the van was super comfy.

I was a little unsure about the engine size initally but it is great as long as you dont keep trying to 'chase' the van if you know what i mean...just let it pop along and get you there albeit a bit slower than some vehicles. I think having the van has taught us a new slower relaxed way of driving.

[jason k]

i got a 2.1 hi top westy california(currently in the for sale section )

mpg from 25 to 27 mpg, far more powerful and refined than a derv and not much worse on juice.

plus you get to go up hills reasonbly quickly

[Westy End]

mines a 1986 1.6td and goes just fine at 60-65mph (depending on wind direction ). One thing i have noticed is that the performance is not really affected by how much you put in the van - wife, two kids, three bikes, full water tank, loads of crazy stuff for beach, tents etc.

I think that is because it is a fairly steady pace no matter what you ask of the engine. the turbo does give you the option of flooring it and getting past the real slowsters on the motorway.

I am increasingly finding that on motorways with roadworks and the average speed camera traps that i travel nearly at pace with the rest of the traffic. and on single carriageway roads the road is almost always clear in front of me (but maybe not behind )

but the real trick is to turn up the radio, put down the captains chair arms and cruise.

[reddwarf]

Hi, just bought a 1.6td Hitop, our first VW.

Happy with cruising speed 60 - 65. OK with fuel, just over 30, but she struggles on hills.

Wonder if the turbo is OK?

How would I know and how can I check it?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Red Westie]

I'm another westy California owner but with the much smoother and more powerful 2.1 MV petrol.
last two Euro trips, both over 2,200miles, averaged 26mpg.
An LPG conversion on a 2.1MV would net you an effective 45mpg average on a long trip.
Martin

[martinj]

We have just bought our california td,like the others say it cruises happily at 55-60 mph,it is slow on hills but if you drop a gear early enough ours gets up them pretty well and i find that there is no need to rev it over 3000 either.It seems to be pretty good on fuel,when we picked it up from stanstead i filled the tank and it used less than half a tank to get back to south wales.

Martin