Kombi Advice
- Thread starter Tommy
- Start date
Hi all
New to the forum and looking for some Kombi advice. Have Caddy maxi at present but always fancied a Kombi but circumstances prevented that previously, however ready to bit the bullet and upgrade to Kombi Highline. Had quotes for 150ps and 204ps and reasonably happy with, however when you come to options its easy to get carried away and mind blowing how the price spirals upwards
Fancy the 204ps (am I correct in saying they are near identical in mpg consumption) The extras i'd like are, sat nav, app connect, single swivel seats, power folding mirrors, reverse camera and metallic (there is roughy a 2k price difference between 150ps/204ps engines).
Reading through the forum seems like LED lights is the way to go, now I could stretch (big stretch at that) but was thinking maybe do away with sat nav option. My Caddy has sat nav which I find very good but has anyone used and relied on smartphone sat nav with not having the VW sat nav installed and if so was it more of a pain than its worth
One last thing, i'd like a tow bar fitted someday, is this an easy option to fit at a later date and have I missed anything else to possibly consider prior to pre ordering?
Thanks in advance
Forgot to say, manual g/box (never tried DSG but guess it adds a bigger chunk to the bottom line anyway)
We bought a 204 Kombi last year and it's pretty good.Hi all
New to the forum and looking for some Kombi advice. Have Caddy maxi at present but always fancied a Kombi but circumstances prevented that previously, however ready to bit the bullet and upgrade to Kombi Highline. Had quotes for 150ps and 204ps and reasonably happy with, however when you come to options its easy to get carried away and mind blowing how the price spirals upwards
Fancy the 204ps (am I correct in saying they are near identical in mpg consumption) The extras i'd like are, sat nav, app connect, single swivel seats, power folding mirrors, reverse camera and metallic (there is roughy a 2k price difference between 150ps/204ps engines).
Reading through the forum seems like LED lights is the way to go, now I could stretch (big stretch at that) but was thinking maybe do away with sat nav option. My Caddy has sat nav which I find very good but has anyone used and relied on smartphone sat nav with not having the VW sat nav installed and if so was it more of a pain than its worth
One last thing, i'd like a tow bar fitted someday, is this an easy option to fit at a later date and have I missed anything else to possibly consider prior to pre ordering?
Thanks in advance
Forgot to say, manual g/box (never tried DSG but guess it adds a bigger chunk to the bottom line anyway)
Had to sound proof and line as its really noisy.
Down sides include really bad lights, rattle side door Windows and tailgate.
If your buying new definitely upgrade lights and dsg is awesome.
Next work van will be the same but a panel van
The 204 and 150 vans I took out last weekend were reasonably quite - Kombi good, Transporter slight/minimal was surprised, everyone seems to be recommending light upgrade
Looking Indium Grey, or if went for edition model the white/black combination looks nice, like the yellow as well but maybe too old and not cool enough to pull that one off
As per your questioning DSG longevity I had it on my '62 plate Sportline Kombi & loved it so much I specced it again on my '67 plate Hi line Kombi. I did 62k on that van with no issues & a mechanic mate services a DSG van with 240k on it & all that has had is a new flywheel ! I travel with a couple of other lads & they both want auto's on their next vehicles after travelling in my Kombi. I have LED's as well & they are the dog's. I would go for 150bhp, DSG, LED's & use your phone for Sat nav !! Best of luck with your choice of extra's 
I don't think I'm taking the thread off-piste with this one, as there is a lot of discussion on Google Maps Vs. on board VW Nav.
In my last van, a Vito, I had the Mercedes Command Centre which incorporates Nav. Unbelievably, I discovered when I first went across Europe with the van, that the Nav didn't cover Europe, only UK & I. More shockingly, there was also no means of upgrading the Nav by just buying another DVD or altering the software.
After getting over the shock of that, the answer was, it was just me and Google Maps to cross Europe. The issue then becomes, how and where do you put your phone to make this work effectively.
Hey presto = Olixar inVent Nova Universal Air Vent Car Holder (click link)
I can't recommend this enough, especially for big screen phones (I always run a Samsung Galaxy Note). You can basically position the phone so it's as if it were a dashboard unit anyway. I have done 1000's of miles with this set up.
It worked perfectly in my new Kombi (Comfort Dash) as I set the phone up as back up whilst still being unfamiliar with the overly complex phone connection process in the Transporter (App Connect, Phone Mirror, Android Auto etc etc)
If you're not used to this set-up, the top tips are :
1. Your phone needs to be plugged into power full time as Nav eats phone battery like there's no tomorrow. Also, you are much better off if you have a newer device that has 'faster charging', as the the charging with that technology can more than keep pace with the drain Nav puts on the battery.
2. If you lose phone signal you are stuffed if you haven't learnt about offline route set up in Google Maps
IMO Google Maps is more than adequate if you want to save on buying manufacturers Nav. Hope that helps....
In my last van, a Vito, I had the Mercedes Command Centre which incorporates Nav. Unbelievably, I discovered when I first went across Europe with the van, that the Nav didn't cover Europe, only UK & I. More shockingly, there was also no means of upgrading the Nav by just buying another DVD or altering the software.
After getting over the shock of that, the answer was, it was just me and Google Maps to cross Europe. The issue then becomes, how and where do you put your phone to make this work effectively.
Hey presto = Olixar inVent Nova Universal Air Vent Car Holder (click link)
I can't recommend this enough, especially for big screen phones (I always run a Samsung Galaxy Note). You can basically position the phone so it's as if it were a dashboard unit anyway. I have done 1000's of miles with this set up.
It worked perfectly in my new Kombi (Comfort Dash) as I set the phone up as back up whilst still being unfamiliar with the overly complex phone connection process in the Transporter (App Connect, Phone Mirror, Android Auto etc etc)
If you're not used to this set-up, the top tips are :
1. Your phone needs to be plugged into power full time as Nav eats phone battery like there's no tomorrow. Also, you are much better off if you have a newer device that has 'faster charging', as the the charging with that technology can more than keep pace with the drain Nav puts on the battery.
2. If you lose phone signal you are stuffed if you haven't learnt about offline route set up in Google Maps
IMO Google Maps is more than adequate if you want to save on buying manufacturers Nav. Hope that helps....
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As per your questioning DSG longevity I had it on my '62 plate Sportline Kombi & loved it so much I specced it again on my '67 plate Hi line Kombi. I did 62k on that van with no issues & a mechanic mate services a DSG van with 240k on it & all that has had is a new flywheel ! I travel with a couple of other lads & they both want auto's on their next vehicles after travelling in my Kombi. I have LED's as well & they are the dog's. I would go for 150bhp, DSG, LED's & use your phone for Sat nav !! Best of luck with your choice of extra's
Thanks Ian, think I'm too leaning more towards downgrade of radio and adding LED lights albeit have been told H7 bulbs can be a great improvement from standard. I have a chance of T30 150ps manual Edition, this already has LED lights but not DSG and not T32, some serious deliberating to be had next few days
Hi Shredder: very informative summary thanks, I guess both have their pluses and minuses with saving a big wedge on no sat nav being a very tempting sacrifice
Morning Tommy,
Just had a quick look at the thread.....try "Happynewvan.com" for a quote. Just have a look at their website and see off there.
I had mine off them and they have been brilliant. You dont get the log book for 12 weeks and you will be the 2nd REGISTERED owner....no one will have ever sat in your van, its just a paperwork plan to get the dealers to sell them the vans in the 1st place. The best dealer quote for mine was £33890.00 plus vat...they were around £28k.
Cant recommend them enough. I didnt actually save any money in the end though, i spent it all on mod's.
Hi Tommy - again...there are actually 3 different sets of headlights available, the basic which are diabolical or if you specify the light pack ‘plus’ you get different and much better headlights lights altogether which, in my opinion, are suitable or you can go for the LED’s.
As for Satnav after all your training you had better get the discovery media, your an expert now!
Thanks for that link, will check that out tomorrow and see what difference if any there is, the comment regards extras brought a smile, can imagine pleased as punch during the initial quote then by the time you reach the checkout page - smile suddenly disappears
Thanks Nigel, thats certainly some food for thought. The light pack plus are these the H7 bulbs that people talk about, those LED's are soo expensive though
Think if it hadn't been for yours and the forum guys help over the last couple of days there might have been a lump hammer testing the quality of the nav screen
Thats interesting that yours was first owner and Dannyb6467 was 2nd register. Did they also keep the logbook for the 12 week period
The H7's are not bulbs, they are a different light to the H4's. The big difference is that when you're on main beam it has both dipped and main beam lights on, so this gives you excellent visibility. They also have different DRL's which are the best looking IMHO. Check out the H4 to H7 thread on here.
