T7 spec regrets - helping others to avoid

[Adam8374]

I ordered a new t7 cali and have two regrets. hopefully it will help next buyers to avoid them.

1. heated windshield. it's heated by a visible wire which obstructs the view at night. it's very annoying. it blurrs the vision. especially as my cali is PHEV, which can be pre-heated remotely. this one disturbs me really a lot.

2. 19" wheels. the van is very uncomfortable. the tyre size is 245/45 which is very thin. moreover, it was quite expansive. i'd go for 18" max. it might be connected, that I hadn't ordered the DCC suspension. my expereince is that it hardly does anything and one always drive in one setting anyway. and it probably adds weight and possible problems in future. but give how uncomfortable it now is on bad road, i'd like to try if DCC would help...

and bonus tips:
3. weight: (applicable for the PHEV only): the useful payload is very low in T7 cali. my Beach only has 450kg and it's the reason why its 4 seater only. i'd be careful with specing "everything". spec only what you really need and save precious kgs.

4. softclose: in spain, it was not possible to spec softlose for the sliding doors. on one hand, I'm happy to have saved few kg. but it's not very easy to close the door and it's quite annoying.. I might want to retrofit this in futre.

 

[thehoggmeister]

I ordered a new t7 cali and have two regrets. hopefully it will help next buyers to avoid them.

1. heated windshield. it's heated by a visible wire which obstructs the view at night. it's very annoying. it blurrs the vision. especially as my cali is PHEV, which can be pre-heated remotely. this one disturbs me really a lot.

2. 19" wheels. the van is very uncomfortable. the tyre size is 245/45 which is very thin. moreover, it was quite expansive. i'd go for 18" max. it might be connected, that I hadn't ordered the DCC suspension. my expereince is that it hardly does anything and one always drive in one setting anyway. and it probably adds weight and possible problems in future. but give how uncomfortable it now is on bad road, i'd like to try if DCC would help...

and bonus tips:
3. weight: (applicable for the PHEV only): the useful payload is very low in T7 cali. my Beach only has 450kg and it's the reason why its 4 seater only. i'd be careful with specing "everything". spec only what you really need and save precious kgs.

4. softclose: in spain, it was not possible to spec softlose for the sliding doors. on one hand, I'm happy to have saved few kg. but it's not very easy to close the door and it's quite annoying.. I might want to retrofit this in futre.

Each to their own. We live in Scotland where a combination of preheating and using the heated windscreen is a must for winter. I don't notice the wires in the screen and find them much the same as any Ford I have driven with them.

I agree with the wheels. Whilst the 19" wheels look great having driven a California with18" wheels and 19"wheels the 18" are much more suited to the vehicle. We got the 18" in black to go with the Energetic Orange and black roof which I really like the look of.

Soft close doors are great and make sure you don't wake the neighbours on site when getting up early to walk the dog.

 

[Aldoi]

Agree on the soft close doors. I wish this were an option on it’s own on the Beach but sadly only offered with the full electric doors option which I didn’t like. It’s an annoying restriction in the options configuration in my opinion and not really necessary for this option specifically.

 

[stoobthealien]

Agree on the soft close doors. I wish this were an option on it’s own on the Beach but sadly only offered with the full electric doors option which I didn’t like. It’s an annoying restriction in the options configuration in my opinion and not really necessary for this option specifically.

I agree - I put it on the tailgate but would happily have paid for it on the side doors, just hoping my kids can manage it when we get it in a couple of weeks

 

[Adam8374]

you don't wake the neighbours on site when getting up early to walk the dog.

Our dog sleeps until 12 every day

 

[SpuffingtonMe]

I have to say, the heated windscreen is my favourite feature on any car. We've got it on the Discovery 5 and I wouldn't be without it. It's not just for mornings, defrosting or demisting before getting in, you can get a build up of moisture at other times and it's so much quicker to demist than any fan.

I'd love it on all my vehicles and although once in a while you can spot the little wires, I personally don''t find it distracting for more than a few seconds and then my eyes adjust through it.

 

[Nand0]

Each to their own. We live in Scotland where a combination of preheating and using the heated windscreen is a must for winter. I don't notice the wires in the screen and find them much the same as any Ford I have driven with them.

I have to agree there. I used to have a Ford Focus with such a windscreen. It's the only thing I wish I had in later cars, although it doesn't bother me that much. My Cali seems to do a good enough job with the blower. I never noticed the tiny wires unless I inspected the windscreen up close

 

[thehoggmeister]

Our dog sleeps until 12 every day

If only. Our Lab gets up for a good morning walk then conks out until 2pm before going out again for another good walk.

On the plus side it gets us up and about and I have been known to walk for a morning coffee and breakfast roll at a nice wee cafe if I come across one on the walk. Then have second breakfast when back at the van.

 

[MC90]

I agree with your observation with the headed windscreen, I also find it distracting when night driving. Given the choice again I would not option it.

 

[DancingWaterman]

I ordered a new t7 cali and have two regrets. hopefully it will help next buyers to avoid them.

1. heated windshield. it's heated by a visible wire which obstructs the view at night. it's very annoying. it blurrs the vision. especially as my cali is PHEV, which can be pre-heated remotely. this one disturbs me really a lot.

2. 19" wheels. the van is very uncomfortable. the tyre size is 245/45 which is very thin. moreover, it was quite expansive. i'd go for 18" max. it might be connected, that I hadn't ordered the DCC suspension. my expereince is that it hardly does anything and one always drive in one setting anyway. and it probably adds weight and possible problems in future. but give how uncomfortable it now is on bad road, i'd like to try if DCC would help...

and bonus tips:
3. weight: (applicable for the PHEV only): the useful payload is very low in T7 cali. my Beach only has 450kg and it's the reason why its 4 seater only. i'd be careful with specing "everything". spec only what you really need and save precious kgs.

4. softclose: in spain, it was not possible to spec softlose for the sliding doors. on one hand, I'm happy to have saved few kg. but it's not very easy to close the door and it's quite annoying.. I might want to retrofit this in futre.

Could you upload a picture of what that wire for the heated windshield looks like? I'm genuinely curious as I'm in Portugal, and there weren't any other Californias to look at when ordering ours. I spec'd ours with it, but now I'm apprehensive after reading your comments.

 

[Adam8374]

Could you upload a picture of what that wire for the heated windshield looks like? I'm genuinely curious as I'm in Portugal, and there weren't any other Californias to look at when ordering ours. I spec'd ours with it, but now I'm apprehensive after reading your comments.

I'm going to go camping tomorrow, so I'll try. But I'm not sure if it's possible to take a picture of it. It's something that you notice only when driving at night. Similar if your windscreen is not perfectly clean at night.
During daytime not noticeable.

But I'll try to make a picture tomorrow anyways.

(ps: another disadvantage is, that it limits starlink speed. Otherwise the huge dashboard would be a perfect spot to place it)

 

[DancingWaterman]

That would be amazing if possible. Didn’t even think about the starlink speed either. We reached out to 7 dealers in Portugal, and literally no one could answer many questions about the vehicle other than to say, spec it out and I’ll put a proposal together. So this forum has been incredibly helpful since the research was mostly done on here. But I over saw your post. I also ordered a PHEV beach tour, so your posts hit home. Enjoy the camping trip!

 

[Adam8374]

That would be amazing if possible. Didn’t even think about the starlink speed either. We reached out to 7 dealers in Portugal, and literally no one could answer many questions about the vehicle other than to say, spec it out and I’ll put a proposal together. So this forum has been incredibly helpful since the research was mostly done on here. But I over saw your post. I also ordered a PHEV beach tour, so your posts hit home. Enjoy the camping trip!

Here you go. It's visible even during the day, but becomes very disturbing at nighttime.
I originally come from mountains in Northern Europe, so I know very well what it's like to clean snow every morning. But I wouldn't spec it even there because the PHEV can preheat via the app. For Portugal it's a no-brainer.

 

[The Little Red Cali]

Here you go. It's visible even during the day, but becomes very disturbing at nighttime.
I originally come from mountains in Northern Europe, so I know very well what it's like to clean snow every morning. But I wouldn't spec it even there because the PHEV can preheat via the app. For Portugal it's a no-brainer.

View attachment 144684

TBH that would annoy me too. So glad I didn’t spec it on my 6.1

 

[Canary]

I've had a heated windscreen on every car I've owned since 2006 and never ever thought about it or seen it as intrusive.
I am however incredibly thankful for how effective its been over that 20 year period de-icing and de-misting my windscreen when in a hurry.

 

[andyinluton]

Whether a heated screen bothers you or not depends upon your eyesight.
If you are shortsighted, even with glasses / lenses you tend to focus on closer things & will notice it more than someone longsightednesses who will be focusing naturally on more distant things.
If the heated screen is too prominent you probably need slightly stronger glasses.

 

[Canary]

Whether a heated screen bothers you or not depends upon your eyesight.
If you are shortsighted, even with glasses / lenses you tend to focus on closer things & will notice it more than someone longsightednesses who will be focusing naturally on more distant things.
If the heated screen is too prominent you probably need slightly stronger glasses.

Fair enough, I suffer with neither condition so didnt see it from that viewpoint, if you'll excuse the pun.

 

[Adam8374]

Whether a heated screen bothers you or not depends upon your eyesight.
If you are shortsighted, even with glasses / lenses you tend to focus on closer things & will notice it more than someone longsightednesses who will be focusing naturally on more distant things.
If the heated screen is too prominent you probably need slightly stronger glasses.

Very interesting if true. (I feel that I might need about 0.5D glases).

But for me it's no problem during the day. It's how it disperses headlights of opposite traffic during the night, what is annoying for me. Just like if driving with a dirty windscreen at night...

 

[Daffus]

Have the Heated front screen on my Caravelle T6.1 for 5 years and never noticed to be honest, but a great option. Will compare when the new Cali comes.

 

[burton61]

Is there a difference for you when its active vs not active?
In general, I can see the heated front screens when they are on, giving a very slight blurr to the view but don't notice when they are off.

 

[stoobthealien]

Note that VAG group seem to use 2 different technologies. My Skoda Karoq had a coating which heated up rather than the thin wires on my T7

Have the Heated front screen on my Caravelle T6.1 for 5 years and never noticed to be honest, but a great option. Will compare when the new Cali comes.

 

[Daffus]

Note that VAG group seem to use 2 different technologies. My Skoda Karoq had a coating which heated up rather than the thin wires on my T7

Mine has the thin wires and so have the many cars I’ve had in the past working for the VW group, but guess if you are looking for them then you will see them. Though didn't know they had another option which sounds better as l have seen some of the individual wires fail individually, which is fine if they’re not all together giving you a partially cleared screen.

 

[DancingWaterman]

Here you go. It's visible even during the day, but becomes very disturbing at nighttime.
I originally come from mountains in Northern Europe, so I know very well what it's like to clean snow every morning. But I wouldn't spec it even there because the PHEV can preheat via the app. For Portugal it's a no-brainer.

View attachment 144684

Thank you so much for posting this Adam! This would absolutely drive me nuts too, and it’s more noticeable than I had expected. My eyesight is still good and I notice those things. I have since called the dealer and had them remove it from my order in time. I agree that in Portugal I don’t need it most of the time, but it was mainly for the trips to the mountains in winter. As you’ve said, just heat the car up if you’ve got the time. Anyway, you’ve saved me a headache so I really appreciate it. Hope you had a fun getaway last weekend.

 

[stoobthealien]

Thank you so much for posting this Adam! This would absolutely drive me nuts too, and it’s more noticeable than I had expected. My eyesight is still good and I notice those things. I have since called the dealer and had them remove it from my order in time. I agree that in Portugal I don’t need it most of the time, but it was mainly for the trips to the mountains in winter. As you’ve said, just heat the car up if you’ve got the time. Anyway, you’ve saved me a headache so I really appreciate it. Hope you had a fun getaway last weekend.

If you can preheat with the diesel heater it'll melt it eventually