New California Cruise (EV Cali!)

[Wannabecamperman]

Hi all, fresh from the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon, the latest from VW Cali range:

Have they FINALLY gone down the EV and V2L route to make leisure batteries a thing of the past? Let us hope.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

...Actually I have just noticed the V2L adapter powering an extension cable - Yay!

Also around 500 kms / 300 mile range (WLTP), and we're due to get in Blighty at the start of next year.

Interested to see if they go on to develop an Ocean spec too.

 

[FivetonesCali]

The v2l is on the outside. That’s a show stopper for me as I camp in all seasons.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The v2l is on the outside. That’s a show stopper for me as I camp in all seasons.

In a traditional camper you would need to go outside anyway to plug into EHU. The V2l is effectively a long extension lead, so you could just run it back into the van.

I’m guessing that it will only be a matter of time before someone adds a dedicated V2l socket within the van. Some Hyundai vehicles already have an internal socket:

Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicle-to-load: does it work?

CAR magazine tests the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (and Kia EV6) vehicle-to-load (V2L) tech with pictures and verdict

www.carmagazine.co.uk

 

[Wannabecamperman]

I’m guessing that it will only be a matter of time before someone adds a dedicated V2l socket within the van. Some Hyundai vehicles already have an internal socket:

It's already happened: A huge 3600w of power from a 3-pin 230v in the middle of the van

 

[chockswahay]

...Actually I have just noticed the V2L adapter powering an extension cable - Yay!

Also around 500 kms / 300 mile range (WLTP), and we're due to get in Blighty at the start of next year.

Interested to see if they go on to develop an Ocean spec too.

Nah, it’s still simply sleeping in the back of an estate car! I love the Buzz and am already an EV convert…… but this thing is so severely limited in application it won’t be on my shopping list

 

[FivetonesCali]

In a traditional camper you would need to go outside anyway to plug into EHU. The V2l is effectively a long extension lead, so you could just run it back into the van.

I’m guessing that it will only be a matter of time before someone adds a dedicated V2l socket within the van. Some Hyundai vehicles already have an internal socket:

Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicle-to-load: does it work?

CAR magazine tests the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (and Kia EV6) vehicle-to-load (V2L) tech with pictures and verdict

www.carmagazine.co.uk

It’s very different. The EHU connection doesn’t require that you loop a cable into the cabin for the user to use the electricity. The PV5 does it properly.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The camper side of the Kia is very well thought out. A lot of useable space, decent windows with intregrated mesh / pull down blinds, cubby holes, outdoor cooking option, & decent bed design.

But for me as soon as I put surfboards on the roof, this will impact the aerodynamics (more so than ICE/hybrid) based on experience with our EV(s) so the claimed 300 range will most likely be closer to 170 on a France toll road run (at 80mph)…think hybrid is the way to go for longer trips, but then this uses more space on the base vehicle.

 

[FivetonesCali]

There isn’t a factory pv5 camper yet but to your point it gets the range it does on a relatively small battery, even on the long range model (71kwh).

The newly announced pv7 could also be an option for a useful camper too.

Despite how crap VW are these days it’s hard to ignore the Buzz. It’s daft money but it’s full of character.