T7 Hybrid 4 Motion collected today

[Peter Chequers]

Lots of stuff to get the head around but first impressions are this is an awesome vehicle

 

[luuca]

I really would like to change my T5 beach edition 4motion with a Hybrid T7 beach tour... but the 4 seats limitation stops me

 

[Peter Chequers]

So two days in ...

Tyre pressures on delivery were 50 psi .... Ride quality was very firm! Now adjusted to 39 psi as recommended for lightly laden and ride massively improved

Tried filling water tank and took ages to find the two valves to stop water pouring straight out onto ground.

Spent a while trying to pair iPhone to camping control panel in rear without realising this required a separate app called California to be installed on the phone

Oddly for a vehicle of this price the tyre pressure monitoring seems to be the basic ABS system rather than accurate TPMS sensors ... Worryingly got a warning on the motorway which didn't so which tyre was low or by how much. Checked tyres when off the motorway and all were OK

The car definitely in default settings favours using battery power... In winter conditions I can envisage running out of battery and therefore 4Motion unless proactive use of the tool to reserve battery power is used carefully

The internal cabin auxiliary cabin heating seems to have its output in the floor underneath the fridge door! It's very hot at a place where heat is not really going to help the fridge keep cool

The internal cabin auxiliary heating seems to have a maximum of 120 minutes running...not ideal on a cold night ( maybe I am missing something? )

If you set up the vehicle settings ( things like preferred units, display in the instrument binnacle, your preferred voice name for the voice commands) before you install the VW app they all get deleted when you then install the app

To get a useable boot space you need to remove the lower bed mattress thing and the shelf it sits on

The little table that sits facing the door next to the fridge is very useful as it doesn't take up all the interior space like the big table .... I have ordered a second one so one table can be used at the rear seat and one can be used by the rotated passenger seat.

VW travel assist is very good ... I have driven a Mercedes with similar features and the VW version is comparable

Intelligent LED headlights are fantastic ... Again comparable to the Mercedes equivalent

I took all the "stuff" I had in various storage areas in my Marco Polo indoors when I traded it in ... I haven't yet figured out yet how much of it will fit in the T7 but I am certain it won't be all the stuff that the MP happily devoured

I much prefer the flexibility of the individual rear seats rather than the bench in the MP

Driving position in the T7 is very comfortable and with winter approaching I am sure I am going to appreciate the heated steering wheel and heated front windscreen

Performance is very acceptable in every day driving with the electic power giving a much better acceleration at roundabouts than my old diesel MP and once Sport mode is engaged it's a very quick vehicle

 

[sticky1]

Oddly for a vehicle of this price the tyre pressure monitoring seems to be the basic ABS system rather than accurate TPMS sensors ... Worryingly got a warning on the motorway which didn't so which tyre was low or by how much. Checked tyres when off the motorway and all were OK

The California definitely comes with TPMS. You have to re-sync your tyre pressure having made such a big change
Go to the infotainment system select; vehicle - status - tyres - set and press OK when all four tyres are showing the new pressure.
You can see individual tyre pressures from the infotainment system.

 

[sticky1]

The internal cabin auxiliary heating seems to have a maximum of 120 minutes running...not ideal on a cold night ( maybe I am missing something? )

This is definitely a feature! However as the auxiliary heater appears to run from the starter battery I think you’ll be grateful it’s only 120 minutes.
These auxiliary heaters have a quiet ticking sound from the fuel pump that would stop me running one all night anyway.
I have a small 500w electric fan heater plugged into a power bank that comes on and off with the thermostat if it’s a cold night (not something I suffer with but a request from the boss).
There are loads on Amazon now but when I looked a few years ago 500w heaters were rare. However I’m pleased with this one https://amzn.eu/d/dIuL4gw

 

[WelshGas]

This is definitely a feature! However as the auxiliary heater appears to run from the starter battery I think you’ll be grateful it’s only 120 minutes.
These auxiliary heaters have a quiet ticking sound from the fuel pump that would stop me running one all night anyway.
I have a small 500w electric fan heater plugged into a power bank that comes on and off with the thermostat if it’s a cold night (not something I suffer with but a request from the boss).
There are loads on Amazon now but when I looked a few years ago 500w heaters were rare. However I’m pleased with this one https://amzn.eu/d/dIuL4gw

If the Parking Heater does run from the Engine Battery then that's a first.
In the past it has always been the Leisure Batteries with 2 modes introduced on the T6.1.

Heat Immediate - runs for a maximum 120 minutes in total and then the timer has to be reset by driving a few km.

Heat Continious - controlled via the control panel and has no time limit.

 

[sticky1]

I hope that’s the case.
The manual references the vehicle 12v battery and the need to drive to charge it.
Also I have done a non definitive test of hitting the heating via the remote and whilst the front of the vehicle is still in ‘sleep’ mode and the California app shows an 11Ah load on the starter battery and nothing on the leisure batteries.

 

[Peter Chequers]

It seems that the separate key to operate the auxiliary heating is not available for the hybrid according to Citygate .... I therefore have four identical door keys and no remote for the heating

I can set the air con remotely from the app but can't see any means of turning on the rear compartment park heating other than via the little screen on the door pillar in the rear compartment

 

[Peter Chequers]

I just checked the alternative California App ... As it connects to the vehicle by Bluetooth it only works when the vehicle is very close and turned on so no ability to turn on park heating remotely

 

[sticky1]

It seems that the separate key to operate the auxiliary heating is not available for the hybrid according to Citygate .... I therefore have four identical door keys and no remote for the heating

I can set the air con remotely from the app but can't see any means of turning on the rear compartment park heating other than via the little screen on the door pillar in the rear compartment

I have seen that question asked elsewhere, it appears some people get the remote for the parking heater and some don’t, I didn’t realise it was version dependant.

 

[stoobthealien]

I just checked the alternative California App ... As it connects to the vehicle by Bluetooth it only works when the vehicle is very close and turned on so no ability to turn on park heating remotely

But if you were at home and wanted to preheat it in the morning then it should be possible if your window is close enough to the driveway?

 

[Andy C Berks.]

The VW brochure lists a "radio remote control" as coming with both the Auxiliary Heater and the Camper Parking Heater options. Which would sound similar to the radio remote control that came with my T6.1 and works from a long way away - can switch it on from anywhere in the house to defrost the screen. Its not Bluetooth.
p.s. the brochure I am looking at is dated November 2024 so may have been updated subsequently, but does sound like you all should have remotes.

 

[WelshGas]

It seems that the separate key to operate the auxiliary heating is not available for the hybrid according to Citygate .... I therefore have four identical door keys and no remote for the heating

I can set the air con remotely from the app but can't see any means of turning on the rear compartment park heating other than via the little screen on the door pillar in the rear compartment

Do you not have the 3 Zone Climatronic AirCon system? On my Hybrid Multivan I can switch on the AirCon, which activates in the front and rear via the Volkswagen App. Even if the EV range is 0 miles it works because only 75% of the EV battery capacity is reserved for the EV drive and 25% for vehicle functions that are powered from the EV battery.

 

[Peter Chequers]

I hope that’s the case.
The manual references the vehicle 12v battery and the need to drive to charge it.
Also I have done a non definitive test of hitting the heating via the remote and whilst the front of the vehicle is still in ‘sleep’ mode and the California app shows an 11Ah load on the starter battery and nothing on the leisure batteries. View attachment 140343

I have just fired up my park (auxiliary) heating
It is definitely being powered by the 2nd batteries (Lesiure batteries)

 

[Peter Chequers]

I have just fired up my park (auxiliary) heating
It is definitely being powered by the 2nd batteries (Lesiure batteries)

 

[DUB10]

I really would like to change my T5 beach edition 4motion with a Hybrid T7 beach tour... but the 4 seats limitation stops me

Hi Luuca

I’m interested in a Beach too and I’m pretty sure you can order it with 5 seats.

 

[DUB10]

We are looking to get back into a Cali as a 5 seat Beach 4motion with some extra options would really suit us. (We’ve been on a hiatus and have a T6.1 transporter kitted out).
Lost touch with the market since we sold our Cali in early 2023 when the market was still inflated post covid.
Are there deals to be had on factory orders that can help give me a steer?

(Noted that Welsh Gas has converted to a multivan - that will be helpful for future advice !!!).

 

[sticky1]

View attachment 140351

That’s good to know. I’m going to have to figure out why my starter battery is consuming 11Ah and nothing from the auxiliary batteries. Can you tell me how you started the parking heater?

 

[Peter Chequers]

Now it’s got the cabin warm and it’s working at a lower power setting the battery drain on the Lesiure (2nd) batteries isn’t quite as scary

 

[Peter Chequers]

That’s good to know. I’m going to have to figure out why my starter battery is consuming 11Ah and nothing from the auxiliary batteries. Can you tell me how you started the parking heater?

I started the parking heater from the screen on the rear door pillar

 

[Peter Chequers]

This is the control I used

 

[sticky1]

I started the parking heater from the screen on the rear door pillar

Ok, I’m going to have to experiment a bit and figure out what’s going on. Thanks for checking so quickly.

 

[Peter Chequers]

Ok, I’m going to have to experiment a bit and figure out what’s going on. Thanks for checking so quickly.

I am definitely seeing some drain on the vehicle battery even though I am not conscious of anything thing being switched on … ignition is off

Maybe it’s the keys talking to the car?

 

[Peter Chequers]

That’s good to know. I’m going to have to figure out why my starter battery is consuming 11Ah and nothing from the auxiliary batteries. Can you tell me how you started the parking heater?

Just a thought…. Maybe the remote key is starting the main vehicle heating/AC system?

The heat from my auxiliary heater is coming out under the sliding fridge door

 

[sticky1]

That would make sense. I seem to remember that some California’s have two separate auxiliary heaters one for the engine and the other for the passenger compartment.