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Cali to MP

Paxtonend

New Member
Hi all I am so pleased to find this forum. We have been the proud owner of a top of the range beautiful VW Cali for the past 3 years from new. It’s been brilliant but….we now have an opportunity to get into a new MP AMG LIne 300 engine immediately due to a cancelled order. We do normally change our vehicle every 3-5 years anyway but there are no Cali’s to be had for 18 months or so, and even then they have reduced their range to only a single basic model. So, my questions for you well informed people are:-

Have any of you made the switch from Cali to MP and if so do you have any regrets?
Do many of you use it as your every day car and of so are there challenges with this?
The seeming lack of rear storage concerns me but I have read some reassuring comments on here about this but I would still welcome any tips or comments on this.
We would be going from AWD to rear wheel drive so wondered if many of you have been stuck in muddy fields regularly?
Because the MP is so pretty, the roll out awning spoils it however, I am not sure we could manage without it as we spill out into this area even when raining and it really comes into it’s own when its very hot. We have used drive aways before but they were all big and heavy when packed away. What do you use?

I know this is a lot of questions but it is a huge investment and I would really value your wisdom. Thank you.
 

Marc o Polo

Active Member
Hi, and warm welcome,

I think you are lucky to be offered a new MP at the moment. I understood there were none to be had. The MP is fantastic, the drive is exceedingly comfortable and in general I am not disappointed. In my opinion there are no downsides (well... perhaps the price). But I think the investment is worth every penny.

Love having the awning when needed in the sun: it is useful provided the car is parked in the right orientation. Mine is colour co-ordinated (not all are, I believe) and after two years I am used to it and pleased it is there. I don't regret having it.

I use the van everyday. You get used to its size -becomes second nature when parking anywhere, due mainly to the all round cameras and alarms alerting in good time. Driving, parking, reversing, is a doddle. Just love the ease, comfort and safety features when driving. It is luxuriously comfortable, reliable and superior in every way.. Saying that I have noticed on "The Apprentice" (!) they changed from MB to a VW people carrier - not impressed....

Personally, I don't have problems with storage and adjust things to what we want to take, e.g. do I want to take those chairs on this trip?

TIP: You would find a mattress topper for the low bed very helpful - I'd go further and say necessary. MB supply one and it is perfect for us.
There are a couple of Mercedes Me software packages I would recommend, but research them at your leisure once you receive the vehicle as the packages available will be tailored to your particular model (based on date of purchase) and once paid for are accessible straight away.

MBux is now very advanced, we say things like I am cold and if the passenger says it the system says "I am turning up the heating on the passenger side to 28 degrees" (or whatever) going up in stages. My son asked "do you like my singing" and Mercedes Me said "best stick to the day job."


"Muddy fields" question anyone?
 

Jameson

New Member
Hi Paxtonend,
Firrst of all wishing you a warm welcome, I think you're very lucky to get a new MB300, I asked MB of Bath to order me a new one and they told me at least a 2 year wait.

I don't know much about the VW Cali as I've never owned one. I did however test drive one and it felt like a van. I have the MB AMG line 300 and it feels like a car It is a 69 plate.

Also having a GLE400d and my wife having a E53 both with MBUX, my only disappointment with the van is the info system. I prefer the MBUX a lot more and was the reason for me looking for a new one.

My van didn't come with an awning as my profile pic is the van. I had MB install one and colour code it to the van. It looks cool and also turns heads.

Now the purpose of our van was to carry our dogs . It's great for this as we can get all 4 in with all their associated bits and pieces. As you can imagine, dogs mean fields. I have never got stuck and I've been in some messy places.

From my test drive of the Cali, I think the MB drives much better and feels more like a car than a van. I find it easier to park than my GLE which I think is slightly wider. I also have a disabled badge which means that parking bays are wider.

For me the MB is better everything on it except the infotainment system matches our two cars which means you don't have to think.

I hope this info helps
 

Paxtonend

New Member
Hi, and warm welcome,

I think you are lucky to be offered a new MP at the moment. I understood there were none to be had. The MP is fantastic, the drive is exceedingly comfortable and in general I am not disappointed. In my opinion there are no downsides (well... perhaps the price). But I think the investment is worth every penny.

Love having the awning when needed in the sun: it is useful provided the car is parked in the right orientation. Mine is colour co-ordinated (not all are, I believe) and after two years I am used to it and pleased it is there. I don't regret having it.

I use the van everyday. You get used to its size -becomes second nature when parking anywhere, due mainly to the all round cameras and alarms alerting in good time. Driving, parking, reversing, is a doddle. Just love the ease, comfort and safety features when driving. It is luxuriously comfortable, reliable and superior in every way.. Saying that I have noticed on "The Apprentice" (!) they changed from MB to a VW people carrier - not impressed....

Personally, I don't have problems with storage and adjust things to what we want to take, e.g. do I want to take those chairs on this trip?

TIP: You would find a mattress topper for the low bed very helpful - I'd go further and say necessary. MB supply one and it is perfect for us.
There are a couple of Mercedes Me software packages I would recommend, but research them at your leisure once you receive the vehicle as the packages available will be tailored to your particular model (based on date of purchase) and once paid for are accessible straight away.

MBux is now very advanced, we say things like I am cold and if the passenger says it the system says "I am turning up the heating on the passenger side to 28 degrees" (or whatever) going up in stages. My son asked "do you like my singing" and Mercedes Me said "best stick to the day job."


"Muddy fields" question anyone?
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. This is reassuring! Deposit due tomoz should get it by the end of April so I think we will take the plunge!
 

Paxtonend

New Member
Hi Paxtonend,
Firrst of all wishing you a warm welcome, I think you're very lucky to get a new MB300, I asked MB of Bath to order me a new one and they told me at least a 2 year wait.

I don't know much about the VW Cali as I've never owned one. I did however test drive one and it felt like a van. I have the MB AMG line 300 and it feels like a car It is a 69 plate.

Also having a GLE400d and my wife having a E53 both with MBUX, my only disappointment with the van is the info system. I prefer the MBUX a lot more and was the reason for me looking for a new one.

My van didn't come with an awning as my profile pic is the van. I had MB install one and colour code it to the van. It looks cool and also turns heads.

Now the purpose of our van was to carry our dogs . It's great for this as we can get all 4 in with all their associated bits and pieces. As you can imagine, dogs mean fields. I have never got stuck and I've been in some messy places.

From my test drive of the Cali, I think the MB drives much better and feels more like a car than a van. I find it easier to park than my GLE which I think is slightly wider. I also have a disabled badge which means that parking bays are wider.

For me the MB is better everything on it except the infotainment system matches our two cars which means you don't have to think.

I hope this info helps
This does help, thank you so much. Ours will be a bit of a dog wagon too! You cant have a camper without a dog.
 

Marc o Polo

Active Member
I will be visiting Brooklands at the end of April. Should I look out for you?? :)

Just another "tip" and I am trying to be helpful here - just a thought, ensure you have a brochure and spec of the car you expect before handing over the deposit, the dealership should easily provide this for you, mine was emailed to me. Brochures are regularly updated with changes to new vehicles. You need to have the appropriate one for your vehicle (there are production dates usually on the last page). This sounds daft but will prove really useful to you should you have queries down the line.

All in all I am sure you will have a good experience, they really are (in my humble opinion) the best campervan available.
 

Paxtonend

New Member
I will be visiting Brooklands at the end of April. Should I look out for you?? :)

Just another "tip" and I am trying to be helpful here - just a thought, ensure you have a brochure and spec of the car you expect before handing over the deposit, the dealership should easily provide this for you, mine was emailed to me. Brochures are regularly updated with changes to new vehicles. You need to have the appropriate one for your vehicle (there are production dates usually on the last page). This sounds daft but will prove really useful to you should you have queries down the line.

All in all I am sure you will have a good experience, they really are (in my humble opinion) the best campervan available.
Thanks, yes I now have the latest brochure which I have picked over in detail as you can imagine. The brochure indicates the vehicle is very technologically inclined. I am quite a young old lady so I should be OK.
 

Steve B

Active Member
Hi & Welcome - I thinks my opinion is echoed above. I have friends with various ages of VW campers but haven't owned one myself, so can't directly comment on difference as experienced. So, agree with all already said, ours is a daily driver and feels like a big comfortable car. I think there is a bit more of badge affinity/loyalty with VW ownership, I would be happy with either but the daily driver usage for us is where the frequent usage is, so that tipped the balance
 

Marc o Polo

Active Member
Thanks, yes I now have the latest brochure which I have picked over in detail as you can imagine. The brochure indicates the vehicle is very technologically inclined. I am quite a young old lady so I should be OK.
Yes, the point I was trying to make is that the brochure matches the exact vehicle you get!! There can be several iterations often (within weeks) over the year in respect of the same model car. That is your evidence of what should be included which is very difficult to acquire again some months down the road.. Why would you want it? Well that's another long one I'm afraid, but let's just say there's scope for the vehicle supplied to differ in detail from the brochure (inc. images).....You need to be satisfied that you know just which (of the many) features you're getting. Sorry for not making myself clear first time around. I know you will be eagerly looking forward to the vehicle and sure all will be great. Best, Marc.
 

Steve - H

New Member
Hi all I am so pleased to find this forum. We have been the proud owner of a top of the range beautiful VW Cali for the past 3 years from new. It’s been brilliant but….we now have an opportunity to get into a new MP AMG LIne 300 engine immediately due to a cancelled order. We do normally change our vehicle every 3-5 years anyway but there are no Cali’s to be had for 18 months or so, and even then they have reduced their range to only a single basic model. So, my questions for you well informed people are:-

Have any of you made the switch from Cali to MP and if so do you have any regrets?
Do many of you use it as your every day car and of so are there challenges with this?
The seeming lack of rear storage concerns me but I have read some reassuring comments on here about this but I would still welcome any tips or comments on this.
We would be going from AWD to rear wheel drive so wondered if many of you have been stuck in muddy fields regularly?
Because the MP is so pretty, the roll out awning spoils it however, I am not sure we could manage without it as we spill out into this area even when raining and it really comes into it’s own when its very hot. We have used drive aways before but they were all big and heavy when packed away. What do you use?

I know this is a lot of questions but it is a huge investment and I would really value your wisdom. Thank you.
Hi, well I did the first bit and sold my 22 month old Cali back to the dealer. Intention is to buy a MP Horizon but since selling a year ago I have been undergoing medical treatment. Hopefully later this year I will be back in shape to region the campervan life. I would agree the MP is a fine looking vehicle and drives like a quality car. I loved my Cali just not the how the dealer treated me so decided to pull away from VW.
That said I have been reading this forum for some time and the MB dealers seem to be a bit lost when it comes to the camping side of the MP! Looks like MB need to sort out better battery life and hopefully have sorted the blistering roof problem that so many members report.
Anyway you are in luck having an order cancelation opportunity. Enjoy!
 

Jameson

New Member
Paxtonend said: Thanks, yes I now have the latest brochure which I have picked over in detail as you can imagine. The brochure indicates the vehicle is very technologically inclined. I am quite a young old lady so I should be OK.

I to would not rely on a brochure and ask for the full specifaction, I have bought vehicles in the past on spec and then gone, why doesn't have this or that. I tend to order new vehicles from my choice, and I sit in the showroom with the sales agent and go through every piece of spec there is. so that I get exactly what I want not what they want to sell me. It was different with my Marco Polo as I already knew of the lengthy order wait times so I got the 69 plate as a stop gap. As my previous message the infotainment system on the 69 plate is nowhere near the quality that I have with the MBUX on my GLE 72 plate, so literrally in a couple of years things change drastically. However I did want the 300 AMG line and not any other variation.

That said, the GLE and E53 Infotainment, spedo rev counter etc is all in one, sweeping accross the cars, even a brand new Marco Polo has it split up like a GLC, which doesn't look anywhere near as good as the cars. It is something that Mercedes should work on as the vans are not cheap.

Marc o Polo said: I will be visiting Brooklands at the end of April. Should I look out for you??

I thank you for your offer, it would be interesting to see what they have in stock.
 

Paxtonend

New Member
Hi, well I did the first bit and sold my 22 month old Cali back to the dealer. Intention is to buy a MP Horizon but since selling a year ago I have been undergoing medical treatment. Hopefully later this year I will be back in shape to region the campervan life. I would agree the MP is a fine looking vehicle and drives like a quality car. I loved my Cali just not the how the dealer treated me so decided to pull away from VW.
That said I have been reading this forum for some time and the MB dealers seem to be a bit lost when it comes to the camping side of the MP! Looks like MB need to sort out better battery life and hopefully have sorted the blistering roof problem that so many members report.
Anyway you are in luck having an order cancelation opportunity. Enjoy!
Thanks. I hope you are feeling better soon.
 

Marc o Polo

Active Member
Paxtonend said: Thanks, yes I now have the latest brochure which I have picked over in detail as you can imagine. The brochure indicates the vehicle is very technologically inclined. I am quite a young old lady so I should be OK.

I to would not rely on a brochure and ask for the full specifaction, I have bought vehicles in the past on spec and then gone, why doesn't have this or that. I tend to order new vehicles from my choice, and I sit in the showroom with the sales agent and go through every piece of spec there is. so that I get exactly what I want not what they want to sell me. It was different with my Marco Polo as I already knew of the lengthy order wait times so I got the 69 plate as a stop gap. As my previous message the infotainment system on the 69 plate is nowhere near the quality that I have with the MBUX on my GLE 72 plate, so literrally in a couple of years things change drastically. However I did want the 300 AMG line and not any other variation.

That said, the GLE and E53 Infotainment, spedo rev counter etc is all in one, sweeping accross the cars, even a brand new Marco Polo has it split up like a GLC, which doesn't look anywhere near as good as the cars. It is something that Mercedes should work on as the vans are not cheap.

Marc o Polo said: I will be visiting Brooklands at the end of April. Should I look out for you??

I thank you for your offer, it would be interesting to see what they have in stock.
You got it Jameson. Checking spec and brochure against a new car/van at that price range is a bit tedious but needs to be done. I will be in Weybridge area for a few days, and will be visiting the showroom when it reopens, I'll let you know.
 

Steve B

Active Member
I got the 69 plate as a stop gap. As my previous message the infotainment system on the 69 plate is nowhere near the quality that I have with the MBUX on my GLE 72 plate, so literrally in a couple of years things change drastically.
Plenty on here about this; the biggest issue with the original models and one I can't see the reason for, other than penny pinching. No DAB on a £65k vehicle but included in a Dacia at £14k at the time! The reason given by MB was technical difficulties with the aerial; agree a fibreglass roof does make it a bit more difficult but not impossible. However, somehow (and help from NASA or the hadron collider team of scientists? :)) solved for the current model so no longer an issue. I think the current big all in one screen on cars does look good, but the current MP layout also looks good but importantly has the missing functionality.
 

Marc o Polo

Active Member
Hi, Steve B, How you doing? Had a late night (work) and so a bit ropey at the mo, but not sure what you mean regarding missing functionality, probably me misunderstanding, again, but the MP has had DAB for some years, now did you mean something else?

I am interested in knowing if the new MP is any better and particularly identifying why any improvements have been made compared to earlier version(s).

Hope this makes sense. Looking forward to a sunny day drive.. Marc.
 

Steve B

Active Member
Hi Marc - it was the move from the old system that I've got in my 2019 version to the MBUX, no DAB and the music/telephone interface is functional but basic with iphones. The navigation is acceptable, but a big cost to update maps, apple carplay sorts that out.
 

Jameson

New Member

Marc o Polo said​

I am interested in knowing if the new MP is any better and particularly why any improvements have been made compared to earlier version(s)
I believe, the main improvement relates to the upgrade to MBUX. from the tiny Garmin navigation screen and separate unit for things like roof, water and heating. Which is probably an all in one on the MBUX. Others may know more than me.
 

Steve B

Active Member
I believe, the main improvement relates to the upgrade to MBUX
Thats right, from the brochure the configuration of the current model MP looks the same as my version apart from the tech as mentioned and a new styling at the front with a new grille.
 
M

Merlyn

New Member
VIP Member
I've had 2 MPs now and 1 California Ocean. Just sold my 3month old MP. Missed the Ocean. Ocean is a wayyyy better campervan in many aspects. MP is a nice daily driver but so is the Cali. If I was buying again, Cali all the way. Better retention, demand, aftercare, and Accessories.
 
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