A Slippery Stowaway

We had a tiny stowaway today during our journey home. I had just entered the PIE when something moved in the corner of my eye. I was driving so I had to keep my eyes on the road. But you cannot ignore something that has a wiggling tail squirming past your dashboard. The kids were very excited seeing him though.

I couldn't do anything till we were parked. But by that time, the little stowaway had already gone to the corner which served as a good hideaway when I tried to catch it with a tissue. The kids were irked by it and I took the opportunity to tell them about not eating in the car. We can only hope it finds another place away from our car to hide. It had better not fall onto my face or body when I'm driving though ... that may cause an accident I would definitely be so embarrassed to explain.

Our Caddy Immortalised On Google

I wasn't aware of it till 阳阳 point it out to me on his iPad. He had gone on Google Earth and somehow navigated to our block and gone into street mode. And when he saw our old Caddy he took a screenshot for reference to share with us.

Oh how we miss the old Caddy .... both kids are always talking about it too. I think they like the sturdiness of the ride. It definitely feels more commanding on the road versus our current Serena.

First Servicing At Tan Chong

First servicing at Tan Chong. A comfortable place with high tables and chairs with power points for people like me who have to work but didn't apply for leave :-p No sense to do so when I have to work at night.

It was a short wait and I was done by noon. Nothing much for the first 1K servicing except probably to check on the essential gears and parts.

Broken When Hot

The volume increase button on the steering wheel doesn't work when the car has been under the sun. I know this because I tested it in the mornings and it was working just fine. But when I drive the car home for lunch the buttons would not work. It works if I was parked at home under the shade.

So long story short, it doesn't work when under extreme heat. I wonder what else is being affected by the heat. I guess it's the risk of buying electronics designed by engineers that focus on bigger countries in more temperate countries.

I highlighted this to the sales representative and he assured me that they will fix it on my first servicing appointment. Oh well, let's see what happens.

Tighter At The 3 Across

This is common amongst Japanese make MPVs with 3 seats across the 3rd row. It's usually more like a 2 and a half. I'll say the Serena's back row is already what I would consider a tad more spacious. But when you fit a baby seat which has bulk, the middle seats becomes very tight.

I've only seen 3 individual seats in a continental brand. Unfortunately Japanese cars tend to go for the light and destruct to absorb philosophy vs tough is better concept. Well at least Yeeyee and Nyama only takes the car once a week when we go church.

Once XY grows older and can sit without constant supervision, we can then move all the kids to the back and the adults will claim the middle row. That's not too far off ... time passes too fast!

A New Ride

Today we welcome a change of guard for our ride. 

The COE for Cat A dropped to $65K in early January and everyone was in the showrooms shopping for a new car. It coincided with the Singapore Motorshow and I suspect the dealers all came together to hold back on their bids to drop the COE prices and generate the interest.

Regardless I was intrigued when I saw it so I quickly search for MPVs models in the market. Lo and behold, amongst the authorised dealers, Nissan and Opel were the only ones with a 7 seater that can fit our family. Toyota has the Sienta but that is not a car that can fit 7 pax no matter what they say on the advertising. Same thing with Honda and its Freed.

We eventually landed on the Nissan Serena e-Power 1.2L. It's a Cat B car due to its power and the COE was at $85K. I kinda did some mental calculations and coupled with some educated assumptions, I decided that the COE was not going to fall much further. We placed a deposit for a 6-bid non-guaranteed package on the 2nd visit and then waited.

The sales representative finally message me that they have secured a COE for me 2 weeks ago at $97K. Everyone was excited but also sad that we have to give up the Caddy. It was a great vehicle with lots of utility and space. But its time we change to one with a auto-door.

So here we are today at the showroom to collect our new Serena and say goodbye one last time to our trusty Caddy. It has served us reliably and I have no complains of the car. Hopefully the Serena will live up to the same durability and grit.

Scratchy Scratchy

It's an accident but Meimei was feeling bad about it. She scratched it on the way up the basement car park ramp at Bedok Mall. I'm glad she didn't bang anyone cos that would have been troublesome and probably more traumatic to deal with another party. 

I told her it's ok and it really is. Again I'm not the type to obsess over a car. It's just a tool to get around and a couple of scratches on it isn't going to matter at all. Most importantly everyone's safe.

Bonked While Parked

This is the scenario every driver dreads. You are parked nicely in a parking lot and someone accidentally hits you and goes off without leaving you a note. A hit and run.

We were parked in the usual spot at Plaza Singapura on Sunday. It's always this lot if I can help it because it's beside this walkway down a travelator to the 5th floor where crowds are much thinner than 6th. Anyways I happen to come back to put down some shopping and noticed my license plate on the floor and  scratches on the front bumper. Someone had obviously hit our car and didn't leave a note.

I immediately called Meimei to inform her and went straight to reviewing the dashboard camera. Surely it must have captured the incident. We were supposed to be buying lunch for everyone but these threw everything off. Meimei called the Plaza Singapura management office to request for a video but was told to call the Traffic Police instead as they cannot release security footage to the public. And so she did.

While I was frantically scrolling through clips by the minute, the traffic police arrive in about 30 minutes. I had just found what I think to be the offending vehicle that hit our car. It was a hit and run so we were right to call the cops. So we go through with the police what I would assume is the usual process of providing narrative of how I found the car, what happened etc.

Just as we were in midst of recording our statement and the traffic police taking pictures, a middle aged man approached the car and said he was the one who hit us. Interesting~. Is he back here because he genuinely was gonna own up or is here only because the cops have been called. I didn't catch his conversation with the police but Meimei shared with me later that he mentioned he is a lawyer and her alarm bells were on heightened alert.

The man started apologising for hitting our car and offered to compensate us. I told him I'm not familiar with the cost of repairs and I would be bringing it to Volkswagen so there is no ambiguity on repairs. He seemed reluctant to accept it and says he drives a Lexus and knows what it cost to go to the dealer. I smiled and said to him knowingly "yah, they would just replace the whole bumper." He replied, "If we can settle privately I can give you $450 now but if we repair at the dealer I will have to claim my insurance." Seeing that he seems to be sincere, I offered to bring my car to a 3rd party on Monday and have it assess before letting him know the cost. He agreed and we exchanged contact details.

He continued to provided details of his vehicles and finally left. Meimei was following the whole conversation and came over to quickly check on the car plate number the man had provided. Although the numbers were the same, the other alphabets given to the police were different. Hmmm what's going on?! We immediately asked the traffic police about it and were told that it's important to have the right car plate details else it may jeopardise the insurance claims if it went to that. We showed the police the video and they called the man to clarify. They had him come back to our floor and verify the correct car plate. At the same time we exchange photos of our NRIC so I have his details should I need to make a report.

Haiz all these really put a sour touch to the whole day. We drove home and had to order Grab along the way. The kids were hungry and tired from waiting for all these to conclude. 

The next day I took urgent leave to bring the car to an authorised workshop. We were quoted $350 for repairs and spray painting. I asked the uncle if he provides rental but was advised to take grab and claim for 3 days of loss of use instead. So I called the man and after some discussions we agreed on private settlement for $650. I thought it was extremely reasonable cost since I had to sacrifice a day of leave to come to the workshop and possible another one when I return to collect.

I think the fella thinks the same and transferred $750 instead through PayNow. I guess its a small compensation for the hassle. Obviously its not enough to cover my day of leave ... far from it. But at least it's an amicable resolution to it all without all the paperwork of insurance and claims.

Faulty Lights Again

It was just 6 months ago that I went to service the car and repair the faulty lights on the right. It costed $530 to replace it. Now it looks like I have to spend another sum to replace the left one. Sigh ....

Switching Seats In The Car

阳阳's getting too big for the medium chair. It doesn't help that it's slanted a little at the back and 阳阳 has to arch his neck forward. So we switch him into the big kid chair and have 萱萱 move to the portable seat. Both seem to enjoy the change.

Transporting Study Tables

The Caddy has proven again to be a very good buy. We were transporting the 2 1.4m Ikea Bekant study tables plus other boxes of stuff that YeeYee is bringing to Woodlands.

We were able to fit in the 2 tables by bringing down the 2nd and 3rd row seats. And there was still so much space for more. We kept the one seater in the middle row up so GX and YeeYee could come together to move the stuff.

New Pirelli Tyres

I was advised to change the tyres on the Caddy during the recent maintenance. Oddly enough, they did not have the same model of Goodyear Efficient Grip tyres in stock. Even more bewildering was the attitude of the service rep, who didn't seem interested in getting me to change my tyres at Volkswagen. No matter, I asked him to get back to me with a quote and I'll compare it with 3rd party tyre shops. I rather get it done at Volkswagen but that's not much of a choice if they don't carry it.

He came back a few days later with a quote of $1,200 for a set of 4 tyres. I had search on the internet and some were offering it at almost half the quote. So even the lacklustre followup, I decided to get it changed at another workshop. Because the Caddy isn't a common vehicle many workshops did not carry it.

The technician offered that Pirelli tyres were quieter and safer for a family vehicle so I went with it instead even though it cost $60 more than the Goodyear.

The replacement took about 40 minutes and I was able to watch the technicians work. If this had been done at Volkswagen it would have probably taken half a day to queue for my turn.

Lighting Up The Van Dashboard

The dashboard on the Caddy lit up today in a suite of warning icons just as I drove back from the hospital and into the carpark.

There were also some error message that popped up in the center digital panel warning me that there is an issue with the ABS. And because of that the software disabled a variety of other safety feature such as the traction control and tyre gauge. 

Sigh ... its Sunday so there is little I could do. I suspect this is a sensor problem but there is really no way of knowing for sure. The van's still under warranty so hopefully its nothing serious other than a software glitch or sensor issue.

A Puncture On Caddy

I got a nail punctured on the front left wheel on the way to Chai Chee Technopark to buy Bai Nian. I went over a drain access hole and then a warning light came on the dashboard. A message pointed the fault on the front left wheel. I let out a silent curse and quickly parked the car to check it out.

Dammit. Well nothing I can do at the moment. I took a risk and went to get dinner and drove home slowly. After returning home with food I immediately called the Volkswagen roadside helpline for assistance to change out the tyres.

Thankfully the technician arrive in less than an hour. He was a professional and changed the tyres swiftly. I got to chatting and lamented how it would be difficult to get to the service center at Alexandra tomorrow before the Circuit Breaker starts. He kindly advised that there wasn't a need to change the tyres, a simple patching would work and even recommended a nearby tyre shop. I gave him a $5 as a tip when he was done and made my way to have the punctured tyre patch and placed back again.

True enough, the tyre shop was very efficient and took a mere 15 minutes to patch and replace the original tyre back. And it cost a cheap $8 to do so. In all, it was just a $13 cash outlay. The pain of it was the hassle and worry that the puncture caused. Let's hope it doesn't happen anytime soon again.

Voluntary Carpark Refund

At the first of the month, I exited our carpark and was charged $12 for parking. As a season holder, I've never been charged for single exit charges at our carpark. So I was livid at the unjust deduction on my cash card.

Then I thought ... could it be the charges because I only paid on the morning of the 1st and this was the charges for the time from midnight to the point I paid? But I was never charged even when I was late with season parking renewal for a couple of days. Crap ... they've caught on and this is the punishment for late payment?

Even though I was irritated with the charges, I decided it was going to take more effort and time to bring up a case on this .... just to claim $12 back from HDB. So I put it down to my bad luck and promise myself I will pay timely going forward.

So it came as a genuine surprise when I receive a call from unknown caller asking if I recall a deduction earlier in the month. The moment I heard it I knew she could be referring to this deduction, but given that I could not verify her identify over the phone I played it coy and prop further. Eventually she asked for my bank details to remit the refund. But I wasn't about to give her anything so I asked for a cheque mailed to my address instead. She was able to read out my address so I kinda think it's real.

Hopefully the cheque will come through the mail in a week or two. Pretty good that HDB has a reconciling process with the gantry vendor. I'll be even happier when I get my money back hehe.

First Maintenance For Caddy

First servicing at Volkswagen and I went to the MacPherson center. I was surprised that the waiting area was pretty bare except for a coffee machine.

Well I wasn't there to enjoy the amenities, I was working feverishly on completing a group assignment for the Statistical Methods module. That said, I was expecting it to be better than the Eunos Cycle and Carriage. But nope, the place wasn't welcoming at all. And it shows ... I was the only one there.

Our caddy was hoisted up at the far end. The only good thing about this center is the viewing windows from the waiting area. But then I doubt anyone's gonna stare at their car consistently throughout the servicing so it's kinda of a mute point.

Caddy MPVs Sightings

It's hard to find another Caddy MPV on the road. I've only seen 3 Maxi on the road and never the shorter variant.

Starlight Blue @ Beach Road Army Market - I've seen this twice already at the same carpark. The owner is either living or working at the block beside the Beach Road Army Market. I really like the tone of the Starlight Blue. It teases with a tint of blue in bright sunshine.

Chestnut Brown @ Marine Parade - Seen it at Marine Parade and on the PIE towards Bedok. Meimei doesn't like brown ... says it looks like poopoo colour.

Fontana Red @ Orchard Road Presbyterian Church - The owner is a church member and is always parked in the church carpark on Sundays. This is the first Caddy I've seen and one which built my interest in the car.

At the price the Caddy MPVs are going for and the niche that it fills, I doubt there'll be many more of these on the roads. I continue to keep a look out for them while taking pride that I drive a rare and understated car.

Rubber Mats For The Caddy

I had initially planned to buy the original rubber floor mats from Volkswagen but $350 for 4 pieces is too steep. Plus there isn't any original mat to cover the 3rd row so those were gonna be customised ones anyways.

So we went for the customised rubber mats. $120 for 5 pieces covering first two rows and additional $80 for the 3rd with specific requirements to cover the under-seat of the 2nd row. This will help cover the whole 'walkway' into the 3rd row.

As with all things rubber, there was a bad latex smell when I collected it. I left it outside the flat to let the smell pass before installing it in the car. I'm pretty happy with the mats, they were cut nicely to size.

Early Take On Caddy Maxi MPV

I've driven the Caddy Maxi for a fortnight. Most people will say that's not long enough to make a credible assessment of a car. But hey I'm just giving my first impressions of it. So don't burn me if it doesn't sound right to you. Plus if it's that contentious ... all the car magazines reviews can go down the incinerator since the editors are likely only to have test driven the demo cars for a couple of days before writing their full page reviews.

Let's start off with the good points to ease us in. 

Space

I drove home from the showroom with 2 baby seats in the boot on collection day and have since been storing an old baby seat in there. We could even fit in our large Peg Perego stroller with the baby seat in the boot when we go out with OO. That's all done without ever folding down the 3rd row of seats.

Even with the big boot space, the 3rd row can fit an adult comfortably, making it a true 7 seater rather than a 5+2. I am 1.8m tall and even I can sit in the 3rd row with ease. And it shows in its dimension at 4878mm, which is longer than most MPVs.

And just this afternoon, I removed OO's baby seat and threw it to the boot to drive the rest of the team out for lunch. That's 7 adults seating comfortably, with 2 baby chairs, my laptop bag and other gear tugged nicely in the boot. The team was amazed by the sheer space the Caddy Maxi offers.

I doubt you can find this amount of leg room and boot space in another passenger vehicle at the <$130K price bracket. This is the biggest factor that drew me to select the Caddy instead of the Touran.

Cabin Height
Well this is a boom and a slight bane. Clearly the extra headroom is welcomed. It gives the whole cabin an extra sense of spaciousness. And I like to think that it helps with the air circulation as hot air rises to the top of the cabin. I don't get this splash of hot stuffy air when I enter the car after parking under the sun the whole day.

The bane of it is that you have to watchful of sheltered carparks you are entering. The Caddy's at 1868mm high and anything below 1.9m is dangerous. Imagine going up a hump in the carpark and hitting the ceiling ... Most shopping centers are at 2m, so only the old ones are of concern. I hear that the older HDB multi-storey carparks may pose a problem too at 1.8m but I park in an open air carpark at home and at the factory office so no biggie for me. A very small inconvenience for the high ceiling feel.

Gently Elevated Back Rows
This came primarily as a feedback from the family. Meimei, Mama and Sis gets car sick easily when sitting at the back. And I can appreciate why the 'movie seats' helps. The slight elevation between each row gives them a clear and wide front view which helps to alleviate any claustrophobia.

Alcantara Leather Seats
I didn't quite believe our sales rep when she told us that you won't feel the hot seat as much as traditional leather seats. I park under the hot sun all day and the Alcantara Leather really makes a difference. Where I used to have to lay a jacket on seat on my old Lancer so I don't get bum-burned, I can now get into the Caddy right away. Well it's not like there is no heat at all, but definitely something bearable to sit on.

Front Styling
I love the front styling and headlights. I know it isn't anything special as it looks the same as the Touran. But the Bi-Xenon headlights and daytime running LED lights really helps to take the 'Van' out of the Caddy. If I stare hard enough only at the front of the Caddy, my view gets tunneled to the nice grill, VW badge and headlights and for a moment I feel like I'm driving a Touran or Sharan instead. Hahaha I'm dishonest with myself like that.

Now for things I wish would have been better. I know it's not fair to compare features to other cars like the Touran. But I can't help but think some of these I'm listing are simple basic features one would have assumed is available as standard on any passenger vehicle, and more so for one that cost between the $120k-$130k price bracket.

Under-powered
There is a delay of about half a second between me pressing on the accelerator to the Caddy moving off from stationery. It gets more pronounced on a gentle slope. I suppose the 1.4 TSI engine is really meant to fit the normal Caddy rather than the Maxi version. Caddy Maxi's unladen weight is about 1,700kg compared to normal Caddy's 1,580kg so that's a good 120kg more.

My sales rep says it's due to the way I drive but I don't think that's the case. When I need to accelerate urgently, I would pouch hard on the pedal. There is still a telling split second inertia before it gives me a big jerk forward. I find it dangerous since a second in driving can mean the difference between filtering properly or banging into another car. And the sudden surge after that split second wait tends to deliver a somewhat uncontrolled acceleration.

So with the Caddy Maxi, I have to pace my drive. Only gradual acceleration, no sudden moves. No more trying to overtake a car unless there is a big clearance on my right. No more filtering into a main road without it being totally clear of other on-coming vehicles a 100m away. Somehow my old GLX, which is not a powerful car in any shape or form, does a better job of accelerating when I needed it. I'm gonna have to adopt a 'patient old uncle and stay in your lane' type of driving.

I do wonder though if the inertia is a reflection of a bigger issue with the gearbox or something? And not because the vehicle is under-powered for its weight? I suppose I'll never know. But for my own sanity, I try to rationalise the weight inertia in that the Golf (1,400kg?) uses the same 1.4 TSI engine  as the Caddy Maxi (which is 300kg heavier). Is that why VW Singapore doesn't have the Maxi version for test drive? Haiz ... If only they would bring in the 2.0 diesel version. I'm sure that would be better suited to the Caddy Maxi.

Slow On Gear Dropping
It likes to go up to the higher gears quickly but when it comes to dropping it's slow to react. So I will often be juddering at 1,100rpm on gear 6 or 7 and the gearbox wouldn't react till I press harder on the accelerator. Which results in a second's inertia and then gives the un-intended burst of acceleration. I would have preferred a smoother gear change, smarter gear drop. I wonder if you can program the gearbox to hold a higher rpm before switching to higher gears. Again this goes back to ... 'stay in your lane, drive patiently'.

No Auto Folding Side Mirrors
I'm not sure if auto folding side mirrors are considered a luxury feature or not. But the manual toggling is troublesome. More so as its on the same dial as the side mirror adjustments. I have to turn 2 clicks to O to prevent myself from accidentally pushing against the nob and adjusting the left mirror inadvertently. So that's another 2 click again to close the mirrors. Irritating. Hmmm why don't they just make a separate button for the folding mirrors ... or even better that and give auto ones. Wishful thinking?

No Auto-lock On Driving Off
How do I start on this ... What the fish?! I mean my Kia Rio 1st generation which I drove 10 over years ago had auto-lock. That was the most basic of cars, a truly crappy one. And yet it still has auto-lock on drive off. And you know what? ... When another sale rep was showing us the function of the Caddy during our vehicle collection, he tried scrolling to the convenience menu and stared at the menu for a few seconds before muttering "never mind" and moving on to the next option on the dashboard. Hahaha I think he was shocked to find the option for auto-lock on driving off missing!

I've since checked with my VW sales rep if we can do an upgrade to activate the function but she says it can't be retrofitted in Singapore. Sigh ... as a workaround I now have the whole family remind me whenever I drive off to manually press the central locking button. This must be one of those van legacy design which they have not switch for the passenger version.

No Fuel Panel Lever
I'm guessing this is another legacy design from the van version. Unlike a normal passenger car, there is no lever below the driver's seat to open the fuel panel. The panel is just a panel without any clip ... anyone can push it open. So to secure the fuel cap and prevent anyone from messing with your fuel, the fuel cap comes with a lock which unlocks with the car key. That means having to off your engine and get down to the back to open the cap before the pump attendant can help you with the petrol. An inconvenience I'm trying to slowly get used to.

Low Display Console
The low display console makes it hard to use the rear camera. Typically I would check my side mirrors as well and my eye has to dip up and down as I scan from left to right. So because of its awkward position, I often ignore the rear camera at familiar car parks like home and factory and rely solely on my side mirrors. They should have built it like the Touran where the console is at the same eye level as the dashboard and side mirrors.

Besides the good and bad, I think its important to note one key feature.


Manual Sliding Rear Doors
I've only driven sedan cars before this so I've never enjoyed the luxury of auto rear doors. I can imagine the convenience of toggling a button and having the door open on its own. But most sedan cars don't have this so I'm ok with the manual sliding doors. It's like a swing door, so on par for my case.

Also I like to think from a maintenance perspective it cost a lot less for manual sliding doors. No electronic gadgets to worry about. The sliding mechanism looks exactly the same as that of the Caddy commercial van so I think parts should be readily available. For me the manual sliding doors don't come as a disadvantage or negative point. But if you are used to auto rear doors you might think very differently. My father-in-law drives a Sienta with auto doors so he has been talking about how convenient it is. Oh well, to each his own.

So is it value for money? Personally I would give it a big fat yes for value, simply because one of my key criteria is space. No other model, as far as my research goes, has this much useable space as the Caddy Maxi at the <$130k price.

Did I think it was a good buy? Well ... depends. It's ok I suppose, we are getting reasonable specs (Highline version if it means anything). If it wasn't for the space criteria, I would have jumped at the Touran TDI instead.

If space isn't a big deal for you, there is a whole wide range of other cars to choose from in this price range - the Touran TDI, Grand Scenic, Grand C4 Picasso, Wish, Sienta, Triplets, Biante, Mazda 5 etc. This may explain why you don't see many Caddy Maxi's on the road. It's a niche buy rather than a model that would come readily to any Singapore buyer's mind.

Battery For Parking Mode

I couldn't help but feel uneasy that there is no recording when the engine is off. I've seen numerous video clips where errant drivers drive off when they hit another. I was also a victim many years ago when a lorry hit my Kia Rio at a carpark and ran off..

So I decided to invest in the Cellink B3 battery at $300 (battery + labour). Took roughly half an hour to install. I hope I'll never have to download a video to catch someone crashing into my vehicle. Now if there ever is an incident, at least I won't end up regreting not fixing the battery.

But ... the battery is giving a minor sort of irritation. Hahaha .... it beeps! Once when I start the engine to notify that it is charging and twice when charging stops. That shouldn't be much if not for the regular one beep two beep during start stop. I tried googling but there doesn't seem to be a way to switch off the beeping. Haiz. Self-inflicted 'torture' hahahaha.