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.

妹妹 Angry *Grunt!

"Papi No!" Holds up her finger to lecture me. "妹妹 go take milk, Papi go in!" *angry face "妹妹 angry already. Humph!" "Wait Papa, 妹妹 wait for milk~!" "Papi~~ go in! 妹妹 angry" *grunts.

It was bedtime and we had just gone into the bedroom. Just as I was going to out to take milk, OO dashed out of the room ahead of me. She stopped halfway along the hall and turns her head around and stops me from walking out of the room. "Papi, No!"

Muhahahahha, she is mimicking how we would tell her to stay in her room while we go get the milk. She is reprising the role of the "adult" and now I'm the little kid who has to stay put in the room and wait patiently for milk. She even has the angry and irritated look, plus growls and grunts to make her point.

I was half laughing while playing my part. I stayed at the bedroom door while OO stands by the kitchen door to receive her milk from the maid. And OO would constantly glanced over to the bedroom to make sure I was compliant with her instructions. 

If only I had my phone on hand ... this would have been pure video gold.

Broken 2 Pin Socket

Ikea durability ... or lack of. I suppose you cannot expect much from a $5 lamp.

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.

Nyama's Little Helper

Nyama: "请了一个临时工人仔，越帮越忙😂😂”
Meimei: “哈哈哈哈还要包伙食”

OO @School - Colouring Dough

Playgroup activities usually center around touch and discovery. This week the kids are given colouring and dough to mix and feel.

Kids take turn to mix the colouring into the dough and watch it transform in colour.

And then the fun part digging their tiny hands in to mix the colour into the dough.

Begone, You Useless One

We are sending our useless maid back to the agency today. She is already the 4th one in 3 years and it seems with each it gets worser. Below are pictures of 'washed' items. I think a big part of why OO keeps falling sick over and over since she started working was because of her utter inaptness in cleaning anything.

This one is as blind as a bat and going one step further with hearing issues. Meimei and Mama speaks Indonesian so the language is not a barrier. But speaking the language is useless if the maid is plain lazy and doesn't follow the instructions. She is so much of a sloth that Mama and Meimei couldn't help themselves but scold her off and on.

We are not expecting miracles. We know that if a maid can competently do a perfect job of cleaning the house and look after OO ... it's likely she'll never be a maid in the first place. So we have lesser expectation that either the maid does housework well or looks after OO capably. We will put in the time and effort to make up for the other.

But this maid and the one before failed at both. And hence they have to go no matter what ... it's as good as not having a maid anyways. More frustration for everyone and we still have to feed them. Phhhfff. Begone, You Useless One! 

Tyre Pressure Warning Scare

We had taken our new ride a couple of hours ago and had just pumped a full tank. As I drove off from the petrol kiosk, I noticed a flashing warning sign on the drivers dashboard.

A quick message of the warning lights pic to our sales executive identified it as a tyre pressure warning light. Hmmm ok no weird sounds as yet so I drove to grab dinner from Jinlong since we already ordered takeaways. I ran my fingers through the tyres and did a visual check ... nope nothing out of the ordinary.

She asked a couple of times if I ran over nails but I assured her there was nothing on the wheels. What luck it would have been if an object had pierce the tyres on the first day ... Anyways it took her another hour or so to return with a solution which involves reseting the tyre pressure gauge to whatever the pressure is on the tyres at that moment.

I didn't want to reset immediately so I went to the kiosk for air. Front left 301kpa front right 300kpa back left 295kpa back right 293kpa. Hmmm must be the variance on the right back tyre that's causing the warning lights to come on.

So I inflated all four tyres to 300kpa and reseted the gauge. Although the pressure is not as recommended I suppose there is no real harm, especially in urban Singapore. Might just save a little fuel with a higher pressure on the tyres. That's a small matter compared to the warning lights. We'll know tomorrow morning if something is amiss.

The New Ride

Today's the grand day to collect our new ride. It's existing 2016 stock so we are getting it in just a month since placing our deposit. I was especially hyped up since yesterday's engine oil scare. The earlier we get our new car the lesser I have to worry about the old one. 

It was a pretty easy affair. The car was already parked at the collection bay when we arrived. We had chosen Indium Grey which is a similar shade of grey as the GLX. I actually wanted Fontana Red or Chestnut Brown but Meimei didn't fancy either.

Our sales executive had her colleague walk us through the functions of the car. It was a quick tour and the colleague didn't seem very focused in telling us all the features. Just a brief introduction and a comment that everything is in the driver's manual. Oh well, we couldn't be bothered with him. Meimei and I were just extremely excited to ride off with our new "bus" hehe.

Engine Oil Warning Scare

A warning signal started flashing on the lower left of the dashboard when I started the engine on the GLX today. It's something I've never seen before. Ah crap ... we are trading it in tomorrow and it must be pissed and decided to give me one last "in-your-face" blowout.

The engine sounded fine so I took a risk and drove to the office. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the drive. A quick check on the internet indicates that it is a engine oil warning sign. Ok so the engine oil must be low, but that's odd I just serviced the car a month and half ago and changed the engine oil.

I went to the petrol kisok during lunch to buy a 1 litre bottle of synthetic motor oil and topped a little into the engine. Its rather weird, testing the oil level indicates its at the maximum. And the warning light didn't go off. Hmmm so it may not be the oil ... which worries me more. Anyways, I drove home with lunch and then back to office.  

Having strike off lack of engine oil as a cause, I went searching on the internet again for plausible reasons. Some sites recommend not driving the car at all so as not to destroy the engine. The more I read the more worried I got ... and eventually decided to rush down to the service workshop. I don't want to risk not being able to drive the car down to Volkswagen tomorrow for the trade-in.

Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. The customer service on hearing my description of the engine oil warning light confidently assured that it is only a minor issue. He offered that it is a normal occurrence on the GLX and nothing to worry about. The engine oil gauge had worn off and a replacement will solve it. So I went ahead with the repairs which summed up to $72 for parts and labour.

It's not a big sum, but definitely something which bugs me since we were going to trade the car in tomorrow! Why can't the engine oil gauge wait a couple of days or a week before breaking ....

Gynae Visit - Aug 2017

Dr Loh seems more keen to discuss the black garlic that he has been eating rather than talk about Meimei's pregnancy. And this is actually a good sign. He had looked through the Panorama results and looked relaxed about our progress. All looks good :-)

We were excited to see outline of baby. He was sleeping and Dr Loh cheekily push his buttocks to try to wake him up. But that didn't work haha.

OO @School - Collaboration With K2 Class

OO has been out of school for a month plus so I was pleasantly surprised to find photos of her on the school's web portal. I'm glad she was there for a play session together with the bigger kids. The teachers have been telling us that OO tends to look for the older 姐姐 during morning classes.

Oceanhorn

I've been immersed in Oceanhorn for the past few weeks. Although the game was released years ago I never got to trying it till now. Glad I finally bought it and gave it a go.

The graphics was so vibrant, the music score so enchanting that I thought I was playing on a game console and not the Ipad.

The controls were ok, would have been better if played on a real game pad but it sufficed. The only grip I would have was it ended too soon. I am looking forward to the sequel!

Conquering The Playground Net Steps

We were at what OO likes to call, the "Big Slide Playground" today. And today she decides that she'll have a go at the Net Steps.

I can't say I'm totally surprised. OO's has always been a fearless child ... for better or worse. We can only hope she knows her own limits, remains sure-footed and never risk any more than what is sensible.

Waiting For Grandpa

Meimei and Mama went out for a Mother-Daughter me time outing so it was up to me to take care of OO. We had already planned to go Hillview to visit Ah Gong and Ah Ma. We had just arrived when it started to rain heavily. Papa was out on an errand and so we waited patiently for him to get back.

OO has always been highly fascinated with the rain and kept asking about the sound of the rain hitting against the metal roofing. She was contented to sit and watch as the rain continued to pour. Thankfully she didn't try to go play with the water gushing down from the roof. I suspect the thunder and lighting scares her.

LaoBa came back right after the rain subsided to a light shower. He knew OO loved the water apples and insisted on climbing up the tree to collect some for his precious grand daughter ... against my constant nagging not to ... haiz.

OO was a busybody and kept checking on what Ah Gong was doing. I try to keep my distance just so LaoBa and LaoMa can have more time with OO. It's good to come visit on Saturday afternoons as Gareth is out to playgroup. OO can have the full attention of LaoBa and LaoMa hehehe.