MQB-based camper gets PHEV and 4Motion options for the first time, plus - at last - sliding doors on both sides
Seemingly no manufacturer line-up is complete these days without at least one lifestyle option. It might be a truck or a van - or just a plain old estate - but it’ll be kitted out with everything required to live life on the wild side. For the VW California, surely the van that still comes to mind first when thinking about campers, this means more competition than would have been the case not long ago; so for this latest version, it’s been kitted out with even more features than ever before. .
Instantly recognisable as a California with the optional two-tone paint , there will be five different specs available. And you thought there were a lot of Golfs. Beach is entry-level, followed up by Beach Tour, Beach Camper, Coast and Ocean. All of them get storage drawers, a ‘large number’ of USB-C ports, and a ‘comfortable mattress’. When VW describes the Beach as ‘essentially a Multivan with a manual pop-up roof’, you get an idea of how sparse it’ll be.
Beach Camper is where things start getting really good, as that introduces a mini-kitchen, which Coast builds on with a ‘fully-fledged kitchenette’, two camper batteries and a fridge; Cali Ocean is the flagship and gets heated seats, an auxiliary air heater, even more storage and recycled seat fabric. VW speaks of a ‘three-zone concept’ when it comes to life with a new California: the interior, then each side of the van with the twin sliding doors now standard.
Finally, too, it’s worth mentioning the California app and touch display. The latter is a five-inch screen in the passenger C-pillar, and provides information on the power supply, fridge, water levels and so on. Very modern. It can also set the car to Camping mode, which deactivates Coming Home and Leaving home functions; VW says most of this stuff can be done on the app as well.
More than 280,000 Californias have been built over the decades, and it seems unlikely that that popularity will wane in the immediate future. Even with what tends to be quite punchy pricing; there aren’t exact figures yet, though with nearly new old models still for sale at £70k it’s clearly not going to be a cheap and cheerful camper. Still, what price do you put on wholesome family bliss?
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