New T7 California Hybrid is only 4 seater

[aureliboub]

Hi all,

We've been waiting long to buy a new T7 based Cali. We ended waiting for the hybrid version as this will be our only family vehice and the plan was to use it for commuting and also for short weekend gettaways. As for the intended use we need a 5 seater, so we were looking at California Beach Tour or Beach Camper range.

When booking opened I came to local dealership to order a California Beach Tour Phev and I realized on the configurator that once you select the hybrid engine the image shown make desappear one of the rear seats. See attatched. As this was a nonsese for me I asked the dealership why this was happening. Even dealers had documentation of June 2024 explianing new hybrid cali was going to be 5 seater also. Then they were as surprised as me, when they realized that VW will only be homologating new hybrid Calis for 4 people.
Even I asked for the the homologation code in order to see If I can order a spare seat and homologate it afterwads, but they say it is not possible because of weight limitations ( I don't believe this is a weight issue ).

So, long story short. If you need a 5 seater Cali T7 you have no hybrid option and also you can't have 4 motion as well.

Does anyone have an explanation for this? Thanks for your help!!

 

[andyinluton]

It’s as the salesman told you - weight really is the issue.
There’s a simple formula based on length of vehicle + number of seats that gives the minimum payload that must be allowed.
It’s why you couldn’t have a T6.1 4 motion with 5 seats.

 

[Jdorling]

If it’s a hybrid then it might be the extra weight of the battery chasing issues

 

[California Rob]

I was at the dealers myself today took my cali for a service. I had a look around the new Ocean I liked it its different in the flesh. But i need a van with 5 seats and the deal said you cant because of the weigh.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

The more I see and read about the new California the less I understand Volkwagen. A vehicle that size that is only four seats, just stupid.

The first campers based on the incoming Transporter have started to appear here in Germany. This company (https://www.vanexxt.de/en/pages/caravelle-konfigurator - I can't get it to change to English) were at CMT with actual vans.

 

[WelshGas]

In the picture above it looks like the new California has a different floor rail setup to the Multivan and different seats.
My SWB Multivan Hybrid is a 7 seater from the factory. It has 6 equally spaced rails used for 3 rear seats and 2 seats + sliding centre console in the middle.

 

[bvddobb]

The first campers based on the incoming Transporter have started to appear here in Germany. This company (https://www.vanexxt.de/en/pages/caravelle-konfigurator - I can't get it to change to English) were at CMT with actual vans.

Interesting link, thanks! Configured our ideal van (4M, poptop with bed, bed in the back, complete kitchen and wardrobe like the old Cali, solar panel, bikerack): € 87k. Seems a better price and a far better campervan than VW's new Cali!

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Interesting link, thanks! Configured our ideal van (4M, poptop with bed, bed in the back, complete kitchen and wardrobe like the old Cali, solar panel, bikerack): € 87k. Seems a etter price and a far better campervan than VW's new Cali!

They do look good and I'm sure there will be more companies doing conversions soon. I know the new Transporter is basically a Ford Transit but I personally like the look of it. I watched an interview with a guy from that company and they can optionally fit a lowering kit that makes the van (including an attached awning) under 2.0m, that makes it very usable everyday for me.

 

[burton61]

Only 4 seats in the Beach for the Hybrid makes no sense to me.

If you look at the specs of the Hybrid engine under weight and compare with the Multivan (long) with same new Hybrid engine the total permissible weight is the same 2.950kg and there is only 116kg extra weight in the Beach vs Multivan (long) (empty weight with only the driver).

Empty weight Beach Hybrid 2518kg vs empty weight Multivan (Long) Hybrid 2403kg.

The Multivan Hybrid still shows 7 seats as an option, so, unless there is some strange classification for weight of a camper vs people carrier this makes no sense and cant see why it wont take 5 seats from a weight perspective.

I would try again and highlight that with your dealer for explanation.

 

[aureliboub]

Thank you all for the answers

I share your view regarding weights vs the multivan, maybe there is something we are missing. Could be differences in camper and passenger vehicles homologations. My local dealer in Spain showed me internal docs from VW saying that future Cali phev will be 5 seater, so I can confirm that 5 seater was the initial plan from VW. Maybe they were to ambitious with the 20KW/h battery and then they could not homologate due to weights, how knows. At the end I got confirmation from the California Product Owner for Spain that 5 places won't be available and won't be homologable at any time. So for the one we would like to have 4M they should consider adding a the diesel engine with 4M as it was on previous model.