World premiere of the all new Volkswagen California

[WelshGas]

2L tsi and non-electric sliding doors will do me fine. We have never used both gas burners simultaneously in the last 10 yrs and we will be hard pressed to fill all the storage shown if the window bag is standard.
Anyone know when the Order Book will be opening and the Configurator up and running?

 

[Camperfamily]

Glad to hear it works for you @WelshGas

 

[Winston Rumfoord]

Just watched the above Autogefühl video for the Beach section (25:00 onwards) and seen that one of the seats in the rear ‘bench’ has to be removed, turned around, then placed backwards for the downstairs bed to be made. That then leaves very little floorspace.

I’m shocked that VW didn’t find an alternative approach for this.

View attachment 123027

That is crazy - this would be a dealbreaker Shirley? Maybe there is an option to have the middle seat the same as the outer ones.

I like the orange colour but otherwise comparing my Beach camper to the new model:
- The storage and hob in the boot means less flexibility for taking what I want to carry.
- The table in the boot (as opposed to the sliding door) is more of a faff and also further compromises boot space/flexibility.
- I can’t imagine wanting to use that slide out hob. I’ll either cook outside and away from the van (99%) or cook inside properly (1%) because I want to do something quick or it is peeing it down - in which case I don’t want to go outside to stand under the tailgate and hope that rain only falls in a perfect vertical.
- No room inbetween the fold up chairs to fit my windscreen cover and awning panels.
- My bellows don’t leak and feels like there is a high risk that the new ones will.
- I’d like the idea of the hybrid but suspect the increased complexity will lead to more problems and higher cost.
- The extra sliding door sounds good but in practice I’ve never had any issues with my current single slider being on the wrong side and often use the left hand side of the van for storage.
- I hope my T6 van will be more robust and repairable than the new car?!

Overall and for me personally, feels like a range of incremental ‘downgrades’ in a package that looks nice but will likely carry a material cost to ‘trade up’. Trying to do a reasonable comparison but aware I am biased towards what I am already invested in.

I think I will continue to be very happy with what I have (whilst occasionally wondering about a Hymer Free S then remembering they don’t have two ISOFIX and would prevent me from visiting some of my favourite 2m barrier’ed places…)

 

[Jimmylondon07]

I wonder what the politics behind using the Multivan are. Two sliding doors is being sold as an advantage, in my view it’s a limitation of the platform that has led to downgraded usability in a number of areas.

 

[SusiBus]

Glad to hear it works for you @WelshGas

I don't think WelshGas really thinks it will work for him, he just likes to present the opposite view to the rational thinkers so as to promote debate, remember B-----‐ !

 

[SusiBus]

Glad to hear it works for you @WelshGas

I don't think WelshGas really thinks it will work for him, he just likes to present the opposite view to the rational thinkers so as to promote debate, remember B-----‐ !

 

[SusiBus]

IMPORTANTLY.
Has it got an aluminium roof?

 

[Kayleigh]

2L tsi and non-electric sliding doors will do me fine. We have never used both gas burners simultaneously in the last 10 yrs and we will be hard pressed to fill all the storage shown if the window bag is standard.
Anyone know when the Order Book will be opening and the Configurator up and running?

Apparently, it can be ordered from June 2024, so not long to wait!

 

[pluc99]

Upstairs is not wider. Its 1.14m vs current 1.20m

I took the dimensions from the linked video (in German). Note that his width claims match the Multivan specs and the base vehicle is in fact wider than the predecessor.

 

[Corradobrit]

IMPORTANTLY.
Has it got an aluminium roof?

Highly likely

 

[Corradobrit]

I took the dimensions from the linked video (in German). Note that his width claims match the Multivan specs and the base vehicle is in fact wider than the predecessor.

View attachment 123029View attachment 123030View attachment 123031

And the width is even more compromised for 2 sleepers if feet are toward the tail. I like to have the option to change directions depending on the slope.

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Remains to be seen which variants VW UK will decide to import.

 

[Mehdime]

In fairness, for a solo camper or a couple without children, this looks like a genuine upgrade. The downgrades (less storage, narrower beds, single hob, mini dining table) won’t be an issue I imagine.

And the benefits are real (better driving, double doors, more accessible fridge, better front seats, no handbrake in the way, better location of the control panel, PHEV for those who use it as a day to day car and have somewhere to charge at home).

Where a lot of people here are disappointed I imagine is that the T7 Concept California didn’t look far fetched at all and had a lot of very California-style smart use of space that made up for the compromise of having the double doors (pull-out indoor/outdoor kitchen, dual induction/gas hob, hob cover that doubles up as a cutting board, kitchen drawers that work inside and out, mini-bbq to extend cooking outside, power strip along the bottom of the cabinet to avoid taking up valuable space, control panel that doubles up as a movie screen on an articulated arm…).

None of the smart / double-use of space that are very much the trademark of the California made it to the production model. That’s the disappointing bit. It feels like such a missed opportunity. This could have been the new classic layout for the next 30 years that everyone else tries to emulate - like the current layout the California has had for 30 years.

 

[pluc99]

Has anyone mentioned the window bag wardrobe yet, with its wide zipper opening? One of the presenters tried to zip it open but didn't have enough reach from inside the van and had to run outside to the back of the van.

 

[BeeBee]

Double sliding doors, so what, don’t get the big point here I’m afraid.
No handbrake seems to be the only ‘positive ‘ I can see.

 

[WelshGas]

I don't think WelshGas really thinks it will work for him, he just likes to present the opposite view to the rational thinkers so as to promote debate, remember B-----‐ !

No, definitely works for us. We tour, don't use driveway awnings , carpets, microwaves, paddle boards, canoes etc. Rarely stay anywhere for more than 3 nights . It's a tent on wheels not a holiday cottage as far as we are concerned. We've done all that in the past with a 27' caravan and awning, now it's the simple life.

 

[UrbanSplash]

I’m a first time buyer, coming from camping. 4 of us. See it as a posh tent as above. We travel light. Ocean looks like it will do the trick. Also looked at a nugget but Ford’s website doesn’t show the latest one available here. Also hear of warranty issues with the internals.

 

[Corradobrit]

No, definitely works for us. We tour, don't use driveway awnings , carpets, microwaves, paddle boards, canoes etc. Rarely stay anywhere for more than 3 nights . It's a tent on wheels not a holiday cottage as far as we are concerned. We've done all that in the past with a 27' caravan and awning, now it's the simple life.

Well thats one sold. When do you collect?

 

[WelshGas]

Well thats one sold. When do you collect?

When it's been built.

 

[hirsty]

That's it in a nutshell - at the end of the premiere when they took questions it was clear that they're not going down the Transit / Transporter route for now & this is it for the foreseeable:

• Caddy - sole car which you can camp in one or two nights
• Multivan - dual-use 'car' & less van-like - they said many Cali owners have just one vehicle
• Crafter - motorhome / dedicated camping vehicle

For me looking at what's next from a 2-seat bench Beach I think I'll be okay with the Ocean / Coast on the assumption that there's a sensible off-grid heater solution as I'd prefer petrol this time - I expect the PHEV will be too expensive for my preference. Having been in Scotland (solo) for a week last month I want to be able to park up in the rain, heat up something easy & sleep without having had to get out the van or put the roof up & this'll do it for me.

The Beach is a real dog's dinner this time around though - I appreciate they're going for maximum flexibility with the lighter removable rear seats, but no-one in their right mind could tolerate that chair / bed origami more than once in a blue moon.

I can see why they've done it like this - and it will suit many, but not all (esp. with multiple kids / accessories). I can also see it being more appropriate for warmer continental markets, rather than damp UK - but we were never their key audience.

Anyone looking for a like-for-like replacement Cali will now have to go Marco Polo or Nugget.

 

[flying banana]

Looked at

its a good start for VW remember the t6.1 has had decades of refinements. I would not get this new van on account of the poor seats and silly beds, they are stuck wit the multi van seats and need to develop some special ones like the t6.1 has. The hard cove looks very uncomfortable knowing how bad vw mattress are, and the 3 seat beach you need to remove the chair to make the bed! Finally the beach kitchen is dreadful taken from the caddy, no good for the uk as you can only use outside. The ocean is better but there’s no food or plate or pan storage.…..as I said good start, but the t7.1 is when to think about it, in 4/5 years time. The only people that will buy these are the new vw cali people. The rest of us will hold on to our t6.1 and earlier

they still persist with those crappy diamond cut wheels too

 

[KevH]

It’s evolution folks, survival of the ‘most popular’ and is one more step in a long line of progression along the campervan journey.
Some on here will love it, others will hate it, but we are just a small sample of the 200,000 Calis sold to date, and it’s success will be determined by the wider public who, I suspect, this may well appeal to.
Crucially for us, it retains and builds on the Cali tradition so our vans ought to keep their value.
Eg my 1969 T2 cost about £500 new and sold for £18k in 2018.
Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Kayleigh]

Available soon in the club shop…

 

[Californication69]

I like how it looks. The way you can access the fridge from both the inside and outside is a bonus, but it's less accessible for passengers when driving.
Hasn't it got more wardrobe space than the T6.1? Though what about under-seat storage in the rear.
The factory window bags are great if standard.

I get what you’re saying.
But when camping you are either parked up with awning out and chairs out on 1 side.
I don’t spread oirselves out on both sides of the campervan, always the 1 door side.
Pop in and out to the fridge.
Table and cooking outside by the 1 door and 1 awning.
Campsites only allow 1 awning, and usually 6m width.
So park on side and awning or blowup vango connected to the slide rail.

Okay, if your wild camping and want the deer / puma / bear chasing it to comically run straight through the camper then that’s nice.
But 2 doors.
It’s more like a transporter van for me. And not something that I’d plumb for.
Just in MHO.

 

[Californication69]

New camping chairs look good.

That said, we store thin stools inside the current chairs, so would want space to do the same.

Careful with thin stools, maybe too much roughage ?