World premiere of the all new Volkswagen California

[Mehdime]

Well I’d like to see how that works. The kitchen unit is really short.

You can see it… in the video I just linked to.

 

[Van-Rob]

Just watched the late break video linked here. It’s like the concept but will be interesting to see it against the T6.1. It will be interesting to see one in the flesh.

We only hire them at present (actually hiring a T6.1 coast tomorrow for a week). I’d love one but it will be a few years before we could so we will likely be looking a the electric versions in the future. I could see an electric version coming on the multi van base if they think the ID buzz base will be too small.

 

[soulstyledevon]

There’s many, many problems with the California Sharan.
The biggest is the army of converters currently working through the new transit & the new true VW T7 Transporter due 2025.

I bet that new Transit doesn’t seem so bad now….

 

[Californication69]

I can’t get past the Ford blue 18 year old drivers dials.
Or has it got a Digi dash now ?

 

[soulstyledevon]

I can’t get past the Ford blue 18 year old drivers dials.
Or has it got a Digi dash now ?

Digital on the new van. It’s a pretty nice dash board to be fair.

 

[Corradobrit]

Just watched the late break video linked here. It’s like the concept but will be interesting to see it against the T6.1. It will be interesting to see one in the flesh.

We only hire them at present (actually hiring a T6.1 coast tomorrow for a week). I’d love one but it will be a few years before we could so we will likely be looking a the electric versions in the future. I could see an electric version coming on the multi van base if they think the ID buzz base will be too small.

Highly unlikely. The multi van doesn’t have the payload allowance to carry that massive 100+ kWh battery needed plus the campervan installation. More likely to see a ford collab to achieve that goal.

 

[sdes]

at the time of this posting there is about 5 hours to go.

Wow, what a yawnfest! Is there a 1 minute summary somewhere?

 

[wildslammer22]

Wow, what a yawnfest! Is there a 1 minute summary somewhere?

TLDR - It’s better to drive than the Transporter series but worse for camping!


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[sidepod]

Did I just skim-read that there is no parking heater? If that’s true then it’s utter madness!!

 

[pluc99]

Did I just skim-read that there is no parking heater? If that’s true then it’s utter madness!!

It's not true.

 

[P600BOO]

So what category does a BMW i3 with a range extender fall into?

Still falls into BEV.
The range extender ( Small petrol motor) is only used to charge the battery whilst driving to extender the range. It does not power the wheels like on a Plugin Hybrid

 

[WelshGas]

Did I just skim-read that there is no parking heater? If that’s true then it’s utter madness!!

Standard except possibly on the Beach.

 

[Kayleigh]

Still falls into BEV.
The range extender ( Small petrol motor) is only used to charge the battery whilst driving to extender the range. It does not power the wheels like on a Plugin Hybrid

It’s still taxed the same as a petrol vehicle though, unfortunately.

 

[Kayleigh]

Well I’d like to see how that works. The kitchen unit is really short.

The new outdoor table does appear to have clips underneath just like the T6 Beach outdoor table, so I presume it has to clip in somewhere!

 

[ArunAlec]

Agreed. We have had a look around a few fellow campers Ford nuggets on our current trip. Very impressed. There is a real opportunity for the Ford T7 in a nugget conversion to wipe the floor with the latest multivan Cali.As for the build quality arguments, I think VW have seriously damaged their reputation over the bellows.

I doubt that VW‘s reputation will suffer due to the leaky canvas. The previous rotting roof didn’t seem to do them much damage and that dragged on for years. Not to mention dieselgate .

 

[wildslammer22]

Did I just skim-read that there is no parking heater? If that’s true then it’s utter madness!!

Diesel or petrol heaters depending on the power train


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pluc99]

The new outdoor table does appear to have clips underneath just like the T6 Beach outdoor table, so I presume it has to clip in somewhere!

It clips onto the kitchen counter but, as the counter is short, it replaces only one leg. I don't see the point in fiddling around with that; you might as well just mount it on all four legs.

 

[WelshGas]

It clips onto the kitchen counter but, as the counter is short, it replaces only one leg. I don't see the point in fiddling around with that; you might as well just mount it on all four legs.

With 1 leg you can probably slide it to the rear so it sits over the rear seat as you can do with the present Ocean sliding table without using the strap around the headrest.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

It clips onto the kitchen counter but, as the counter is short, it replaces only one leg. I don't see the point in fiddling around with that; you might as well just mount it on all four legs.

Seems like another flimsy bit of kit that could easily be broken when setting up when you're tired / frustrated at the end of a long day or having to shuffle things around a very full van to make space.

 

[Kayleigh]

Ah. The outdoor table stored in the boot can in fact also be used as the indoor dining table:

So it’s not as silly as it looked in the first videos. You don’t just get a tiny indoor table. There a tiny indoor table + an indoor/outdoor full-side table.

He puts a very positive spin on the new Ocean model!

 

[Kayleigh]

It clips onto the kitchen counter but, as the counter is short, it replaces only one leg. I don't see the point in fiddling around with that; you might as well just mount it on all four legs.

Yes, I’ve watched the full video now and it does look a bit fiddly. I do wish the T6 Beach had a single leg as two legs do get in the way a bit when used inside, but this one will have three legs. The pre-production model had a single leg for inside use but clearly they haven’t been able to get it to work, which is a shame.

 

[Mehdime]

It clips onto the kitchen counter but, as the counter is short, it replaces only one leg. I don't see the point in fiddling around with that; you might as well just mount it on all four legs.

It works in the exact same way as the T6 indoor table. Having only one leg when clipped means 4 people can sit around the table and easily get in and out without having the table legs in the way.

 

[Kayleigh]

It works in the exact same way as the T6 indoor table. Having only one leg when clipped means 4 people can sit around the table and easily get in and out without having the table legs in the way.

I think the point is that it doesn’t have a single leg for use inside the new Ocean. The video shows a table with that extra fifth leg but the production model will only have 4 legs.

 

[UrbanSplash]

I think the point is that it doesn’t have a single leg for use inside the new Ocean. The video shows a table with that extra fifth leg but the production model will only have 4 legs.

I think Jonny made a mistake there. 4 legs for outdoor use. 5th leg only for clipping on the kitchen. I think the video showed this.

 

[hirsty]

Old mucker of mine from my car days just dropped his video on YT. Currently sparring with him on IG.

As expected from Jonny, that's the best of this set of press launch videos. Some good additional info (though not sure all of his facts are 100%).

• as we most often camp as a couple & usually with only one rear passenger when in car-mode, I might leave the fourth seat at home now I've seen the bed folded out onto the kitchen ledge & travel with e-bike/s folded inside.
  
  
• double-clicking all the interior lights off is neat
  
  
• rotating the front chairs is big improvement, my least favourite job when setting up
  
  
• I like the hard roof lower cover, the tambour on T6 gets on my pip
  
  
• I park on the street at home, so a passenger side sliding door for loading will suit us (with awning above) as driving away from offside kerb currently into oncoming traffic lane is a regular heart-stopper
  
  
• I've read the above table discussion, and note he does mention that this five legged version is a prototype & the production version will have four legs. I'd be happy with the small extender and this larger one - I rarely use my T6 table as it's always either too big inside or too small outside. I have an IKEA chopping board (here) that clips on the Beach side bracket & take a bigger cheapo folding Quecha for outside.

Have to say I'm liking the Multivan more & more, esp. now an aux heater is confirmed for the TSI and PHEV. Just now hope that it won't start with an 8 ...