I took the VW California on a 2,000-mile adventure and found this modern camper van to be quite the globetrotter – but I’m more excited about the electric potential

The camper van has long represented the ultimate in travel freedom, and none more so than the VW camper. With a history that stretches back to 1947, through early Westfalia conversions to the ‘Splittie’ and on to the modern-day California, which is now produced in-house.

While the ID. Buzz has been VW’s all-electric van solution since 2022, the latest California models offer only diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid solutions. They do come with many of the tech advances of the electric cars though, from adaptive cruise controls and parking assist to the digital cockpit and connected services.

To see how this modern camper performed, I took it on a 2,000-mile road trip across Europe to test out not just its driving capabilities, but also its skills on the campsite. Having previously tested Mercedes-Benz’s Marco Polo, I was interested to see how advanced this new VW camper really was. While it’s not perfect, it’s still one of the best small campers on the market.

Price and availability

The VW California starts from £64,432 for the base ‘California Beach Camper’ model but also comes in the upgraded ‘California Coast’ and top-specced ‘California Ocean’ models.

The Ocean starts from £78,748 and, on top of the Coast’s full kitchen with coolbox, electric pop-up roof and rear-view camera, also offers LED Matrix headlights, satellite navigation, additional storage and ambient lighting. The California comes in a choice of three engines: the diesel 2.0 TDI, the petrol 2.0 TSI and a 1.5 eHybrid.

On top of the standard colours, you can have the California in a split two-tone paint finish, which feels extra classy, while the seats inside have the California branding on them.

Options include powered sliding doors, now on both sides, a retractable towbar, and adaptive chassis control. The Ocean petrol TSI model I tested with all the extras cost £88,006.

While there isn’t an electric drivetrain for the California at this time, there is now a Good Night Package for the ID. Buzz that turns it into a ‘camper lite’, and many third-party companies are offering full Buzz camper conversions.

Long-distance driver

The California is a great van for long-distance driving. It’s a fairly compact size, with a height of just under two metres (197.2 cm), a width of 194.1 cm (225.2 including mirrors) and a length of 517.3cm. It has that van-like driving position that elevates you and sits you upright, giving you a clear vision of the road. The driver and passenger seats both have armrests and plenty of adjustment, though manual, not electronic.

The long sloping windscreen feels spacious, and only in a tight corner do the pillars restrict the vision slightly. Wing mirrors are large to allow a plentiful view along the sides of the car and the rear view mirror offers a clear view out the back – provided you’re not overpacked. It would have been nice to have the option of a digital rearview mirror here, for that reason though.

With a 7-speed automatic gearbox, the driving is smooth, but with two people and luggage inside, the 203 horsepower 2.0 litre TSI engine at times felt a little underpowered. Building up speed on France’s autoroutes required quite a kick-down and some high revs for it to really move. There is a sport mode and manual gear changes via paddles on the steering wheel, which really help.

For long-distance driving, the adaptive cruise control is a real help, and the VW system works well. There’s some basic lane assistance too, which gives some resistance if you stray over the line without indicating, but not the full lane centring. Again, a shame that this isn’t at least an option.

The California uses VW’s digital cockpit and combines a 12.9-inch centre screen with a large driver display that feels similar to the ID Buzz. The operating system gives you quick access to all the necessary driving controls, and the driving display can be customised to suit what you want to show. You can also wirelessly connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

I was a little surprised that the tray for your phone doesn't provide wireless charging, but you can easily plug it into one of the USB-C ports directly below it. One nice feature is that you can use the California’s data connection to provide a Wi-Fi hotspot for passengers, which is useful while on the road and while camping.

The only real disappointment was the speaker system in the California Ocean. For a top-of-the-range model, it would be nice to at least have the option to put a more powerful speaker system in, as the supplied system is a little tinny.

Camping

There’s a 3-room concept to the California’s design, which shows a clever use of space for a relatively small camper van. The front seats swivel around to open up the van to a living space, with the back seats pushed back and the table brought inside.

Having sliding doors on both sides of the California does allow you quicker access to things, and saves walking around the van. Both of these doors are electric and open with a light squeeze of the handle. Interestingly, the boot access isn’t electric and is pretty heavy to close – which seems an odd decision.

The pop-up roof opens via the quick buttons next to the centre screen in the front of the van, giving you a lot of extra headroom in the living area, as well as a dedicated sleeping area with the bed pulled down.

Compared to the roof section in the Marco Polo, the California feels more thought out, not needing the thermal inserts but having zipped sections with mosquito netting on the sides and front. This allows you to get plenty of airflow through the van when sleeping and helps you stay relatively cool, even in very hot weather.

The blinds provided in the California for the front windscreen and front windows are impressive, too. The side blinds attach magnetically, while the front blind uses collapsible tent poles to keep it rigid.

The in-built mattress is quite thin, and although helped by the sprung base, isn’t the most comfortable to sleep on. I’d recommend a mattress topper if you’re doing more than a couple of nights on this. There are USB-C ports up top and reading lights, so you can keep your phone plugged in or read a few chapters before dozing off.

You can also turn the downstairs living area into another bed, with a fold-out mattress that sits on top of the rear seats. This is really simple to set up, however, the mattress is even harder than the top one, and as you don’t get the full width of the van, there’s less room for two people. This space is better for a single sleeper or young kids.

The third space is actually outside of the California. The side awning creates an outdoor living space for you to place the provided chairs and table. Meanwhile, the kitchenette, with its gas hob, sink and coolbox, has a small fold-out table, where you can prepare food or add an electric hob.

App and digital display

In the back of the California is a small touchscreen display for the camping controls, which is a nice touch. The main display shows the current status of the leisure battery as well as the fresh and waste water levels. A press of the main button, which looks a bit like an old iPad button, gives you more options, while you can also access the settings and the aircon.

The aircon button here is a bit of a false promise, as it will only work while the van’s ignition is on. When the California is parked and turned off, in camping mode the aircon isn’t usable. This is because the aircon runs from the main battery and not the leisure battery.

Even when the van is plugged in, it will drain the van’s battery if used without the engine running. This means on a hot night, you’re limited to the heated ventilation to blow air through the van, or a breeze through the open windows.

The Grand California offers a roof air conditioning system for £2,238 to provide cooling when plugged in, but this isn’t available for the California models.

In addition to the digital display, there’s a dedicated app, so you can control the same functions on your phone via a Bluetooth connection to the California. So, you can check the battery levels, turn on the coolbox, change the lighting or select camping mode, all from your phone.

The app also includes camping information, route planning with campsites marked, an online operating manual and how-to videos. It would be helpful if the operating manual and videos were available offline, though, as some campsites I visited didn’t have great signal or Wi-Fi.

An electric future…

It’s hard to imagine that a fully electric drivetrain version of the California isn’t on its way. Or that a new camper version of the ID Buzz isn’t in the planning. The only downside with an all-electric van at this stage would be the range, with the ID Buzz only offering around 274 miles. Should this reach that magic 400-mile number, it would be hard to see why anyone would choose anything else.

The other advantage of an electric van is that you wouldn’t need to run a separate leisure battery for the coolbox and lighting – it could all run off the main battery. Also, running an air con system would be possible, as there’s no separation of the ignition system and the leisure system.

Should I buy the VW California?

There’s a reason why the VW California remains one of the most popular camper vans in the world, and this latest version has upped the ante with some impressive new features.

The dual sliding doors are really useful for opening up the back of the van and the living space is very flexible, thanks to the moving table, the rotating front seats and the pop-up roof.

Travelling as a couple, or a couple plus young kids, there’s enough room inside to eat and sleep for a week or more. Yet, you still have a very manageable-sized van that you can park in a normal-sized parking space if needed (just about).

The VW California shows its years of experience in the way it has been designed, with slick details turning it from a driving machine into a sleeping one. From the blinds and the slot-in mosquito nets on the rear windows to the coolbox and the way the lower bed sets up, it’s all done in style.

The digital cockpit in the California is a welcome addition, and the driving assistance features, such as the adaptive cruise control and parking assist, are extremely handy.

At times though, the top-specced California Ocean still feels a little basic for a van that costs nearly £90k. From the manual seat adjustments and manually closing boot to the sound system, it would be nice to have some more premium options here without resorting to a third-party outfitter.

I’m excited to see what an electric California could bring in the future, or an ID Buzz camper – whichever route VW go down. For now though, the California remains a top pick for the campgrounds.