VW California camper is so good you could use it every day – its interior is a masterclass and it drives like a car

NEW recipe. Same large taste. That’s the Volkswagen California summed up successful 5 words.

Some mightiness question wherefore VW switched its legendary camper from Transporter underpinnings to the bones of a Multivan.

But, boy, has it worked.

Longer, wider and conscionable arsenic tall, you’re driving a car present – and not a T6 similar your builder does.

And with that comes vastly improved refinement, ride, handling and steering.

Having tested it implicit 3 days successful the beauteous but often treacherously twisty Slovenian upland roads, galore hundreds of miles were munched with sizeable assurance and successful refreshing comfort.

This is besides the archetypal campervan out determination with TWO sliding rear doors – meaning you tin locomotion close done it, adjacent though it has a fully-fitted room including a gas stove, a descend and a fridge successful it.

That’s a packaging masterclass.

It sleeps up to four, arsenic earlier – 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs successful the automatic pop-up roof.

The beforehand seats swivel 180 degrees to make a four-seat living/dining room, portion the 2 idiosyncratic rear ones (both with under-storage) tin descent astir the full magnitude of the compartment connected rails to your preferred position, fold level oregon beryllium taken retired completely.

Worked its magic

Two camping chairs and a array are astir invisibly stowed successful the back.

The standard-fit Thule broadside awning tin spell connected whichever broadside you choose.

And if you truly can’t choose, you tin present enactment 1 connected each side, mill fit.

We tried the bread-and-butter 2-litre turbo diesel with 150hp which returns astir 40mpg, springiness oregon take, paired with a seven-speed DGS autobox.

Coming soon is simply a 204hp petrol and a 245hp four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid.

The aged Cali was diesel only.

There are 3 specs to take from – each with a pop-up roof.

Entry-level Beach Camper, starting astatine £63k, is simply a five-seater with a manual pop-up roof, positive a compact mini-kitchen with a azygous state hob that extends from the rear erstwhile the footwear is open.

Coast is simply a four-seater featuring a fully- fitted kitchenette (sink, storage, fridge and state hob), electrical pop-up extortion and tablet distant power and 17in alloys. That’s £70k.

While the top-spec Ocean, for an other £7k, adds matrix LED lights, embroidered and heated eco-friendly cloth seats, ­ambient lighting, electrical sliding doors, 10in infotainment surface and more.

You’ll find much charging points for devices than you tin shingle a structure peg astatine arsenic good arsenic three-pin UK plug sockets and a multi-positional foldout table-cum-worktop extender if you privation to navigator extracurricular the camper and not marque a messiness inside.

Loaded with each sorts of driver-assistance tech, agelong distances and multi-storey ­parking situations are a doddle.

VW has truly worked its magic to not lone marque this a bona fide California worthy of its practice but 1 that delivers much than earlier for some the predominant and the little predominant camper.

It’s that good, and that sophisticated, it could adjacent beryllium utilized arsenic your regular operator and not conscionable a play edifice vroom.