New Volkswagen California, the camper par excellence, is renewed with new technologies and adds the ECO label

The Volkswagen California is the camper van par excellence, and the one every serious camper would want in their garage. This van is being renewed, and the German brand has already confirmed that pre-sales will begin next July, while deliveries to future owners will start next autumn.

As always, it is based on the Transporter with the new transverse modular platform (MQB), and more specifically on the Multivan version. Its length, compared with its predecessor, increases to 5,173 mm, its width to 1,941 mm, and its wheelbase is 3,124 mm. In addition, it receives a distinctive feature previously available only on the Bulli version: two-tone paint, with several combinations, one of them exclusive to the California.

Volkswagen will offer the new California in five versions, whose first details we already know and which are listed below:

• California Beach: This is the entry-level version of the range and therefore a basic model that will not differ greatly from a Multivan; in fact, it only differs in its manual pop-up roof. Inside, it has room for 6 people (2+2 individual seats in the second and third rows), and under the pop-up roof two people can comfortably sleep on a high-quality spring mattress.

• California Beach Tour: This is the second trim level and has seating for five, with the driver’s and passenger’s seats swivelling, while the rear seats are three individual seats. The outermost seats can be folded down completely flat so you can sleep in the cabin, as a 1,980 x 1,330 mm folding mattress is also fitted as standard. It also comes equipped with a load table, two folding ergonomic chairs, lighting in the pop-up roof, windows in the sliding doors, an additional battery and a new control unit located on the C-pillar.

• California Beach Camper: At the third trim level things start to get serious, and the equipment allows us to be self-sufficient; for example, it comes as standard with a compact kitchen and a 230-volt mains connection. The kitchen slides out towards the rear with the tailgate open, which keeps it protected from the rain, and once stored inside it is fixed in a module permanently installed in the boot.

• California Coast: The level rises even further with the fourth equipment option, although the number of seats is reduced to just two in the rear. This is because a complete kitchen is fitted, fully redesigned and made up of cabinets, a sink and a single-ring gas hob, which, although it offers a similar space to its predecessor, does not protrude as much and therefore leaves more room for the rest of the interior. In addition, the driver’s seat can now be rotated 180º, leaving space for the fridge, which opens like a drawer in a similar way to the solution on the Grand California.

• California Ocean: The top finish has unique details compared with the previous one, such as the exclusive Mélange Raven seat upholstery made from recycled material, heated front seats, an auxiliary air heater, automatic climate control, a roof storage compartment, background lighting in the kitchen, a 28-litre fresh water tank and an additional 230-volt socket with earth connection.

All these equipment levels can be combined with all the available engines, among which we find a novelty. We can choose between the efficient four-cylinder TDI with 150 CV if we want to cover kilometres with a diesel, or we can go for the petrol side and opt for the TSI with 204 CV. The novelty comes with the eHybrid engine, or plug-in hybrid, with a power output of 245 CV, and for the first time in a vehicle with the MQB platform it is combined with 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

For now, these are the main details of the new Volkswagen California. We will have to wait a little longer to learn something very important: its prices.