HOTEL CALIFORNIA (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Want a family vehicle you could really live with - and live in? Yes really. Jonathan Crouch looks at Volkswagen's revitalised seventh generation California camper.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 40

Why does a camper have to be based on a van? Volkswagen doesn't think it does and wheels out this seventh generation MPV-based California model as proof. Despite dispensing with commercial roots, it's more practical and versatile than ever before.

Backgroundword count: 174

This isn't just a different kind of Volkswagen California; it's a different kind of camper full-stop. Until now, campers have always been based on vans; certainly, the California model lineage always has been, with roots going all the way back to 1950s motorhome conversions of the brand's original Type 2 van. More recent Californias have been based on the Wolfsburg maker's Transporter LCV, but this seventh generation version switches for the first time to a car-derived platform, the MQB architecture used for all Volkswagen's medium-sized combustion models. That's because for this new California generation, the fundamentals are not from the new generation Transporter commercial (as many had expected), but from the large Multivan MPV. Keeping the California Transporter-based would have enabled introduction of an EV variant, but the brand has planned a camper version of the ID.Buzz to fill that niche. Instead, this MK7 California offers the option of Plug-in Hybrid tech and cheerfully embraces all the practical advantages that adoption of the long wheelbase Multivan platform gives it. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 308

Some of Volkswagen's popular engines feature here. Things kick off with two conventional units, the 150PS 2.0 TDI diesel most will continue to choose, or a petrol powerplant, the 204PS 2.0-litre TSI, though that isn't going to be cheap to run. If efficiency is uppermost in your mind, consider the 1.5-litre eHybrid Plug-in petrol model, which has enough EV battery range for regular local school runs and shopping trips. The 245PS PHEV version comes with 4MOTION 4WD too - which will be a boon on slippery campsites - and goes 56 miles on a charge. Across the range, the height's compatible with garages and multi-storey car parks. Around town and on narrow country roads, like the Multivan MPV it's based on, the California feels the prodigious size that it is, but as advertised, it's much more car-like than the previous generation van-based model. Potholes and speed humps no longer send tremors through the body structure because that chassis is now so much stiffer. Plus the suspension set-up's been optimised and is available with extra cost Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive damping if you want it. Roll through the bends has been reduced by about 25% and the steering is far more direct, though doesn't have much feedback. Should you be running late for the school run, you can actually even drive with a bit of enthusiasm and you sit a little further back than in the old California, in a driving position that's less upright. The driving position and steering wheel are infinitely adjustable. So much so that, from Kylie Minogue to Giant Haystacks, virtually anyone's optimum driving position is attainable - it's just a matter of finding it. There are armrests on each chair too, along with supportive cushioning and fetching fabric. When stationary, you turn around the front two chairs to face the two in the rear.

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