It's the car that's also a campervan and the latest in Volkswagen's own California camper range

In this video we review in detail the all-new VW Caddy California, which goes on sale in the spring. It's a simple campervan, a five-seater car and comes direct from Volkswagen.
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◼️ REVIEWED BY: Peter Vaughan, Group Motorhome Road Test Editor for MMM magazine and What Motorhome magazine Editor. Peter has been writing about motorhomes since the age of 14, has a love of touring France and is mad about old Italian sports cars.
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[@rubymouse6904]

I have one of those caddy campers they sold about 70 of and I LOVE it. I know its niche - almost unique in the UK - but I am surprised at the overwhelmingly negative comments! We all find something that works for us I guess and the van with the toilet, fixed wet room and kitchen sink just isn't for me. I recently came back from two months in Spain and Portugal so it's not just a weekender, I am no longer that young or agile so not just for the sprightly and me and two whippets lived very well in it. I wish I could share a photo of my exceptional van :-D

[@peterv3642]

So pleased to hear that someone likes the original Caddy Camper and I share your surprise at the level of negativity. Would you consider upgrading to the new one?

[@carlos76437]

I honestly don't see the point of the product. Campers based on small vans are usually a choice for diyers or someone looking for a cheaper alternative. If this starts around £40k, it's the same price as Campster from Possl. Even the Cap Road from Camperève/Dreamer costs the same and it's a much better camper. Nice video but pointless product.

[@peterv3642]

The Campster is rather more than £40k here. I think it's the fact that it looks (and drives) like a car that's central to the appeal. But the Reimo conversion of the Caddy will offer a lot more in terms of camping and Wheelhome's campers on the same size Vauxhall are much better for touring.

[@carlos76437]

@@peterv3642 if the Campster is more than £40k I hope it's due to the UK market policy of campers packed with options. Still remember when I worked in France that motorhomes for the UK market were jam packed with options. Only the Scandinavian matched that level. If that's the case, there's no point comparing a jam packed good versatile camper with a Spartan VW that hopes to sell on a "California" sticker. Have to say the bed mechanism looks good and smart. But that's it. Regarding the car like driving position, I must say I find the van like driving position way more comfortable for long drivings. And Peter, if you ever plan on crossing the channel to the Netherlands, I'd be happy to show you the "campers" we build here. Cheers

[@peterv3642]

@@carlos76437 The Campster that I reviewed in 2019 was £51,695 and, as prices have typically gone up by 10% at least since then, I'd expect it to be pushing £60k now, although the importer is now focusing on the larger Globecar vans so it's hard to give an exact figure. I always love to see what's available on the Continent, with the Düsseldorf show being a highlight of the year. Like you I love the driving position of my VW T6 but I know some buyers are put off by the apparent size of taller vehicles.

[@basecamper7504]

Good review Peter and a vehicle I could live with as a weekend camper and main car for the week. Tempting!

[@peterv3642]

If you want more facilities (in a VW Caddy) look out for the Reimo version, too

[@seanfallon4580]

i cant see this so called camper being on the market for very long , its way to expensive for what it is , i cant see anybody forking out £40k plus for this especially as you can get a proper 2 berth or 4 berth for just about the same price , what are VW thinking, CRAZY

[@peterv3642]

The previous version was on the market for about a decade on the Continent but sold only a handful of examples here. You probably need better weather than we get in the UK... However, you'll struggle to find ANY new campervan for £40k now, with most T6.1s and Transit Customs being £60k or more.

[@charlessalisbury6083]

Personally I don't rate these as campervans at all,more than one night perhaps and that's it,might as well chuck a mattress and a camping stove in the normal van model and that's it.

[@peterv3642]

Agree - it's definitely one for weekends, not long tours

[@scott291]

Good honest review on a vehicle that’s not good value for money. I don’t see those blinds lasting longer than a season.

[@peterv3642]

If that long...

[@kingneptune8937]

Not impressed.

[@kevinreilly9482]

Completely useless as a camper van

[@peterv3642]

More of a tent on wheels?

[@TheMilford99]

Anyone buying a petrol/diesel campervan now, unless dirt cheap, must be crazy. As mentioned below, regarding major car companies not making anymore.

[@peterv3642]

Who isn't making petrol/diesel cars any more? Almost 90% of cars sold in the UK last year had an internal combustion engine

[@TheMilford99]

@@peterv3642 Peugeot/Citroen and Vauxhall both announced on Monday, stopping making combustion engines, on ALL family cars. Read the blog, i didn`t say ` all car`s`, yet. ! Just because plebs and chavs don`t like it, it`s happening sooner than you think.

[@peterv3642]

@@TheMilford99 Vauxhall won't stop until 2028... So, a new petrol/diesel car from 2028 is likely to be on the roads until 2042.... Let's see what happens

[@TheMilford99]

Anyone buying a new vehicle with a combustion engine now, is mistaken. I bought my new Peugeot Partner 4 years ago, hoping that will see me out, till it`s cut off time. Using it both for camping and a workhorse, and with my indoor gas stove, and triple thick cut to size carpet underlay, as a mattress. I guess you must leave home with the seats out, as it`s all pretty compact.

[@peterv3642]

New petrol/diesel vehicles will be on sale until 2030, hybrids to 2035, and the average car lives 14 years, so there should be no problem running one until 2050 or beyond, I reckon

[@TheMilford99]

@@peterv3642 They will be outlawed, long before then. Most motor companies are reducing or cancelling them already. With the Governments steadily reducing those thresholds. While electric vehicle purchase rising exponentially, month on month.

[@TheMilford99]

@@peterv3642 Just read this morning, Peugeot/Citroen and Vauxhall, axe petrol and diesel engines from ALL their family cars, with all other major companies to follow. I timed my diesel car buying in 2017 about right, to likely sell/dispose of before 2030, when nobody will be buying combustion engines. It`s coming faster than any of us want.

[@peterv3642]

@@TheMilford99 Government in the UK is still having to subsidise people to buy electric cars and there are 31 million cars on UK roads, so it'll take a while to replace them all. Would any government ban the last few million, owned by low income people who cannot afford to change to a BEV? I don't have a crystal ball but most predictions are that the internal combustion engine will be around for a while yet

[@ArnoldClarke]

What a pain in the arse

[@trevorhoward7169]

Blimey! What a palaver.

[@paulmorris4152]

Looks like a hearse,I wouldn't be seen dead in it.

[@peterv3642]

Better in another colour maybe?

[@mckeon1960]

No where to wash dishes or hands. No space to store luggage, it's basically a small van with large fold up bed, better with a good mattress in the back and portable bbq of coleman grill. Definately a no for me and I was looking for something for weekends only

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

Maybe have a look at Wheelhome instead, or Reimo's conversion of the Caddy

[@DigitalSamTV]

Its looks unbelievably badly designed as a camper for the interior

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

I think it's just very simple. It seems to sell well in Germany but you need good weather - and an awning...

[@DigitalSamTV]

@@MotorhomeCampervan search KZbin for love campers vw caddy (they fit them out properly in uk). It is miles ahead of this design inside

[@andrewbeale2585]

For a vehicle which is almost as long and as high as my Cali Coast, I struggle to see the advantage when there are some fundamental problems : a) No pop top so no standing headroom - I can't see why VW didn't do a pop top ? b) No second bed - my Coast has two doubles c) Nowhere to sit when the bed is made d) The most rudimentary galley outside - good in Italy maybe but not so good in Wales ! e) No boot space - the Cali scores with a large boot to store everything I will appreciate my Coast all the more now having watched this video. Thank you Peter for, as ever, the best videos around.

[@brook316]

I can't find a single redeeming quality in this vehicle. It doesn't function properly as anything. If you got stuck in a snowstorm on a motorway and had to sleep in your car, it would be slightly better. Other than that it's shocking. And with the VW badge on the front, you know it's gonna be stupidly expensive.

[@peterv3642]

Yes, I'd rather have a California Coast, too - or my T6 HemBil Urban. But some are put off by the van-style driving position of a Transporter and this will be quite a lot cheaper. I think it'll see much better in warmer climes, though!

[@andrewbeale2585]

I forgot to mention the awful blinds - in the (proper) Cali, they are integral on all windows and easy as pie to do.

[@GrumpSkull]

It turns a car into something no better than a 2 person tent.

[@tjzp]

No advantages? Uh, it's half price of anything else out there... also, much smaller so can double as your daily driver even and it's much easier to drive around towns and narrow spaces.

[@TheLittleRedCali]

Pretty pointless really. Love to know who would buy such a thing. No storage, no headroom, no toilet, no water carrier, no sink?? Calling it basic camping is the funniest thing I’ve heard this week.

[@peterv3642]

Better than tent, though? Look at the price of a standard Caddy car (or a Passat estate or VW SUV) and maybe it makes sense for weekending?

[@tonysutton6559]

@@peterv3642 is it better than a tent though? A standard van or MPV plus a tent offers more load space, more sleeping space and more comfort plus you can cook and wash up when its raining. It would be far cheaper to buy a Caddy or Ford Galaxy and plonk a roof tent on top.

[@peterv3642]

@@tonysutton6559 A good quality roof tent would be £2,500. The people-carrier (Maxi Life) version of the Caddy is probably about that much less than the California. You pay your money and take your choice but I'd rather sleep inside the 'van than on the roof.

[@alisonb4898]

I personally think they’ve made a mistake here, either you want 5 seats or you want a campervan. On this size vehicle you can’t have both that work well, pretty soon you’re going to get fed up of moving things about and not being able to cook on a bad day without putting up an awning.

[@lesleywall4186]

Very basic camping indeed. Kettle, but no water. Plates, but no sink to wash them in. Very little space to store a sink and water either. No, thank you.

[@peterv3642]

You'd certainly have to add a few essentials - water carrier and washing up bowl, for a start, but you'll be staying on fully equipped campsites with a 'van like this. A step up from a tent?

[@lesleywall4186]

@@peterv3642 Paying thousands of pounds for just a little step up from a tent doesn't seem reasonable to me. You would certainly need a tent for the 3rd and 4th passenger and a 'tent' to cover the back area in case of bad weather or otherwise you would be unable to prepare your bacon sandwich. The window covers are a total waste of time. As you pointed out, the first thing you would have to do is substitute them with window covers that have been on the market for years. Even with only 2 people on board, on a rainy day just sitting in the car for hours would be a nightmare. I have seen many KZbin videos where DIY converters have done a much better job. May I add that I really enjoy your presentations, especially the ones which compared the pros and cons of several different models in one video.

[@El-Tel63-Terry.]

Awful, what are VW thinking ... or maybe they're not judging by this ridiculous vehicle !

[@peterv3642]

The previous version was on sale in Germany for some years, so there appears to be a demand on the Continent. Not sure it works with UK weather, though

[@mco6968]

Conversion to night mode seems a bit too complicated to me

[@peterv3642]

It's the fact that you have to be outside for much of it, rather than complexity. And those dreadful blinds!

[@tonysutton6559]

What a joke, I can't see anybody wanting to spend more than one night in a van that is the worst of all worlds and little more than a day van for the odd picnic. No space, a virtually useless kitchen that can't be used unless the weather is perfect and a bed set up for young contortioniss only. I can think of far better options for £40,000 plus including buying a proper campervan or a good quality, second hand motorhome.

[@peterv3642]

It's definitely a weekend 'van, perhaps for those used to tenting. For £40k, though, the alternatives will all be secondhand and you could get the standard SWB version for nearer to £30k

[@iKeto_gal]

I just need a toilet. For women, it's harder to squat pee and poo in the wilderness compared to the men. All these male youtubers van life or camping overland etc. it's probably easier for them to do those things without a toilet. Sometimes we women squat to pee, the direction can hit our shoes pants or whatever and it's not like we can take off our pants completely or wear a dress/skirt while camping. That's why you rarely see women overlanding/camping. And the ones that do on youtube, they don't ever talk about it or they drive to an outhouse or place with a toilet. I don't need a shower, I can handle no shower for days, but pee and poo is a necessity.

[@tonysutton6559]

@@iKeto_gal I'm not as young as I was and I'm also diabetic and no longer have a bladder that can last overnight so a toilet is a must for me. Even if we are stay8ng on a campsite I don't want to be doing a 4am dash to the toilet block when it is pouring down with rain.

[@nigelgordon4329]

This was an excellent review and personally I think it's an excellent bit of kit for those who don't want a massive van sitting on the drive most of the year. Yes there are compromises as there are with all camper vans and caravans but for me this adds another double bed to my Go-pod.. and it comes with a skylight!! Also it will nip around town and do the daily stuff as any normal golf would. So a modern car with modern safety equipment that hasn't circled round the moon three times and been filled with IKEA furniture. What's not to like.

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

You've got it, which many viewers haven't - seeing it as a rival to 'full' campervans, which it isn't. Clearly it's not for everyone but it'll work for some buyers as a daily driver and occasional camper.

[@nigelgordon4329]

@@MotorhomeCampervan And it drives like a Golf, the manual gear box is a peach, and that's comparing to my manual GTI 7.5 pp. Residuals should be good if I compare to the 10 year old DIY Caddy conversions with 100,000 miles. The price is whatever your cost of change is if you are trading in your daily vehicle, so you won't need to re-mortgage.

[@jamiep61]

I enjoyed watching the Video Review

[@avagreenall4671]

That looks like a right pain in the arse to set up, and as others have pointed out an estate car with a memory foam mattress and a portable stove would do a better job for a fraction of the price. I did just that for years. I've now converted an NV200 into a 1 person camper with all facilities - bed, kitchen, solar, fridge etc. I really do wonder who WV are aiming this at?

[@jimmys6566]

if you are ever on the Isle of Wight I'd love to see your rig. In return you can spend a few nights on my drive

[@bbbikingggggnnooobbbbb652]

Awesome….until it rains

[@peterv3642]

Yes, you need the awning

[@chrisyates399]

Great comprehensive review, Peter. I've just had the exact same model (maxi with sunroof) quoted at £39,010 from VW commercial vehicles in Birmingham. I am thinking, remove the double seater in back leaving one for my daytime use, take a porta-potty, 1Kw Jackery & collapsable Solar Saga (has built-in inverter) plus a 12v coolbox, 20l water tank with fitted tap to use when tilted, low-wattage microwave, kettle & toaster and several plastic storage tubs to store clothing and food, plus collapsible bowls for shaving & washing up, etc and a porta-shower and tailgate awning for daytime usage. The bed is said to be really comfy with those Froli-like springs and the drive and economy a dream plus It really could be made to be fabulous for 1-2 people for very little over £40k - HALF THE COST OF A NEW CALI COAST NOW!

[@williammurray6921]

No way is this a camper. No water no heating no toilet no room, where does the bedding and clothes store, no food storage no fridge , I could go on. I think you need to rethink what constitute a camper.

[@peterv3642]

It's not my idea of a camper but it is VW's idea of a simple campervan. There's a huge amount of storage if you take the back seats out and a reasonable amount with them in but everything would need to be in soft bags

[@MyMy-tv7fd]

looks like a hearse to me

[@peterv3642]

Oh dear, that's what my 14-year old daughter said... Better in a brighter colour?

[@oilburner225]

People are dying to buy one? Suitable fo goths perhaps?

[@patrickwhaley4111]

Offers nothing for what you'll endup paying. You'd be better off with a basic insulated caddy maxi van with a carp bed in.

[@teaforthree1]

Very fiddly

[@stephenhill2404]

Great video, Peter. I really enjoyed it! I agree with other comments here that I don't really see the point of this vehicle. I would have thought that a regular Caddy Life with one of those put-in, take-out camping boxes (bed, cooker etc) in the back for the occasional camping trip would be a better solution instead of carting the bed and kitchen around with you all the time taking up so much space. Alternatively, a regular SUV or estate car with a throw-in mattress and portable cooker etc.

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

VW seems to sell quite a few of these in Germany but I agree that it rather trades on the California name

[@iananderson3799]

Thanks, sir. Enjoyed that.😊

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

Glad you enjoyed it. Don't forget to subscribe

[@theonlywoody2shoes]

For £40K, buy a nice estate vehicle, a Duvalay to sleep in the back with the seats folded, plenty of room for a portable stove, fridge box and chairs/table. You’d probably get a reversing camera and parking sensors included too. Not sure how many they will sell, my guess is not many considering what alternatives are available for that budget.

[@peterv3642]

The real rivals to this are probably camping boxes like Ququq or Egoe that convert a Caddy, Berlingo, Partner etc into a camper, but the advantage of the California is that it comes from VW, so resale should be strong. However, I think this will sell much better in warmer markets.

[@mattjayclay]

Oh my god what's an expensive boring unsuitable nonfunctional rip off. What On Earth is the point Of MMM magazine reviewing these vehicles if they are going to like all of them just in case they upset the manufacturer? Why was there no criticism Of the glass roof with no curtains good luck in the morning. The curtains that well provided were pathetic . Just what part of this camper is good? Around 40k and this guy says it's a cheap way in to a campervaning???

[@peterv3642]

There is a blind for the sunroof, as I pointed out. No, it's not "cheap" but it is a lot less expensive than almost any other new campervan and not much more than a VW estate car

[@mattjayclay]

@@peterv3642 thanks for the reply Peter. I was waiting for the roof blind part and must have missed a comment on it. I'm not surprised you didn't show the process with the roof. Still those lovely window bags must be worth 10k each? 🙂

[@grahamtoyn2912]

Typical Volkswagen,over complicated and over priced,I can't see many of these being sold.Too much faffing about I would rather buy the caddy van and hitch up one of those small go 2 berth caravan's on the back for the price of that caddy California ,not for me thank you.

[@correctaperture]

Ridiculously conceived. Pointlessly executed design. It'll bomb.

[@peterv3642]

They sold a good number of the earlier model in Europe but I don't think we have the weather for it!

[@robtaylor473]

Thanks so much for the review. It’s the oddest thing on wheels.

[@seanfallon4580]

it would make a great glasshouse house especially with the glass roof i think it would get very hot inside if the sun is shining 🤣

[@MotorhomeCampervan]

There is a cover for the glass roof - pity it doesn't open, though

[@lanceharris669]

That was painful

[@TimmysFavs]

I cannot see the appeal of this van at all except maybe the bacon sandwich?

[@peterv3642]

The bacon sarnie was excellent!

[@alanlovatt]

Hello Mr legend Peter Vaughan, space is a bit on the tight side in this VW, what are your thoughts on the emission restrictions in certain cities/ towns this year. anyhoo great to see you posting Vids happy new year to you and your family. again another great review, as always 👍

[@peterv3642]

Emissions restrictions, so far, are only really a concern for older motorhomes, not new ones. But as we get closer to 2030, it'll be interesting to see what new hybrid/electric options come onto the market. At the moment range is a big issue, even for smaller campervans, and costs are too high.

[@broadpete]

Older vehicles? Try £10 a day for a 2015 vw across 400 sq miles og greater Manchester.

[@graemeroberts5730]

Seems to me you have to be young and flexible to use this!

[@peterv3642]

I think you just need an awning and be happy to use that as your main living space

[@xhogun8578]

Another good review. Don't think this is a campervan for me.

[@mattjayclay]

Good review how?

[@TheWeekday2100]

Nobody watches theses unless your old cos this ain’t entertaining This is a a mix between an advert and a Tom Scott video

[@peterv3642]

Clearly you watch, along with 55,000 subscribers and, in some cases, over half a million other people. If you don't like campervans why are you here?

[@TheWeekday2100]

@@peterv3642 I don’t watch, I found it on my recommended

[@TheWeekday2100]

@@peterv3642 I never said I don’t like campervans either

[@TheWeekday2100]

@@peterv3642 my dream has been to have a holy campervan

[@TheWeekday2100]

@@peterv3642 how could you accuse me of not liking campervans, I feel very offended