The New California Camper Van: What to Expect from Volkswagen's Latest Model

Expecting the new California to come with a built-in shower toilet, though it's just not big enough if you want those kind of things, you're going to have to upgrade to the Grand California for that. In fact, if you want to see more about that crazy camper van, click on the pop-up banner up there because I've reviewed one and the van attacks me quite a lot. Watch that video and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, back to the new California. It's all well and good having a nice big battery, but what's this new motorhome gonna look like? Well, this is the current California and it looks almost exactly the same as the regular T6 van and the new Caddy California, which is a really small camper van that looks almost identical to the brand new Volkswagen Caddy van. You know I'm going with this right, so you can bet the new California will look pretty similar to the all-new T7 Multi-Van.

The T7 looks great, it has similar lights to the new ID3 and ID4 electric cars, and there's a new daytime running light across the grill. It just looks a lot more modern than the current T6 van, I like the body color grille too, and the two-tone paint job. It's a nice touch. However, the optional extra, which is it on the current California, quite an expensive one at that.

It reminds me of the original camper van from the 50s and 60s, the new California won't look exactly the same though. I reckon it could look something like this image I've had drawn up. It'll probably come with a similar pop-up roof as the old model, you know, so lanky people can like walk around inside without having to be all hunched over. Now you'll be able to get a fold-out awning as well from the side of the vehicle, so that if it's raining you can go underneath it and still have a picnic outside handy when you're trying to camp in the British summer.

But what about the inside of the vehicle? Well, remember how I said the new T7 is based on the same underpinnings as a Golf? It doesn't just borrow some engines from that car; it also gets its infotainment system too. So, you get the same dual-screen setup with the same neat graphics as that car. Okay, so this doesn't mean there aren't any physical buttons for stuff like climate control which will probably get annoying and actually the whole system is a little bit buggy. They haven't really sorted it out hopefully Volkswagen will have improved the whole setup.

What about the rest of the new camper van's cabin? Well, the standard T7 Multi-Van is wider and has more space between the front and rear wheels than the old T6. So, the upcoming California should be roomier inside, and you can bet it'll come with the same rotating front seats as the old California. You'll also be able to slide the rear bench all the way back to turn the cabin into a big living area not only that the back seat should flip down to turn into a double bed like in the old version and then of course, you've got that roof divider as well for another sleeping area.

Overall, there should be space for four people to sleep inside, so long as no one minds sharing. If you want to see more about the current T6 California, I'm going to put a link up there popping out top right corner of the screen. You can watch my in-depth review on that and check out all the clever features that'll probably come in the new T7 version.

The cost of the new California is not yet known, but it's expected to be similar to the current model's price range. The T6 California with a 150 horsepower 2-liter diesel engine can be purchased for around $55,000 today, and top-spec versions with a 204 horsepower diesel engine and 4-wheel drive cost more than $73,000. If Volkswagen decides to make a hybrid version, it'll likely cost getting on to $80,000.

Do you think this sounds like your ideal camper van? Would you rather just save the cash and get a few hotels? Personally, I prefer hotels than camping; let me know in the comments below. What other campervans would you like me to talk about or review in the comments below? If you click on those windows there, you can watch some more videos and if you click on that box there, you can go to carwow to see how much money you can save on your next car.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: encould the next volkswagen california be the best campervan ever well it's going to be based on the all-new multi-van which is already shaping up to be a game changer for volkswagen now in this video i'm going to tell you all about this new multi-van and i'll show you some exclusive images of what the new california camper could look like both inside and out so stick around because i'll show you these images throughout the entirety of the video revealing new ones the further we go along to keep you interested anyway i'm matt watson and you're watching car wow buying a new car then head to car wow and my team will help you find your next car at a fair price car wow your one stop car buying comparison site the current volkswagen california is basically a ready-made rv you can sleep in it you can cook in it but it's still nice and easy to drive because it's based on the normal volkswagen caravel that's what the multivan is called in the uk by the way today's california isn't cheap though you'll need at least 55 000 pounds to get your hands on one but it comes with loads of neat features that make it perfect for camping it's winter camping and the next california will get more of the same but it'll be based on the all-new volkswagen t7 multivan this has just been revealed and it's volkswagen's most high-tech people carrier yet okay so here's what you need to know about it on the outside it looks a bit like a massive commercial vehicle but it's not based on the volkswagen transport like the old model was if you peel away the body work you'll find loads of bits borrowed from the golf okay so volkswagen obviously had to stretch the golf chasse a lot to turn it into the multivator but the front and rear bits are mostly the same this means that the new multivan can use a bunch of other bits pinch from the golf like some of its engines entry level vans get a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine with 136 horsepower and there's a beefier 2 litre petrol engine with 204 horsepower you'll also be able to get a 150 horsepower diesel engine next year but the big news is that there's a brand new hybrid model on the way and this isn't just some mild hybrid it's a proper full-blown plug-in hybrid like the golf gte it has a 1.4 liter turbocharged petrol engine with 150 horsepower but there's also an electric motor that boosts the total power to 218 horsepower and i reckon this new hybrid system could make the next california one of the best camper vans around think about it what do you want when you buy a camper van well apart from enough space to sleep in you want creature comforts like lights plugs to keep your phone charged and a heater to keep you warm and all that stuff needs electricity normal camper vans like the old california have an extra battery to power all this stuff and it's called a leisure battery but even if you have two big 110 amp hour leisure batteries they'll only produce about three kilowatt hours of energy if you're using them to run a load of 12 volt gadgets and that's not really a great deal some companies have tried using old electric car batteries to keep you powered up like nissan has it's built this trailer using batteries from old leaf electric cars it has a 700 watt hour battery that nissan reckons will keep you going for about seven days so long as you use a portable solar panel to top it up during the day but what's all this got to do with the new volkswagen california well because the new california will be based on the new t7 multivan volkswagen could decide to make it a hybrid so it could have the same 13 kilowatt hour battery as the regular hybrid van to power its built-in electric motor but you don't need to use this motor when you arrive at your campsite do you you'll just be parked up so you could use the vans battery to power all the stuff you brought along with you instead and the battery in the new multivan hybrid is a lot bigger than the battery in nissan's caravan in fact it can store about 18 times as much energy this means you could power a few small things like phone chargers and electric lights for absolutely ages or you could fit a lot of bigger appliances like an electric government a microwave a television a water heater without worrying about running out of charge so quickly now don't get expecting the new california to come with a built-in shower toilet though it's just not big enough if you want those kind of things you're going to have to upgrade to the grand california for that in fact if you want to see more about that crazy camper van click on the pop-up banner up there because i've reviewed one and the van attacks me quite a lot yeah watch that video and you'll see what i mean anyway back to the new california so it's all well and good having a nice big battery but what's this new motorhome gonna look like well this is the current california and it looks almost exactly the same as the regular t6 van and the new caddy california which is a really small camper van looks almost identical to the brand new volkswagen caddy van yeah you know i'm going with this right so you can bet the new california will look pretty similar to the all-new t7 multi-van and this is a good thing because i reckon the t7 looks great it has similar lights to the new id3 and id4 electric cars and there's a new daytime running light across the grill and it just looks a lot more modern than the current t6 van i like the body color grille too and the two-tone paint job it's a nice touch though obviously the optional extra like it is on the current california quite an expensive one at that anyhow it reminds me of the original camper van from the 50s and 60s the new california won't look exactly the same though i reckon it could look something like this image i've had drawn up it'll probably come with a similar pop-up roof as the old model you know so lanky people can like walk around inside without having to be all hunched over now you'll be able to get a fold-out awning as well from the side of the vehicle so that if it's raining you can go underneath it and still have a picnic outside handy when you're trying to camp in the british summer but what about the inside of the vehicle well that's the most important thing about the campervan well remember how i said the new t7 is based on the same underpinnings as a golf well it doesn't just borrow some engines from that car it also gets its infotainment system too so you get the same dual screen setup with the same neat graphics as that car okay so this doesn't mean there aren't any physical buttons for stuff like climate control which will probably get annoying and actually the whole system is a little bit buggy they haven't really sorted it out hopefully volkswagen will have improved the whole setup but what about the rest of the new campervans cabin well the standard t7 multiband is wider and has more space between the front and rear wheels than the old t6 so the upcoming california should be roomier inside and you can bet it'll come with the same rotating front seats as the old california you'll also be able to slide the rear bench all the way back to turn the cabin into a big living area not only that the back seat should flip down to turn into a double bed like in the old version and then of course you've got that roof divider as well for another sleeping area overall there should be space for four people to sleep inside so long as no one minds sharing if you want to see more about the current t6 california i'm going to put a link up there popping out top right corner of the screen you can watch my in-depth review on that and check out all the clever features that'll probably come in the new t7 version as well but how much is this new t7 california gonna cost well you can pick up a t6 california with a 150 horsepower 2 liter diesel engine for about 55 000 pounds today however top spec versions with a 204 horsepower diesel engine and 4 wheel drive cost more than 73 000 pounds and i reckon the new california will probably cost just as much as today's version probably even more so you'll be able to get a diesel model for less than 60 000 pounds but if volkswagen decides to make a hybrid version it'll cost getting on to 80 000 pounds but what do you think does this sound like your ideal camper van or would you rather just save the cash and get a a few hotels me personally yeah i prefer hotels than camping let me know anyway what your thoughts are in the comments below i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like let me know some other campervan you'd like me to talk about or review in the comments below if you click on those windows there you can watch some more videos and if you click on that box there you can go to car wow to see how much money you can save on your next car thanks for watchingcould the next volkswagen california be the best campervan ever well it's going to be based on the all-new multi-van which is already shaping up to be a game changer for volkswagen now in this video i'm going to tell you all about this new multi-van and i'll show you some exclusive images of what the new california camper could look like both inside and out so stick around because i'll show you these images throughout the entirety of the video revealing new ones the further we go along to keep you interested anyway i'm matt watson and you're watching car wow buying a new car then head to car wow and my team will help you find your next car at a fair price car wow your one stop car buying comparison site the current volkswagen california is basically a ready-made rv you can sleep in it you can cook in it but it's still nice and easy to drive because it's based on the normal volkswagen caravel that's what the multivan is called in the uk by the way today's california isn't cheap though you'll need at least 55 000 pounds to get your hands on one but it comes with loads of neat features that make it perfect for camping it's winter camping and the next california will get more of the same but it'll be based on the all-new volkswagen t7 multivan this has just been revealed and it's volkswagen's most high-tech people carrier yet okay so here's what you need to know about it on the outside it looks a bit like a massive commercial vehicle but it's not based on the volkswagen transport like the old model was if you peel away the body work you'll find loads of bits borrowed from the golf okay so volkswagen obviously had to stretch the golf chasse a lot to turn it into the multivator but the front and rear bits are mostly the same this means that the new multivan can use a bunch of other bits pinch from the golf like some of its engines entry level vans get a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine with 136 horsepower and there's a beefier 2 litre petrol engine with 204 horsepower you'll also be able to get a 150 horsepower diesel engine next year but the big news is that there's a brand new hybrid model on the way and this isn't just some mild hybrid it's a proper full-blown plug-in hybrid like the golf gte it has a 1.4 liter turbocharged petrol engine with 150 horsepower but there's also an electric motor that boosts the total power to 218 horsepower and i reckon this new hybrid system could make the next california one of the best camper vans around think about it what do you want when you buy a camper van well apart from enough space to sleep in you want creature comforts like lights plugs to keep your phone charged and a heater to keep you warm and all that stuff needs electricity normal camper vans like the old california have an extra battery to power all this stuff and it's called a leisure battery but even if you have two big 110 amp hour leisure batteries they'll only produce about three kilowatt hours of energy if you're using them to run a load of 12 volt gadgets and that's not really a great deal some companies have tried using old electric car batteries to keep you powered up like nissan has it's built this trailer using batteries from old leaf electric cars it has a 700 watt hour battery that nissan reckons will keep you going for about seven days so long as you use a portable solar panel to top it up during the day but what's all this got to do with the new volkswagen california well because the new california will be based on the new t7 multivan volkswagen could decide to make it a hybrid so it could have the same 13 kilowatt hour battery as the regular hybrid van to power its built-in electric motor but you don't need to use this motor when you arrive at your campsite do you you'll just be parked up so you could use the vans battery to power all the stuff you brought along with you instead and the battery in the new multivan hybrid is a lot bigger than the battery in nissan's caravan in fact it can store about 18 times as much energy this means you could power a few small things like phone chargers and electric lights for absolutely ages or you could fit a lot of bigger appliances like an electric government a microwave a television a water heater without worrying about running out of charge so quickly now don't get expecting the new california to come with a built-in shower toilet though it's just not big enough if you want those kind of things you're going to have to upgrade to the grand california for that in fact if you want to see more about that crazy camper van click on the pop-up banner up there because i've reviewed one and the van attacks me quite a lot yeah watch that video and you'll see what i mean anyway back to the new california so it's all well and good having a nice big battery but what's this new motorhome gonna look like well this is the current california and it looks almost exactly the same as the regular t6 van and the new caddy california which is a really small camper van looks almost identical to the brand new volkswagen caddy van yeah you know i'm going with this right so you can bet the new california will look pretty similar to the all-new t7 multi-van and this is a good thing because i reckon the t7 looks great it has similar lights to the new id3 and id4 electric cars and there's a new daytime running light across the grill and it just looks a lot more modern than the current t6 van i like the body color grille too and the two-tone paint job it's a nice touch though obviously the optional extra like it is on the current california quite an expensive one at that anyhow it reminds me of the original camper van from the 50s and 60s the new california won't look exactly the same though i reckon it could look something like this image i've had drawn up it'll probably come with a similar pop-up roof as the old model you know so lanky people can like walk around inside without having to be all hunched over now you'll be able to get a fold-out awning as well from the side of the vehicle so that if it's raining you can go underneath it and still have a picnic outside handy when you're trying to camp in the british summer but what about the inside of the vehicle well that's the most important thing about the campervan well remember how i said the new t7 is based on the same underpinnings as a golf well it doesn't just borrow some engines from that car it also gets its infotainment system too so you get the same dual screen setup with the same neat graphics as that car okay so this doesn't mean there aren't any physical buttons for stuff like climate control which will probably get annoying and actually the whole system is a little bit buggy they haven't really sorted it out hopefully volkswagen will have improved the whole setup but what about the rest of the new campervans cabin well the standard t7 multiband is wider and has more space between the front and rear wheels than the old t6 so the upcoming california should be roomier inside and you can bet it'll come with the same rotating front seats as the old california you'll also be able to slide the rear bench all the way back to turn the cabin into a big living area not only that the back seat should flip down to turn into a double bed like in the old version and then of course you've got that roof divider as well for another sleeping area overall there should be space for four people to sleep inside so long as no one minds sharing if you want to see more about the current t6 california i'm going to put a link up there popping out top right corner of the screen you can watch my in-depth review on that and check out all the clever features that'll probably come in the new t7 version as well but how much is this new t7 california gonna cost well you can pick up a t6 california with a 150 horsepower 2 liter diesel engine for about 55 000 pounds today however top spec versions with a 204 horsepower diesel engine and 4 wheel drive cost more than 73 000 pounds and i reckon the new california will probably cost just as much as today's version probably even more so you'll be able to get a diesel model for less than 60 000 pounds but if volkswagen decides to make a hybrid version it'll cost getting on to 80 000 pounds but what do you think does this sound like your ideal camper van or would you rather just save the cash and get a a few hotels me personally yeah i prefer hotels than camping let me know anyway what your thoughts are in the comments below i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like let me know some other campervan you'd like me to talk about or review in the comments below if you click on those windows there you can watch some more videos and if you click on that box there you can go to car wow to see how much money you can save on your next car thanks for watching\n"