First, the important bit – what the California is like inside. It’s immediately obvious that VW has been doing campers for a long time, learning what people actually want instead of just looking at mood boards and guessing. For example, customers reported that they don’t need a large fridge and cooker, so those have been made smaller and rearranged, making for more interior space and, for the first time, access to the interior from both sliding doors. Combined with an optional awning on both sides, that increases your camping space tenfold.
Speaking of which, there’s loads of space inside the California for four to get comfortable (five if you go for the more MPV-like Beach Camper) as you drive around and, once you pitch up for the night, raising the pop-up roof (electrically on the top-spec Ocean) gives you easily enough space to stand when the bed isn’t in place. All versions of the California have two decent-sized beds, one with the rear seats folded and one in the roof.
It’s a nice place to live for a few days and our only real demerits are that setting the bed up is a bit of faff and that some storage has been lost by converting the rear bench into individual seats. That’s not to say you’ll struggle, mind, you’ll still find drawers, cubbies and cupboards pretty much everywhere.