Is this the world’s coolest camper?
Here’s a ‘‘road test’’ where the driving isn’t that important. Nope, there are two much more significant things going on with the Volkswagen California Ocean.
The first is a tip-of-the-hat to the cult of the classic VW Kombi campervan, which has been produced in a multitude of versions from the earliest 1952 model by Westfalia (sub-contracted by VW) right through until (theoretically) 2013, when the last Type 2 vans were produced in Brazil.
Real Kombis have rearmounted, air-cooled engines and rear-wheel drive. Modern VW Transporter vans have both nothing (in platform configuration) and everything (emotionally) to do with those original Kombis that everybody loves so much.
So take this new California’s two-tone paint job and hubcap- alike chrome wheels as either cynical marketing or a superb homage. I love it. If only because VW is showing it has a sense of fun. The fancy dress is a no-cost option and you can also have blue/silver, white/green or white/beige.
The second thing that’s going on is a showcase of campervan design and engineering. It’s incredible what VW has packaged into the California.
The California costs an outrageous $130,000. That’s $60k over the standard T6 4Motion van, which is a figure I’ll admit I include just for shock value. A more relevant comparison is the $37k step up from the fully loaded T6 Multivan. Which is still a lot.
Unfortunately the California only comes with one sliding door and it’s configured for left-hand drive by being on the right side, which means the family will be jumping out into the traffic. That’s a huge fail.
It seats four and sleeps four. That rear bench seat slides and folds flat into a pretty decent double bed. The electrically powered pop-top raises to give you either 1.3m of cabin height to walk around in or, if you pull what was the passengercompartment roof down, another double bed (2m x1.2m).
The genius of the California is that not a millimetre of cabin space is wasted. There’s a gascooker and 42-litre fridge built into the left-hand side of the passenger compartment, plus a small wardrobe at the back. The dining table is mounted on the kitchen cupboards and slides into a central position. The front seats both spin 180 degrees so you can have dinner-for-four.
For the daytime, there’s a removable outdoor table built into the sliding door and two folding picnic chairs concealed in the tailgate. Yes, really. So, so clever. The awning rolls out manually.
Rational wrap-up time: The California Ocean is ridiculously expensive and has a serious design flaw in right-hook form with that sliding door.
But who cares? I didn’t say the California Ocean was the best campervan in the world. I said it was the coolest. And it is.