A walk in the woods
REPORT 7 1968cc, 4cyl bi-turbo diesel, FWD, 178bhp, 295lb ft 37.2mpg, 199g/km CO2 0–62mph in 12.4secs, 117mph 3000kg £ £49,214/£58,834 Total mileage 11,211 Driver Ollie Marriage Why it’s here Is VW’s camper van worth 20 years of holidays in Spain?
This is meant to be a report about what I got up to over Christmas and the New Year in the camper van. For I had plans. They involved mountain bikes, Wales, mates, pubs – you know the score. Predictably, they fell through. Instead, family Marriage basically went into hibernation for two weeks, and it was bliss.
In all that time, I drove fewer than 100 miles and slept in the camper van precisely zero times. I even drove it to a New Year’s Eve party at a pub, fully intent on spending the night, only to fnd myself in the back of a taxi at 2am. Still not sure how that happened.
However, 100 miles of tinkering about was actually surprisingly useful for assessing the Cali’s day-to-day attributes. We took my mother-in-law out and about and, thanks to the grab handle on the A-pillar, I found out the Cali is suitable for older people (long climbs up being better for creaky hips than long drops down). The sliding side door came into its own when penning young nephews into the rear compartment ready for a Boxing Day walk, and the tough plastic foor and high roof also made the donning of wellies in a muddy car park much more straightforward.
It did the panto run, the Christmas sales, was loaded up with presents, food and wine and through it all I failed to take any pictures. Sorry. But the Cali proved itself to be as versatile as I hoped – OK, it’s a big old bus to take to the supermarket, and the view out the back is ruined by the bike rack, but, honestly, it’s fne around town... way better than you think, thanks to the big door mirrors, broad windscreen, high seating position and the fact it’s less than an inch longer than a Mondeo estate. Good steering lock, too.
Great on motorways as well, provided you don’t ask too much of it. The barn door aero slows acceleration dramatically and hits economy hard. We’re getting just under/over 30mpg against a claim of 37mpg, which I don’t think is too bad. It’s entertaining to drive in a very van-ish way (i.e. it can get itself about the place with more verve than car drivers expect, especially with 295lb ft), but the ride quality, when confronted with rough roads, is quite alarming. Because the body is big and hollow, it twists, and because inside there are cupboards full of pans, it rattles. Loudly. So progress isn’t the most peaceful sometimes.
Other drawbacks? The cabin takes ages to warm through on a cold morning, the windscreen a glacial eight minutes to defrost if left to its own devices. But this is small beer, because the honest truth is that the California was close to being the perfect thing in which to while away the days of Christmas hibernation. Even if we didn’t sleep in it.