FIRST LOOK: VW’s 2024 California Camper Van! | Top Gear

you want commitment here we are in the middle of the night on some weird Mountainside to shoot a super secret vehicle and yet it is not some multi-million pound supercar [Music] actually it's a van now I'm a huge van fan but generally not a massive camping Enthusiast because that's why they invented cheap hotels but if there's one vehicle that's likely to change my mind then it's this the VW Camper concept [Music] now this is big news because traditionally VW is really good at Camper vans it's been at it for thousands of years ever since the early 1950s in fact ever since there's been a VW van there have been people camping in them it's like a very friendly cult it wasn't until 2003 that we got the California branding and there's currently VW caddy and crafter versions for the little and big ones with the middle version being based on the transporter Caravel but that's about to change vw's excellent t7 multivan has now a proposed California treatment and this concept is it except that this isn't really a concept car if it was properly real which it is the switch to the types of a multivan would bring with it all the advantages of the basic Multiverse so there'd be 148 brake horsepower 2-liter diesel that's likely to be the most popular choice but also the option of a 1.5 and a 2-liter petrol and a 1.4 liter 215 brake horsepower plug-in hybrid all are Autos but that's not a problem in this class of car and the phev is interesting mainly because once you've hooked up at a campsite you can top off the big battery for a bit of extra mileage as well as running the van's electric so that will be nice it's also not something we've seen in camper world before and the rest would give you all the usual bits from the multivan so better driving performance better Advanced Drive resistance systems more Comfort on the move and apparently a lot more flexibility personally I think this looks quite neat quite Compact and slick in fact I think this is probably the sweet spot for this kind of thing because the crafter is absolutely massive and then the caddy is for people who like to tuck into small spaces this is kind of the Goldilocks option it's just right the thing is VW has always been famous for being good at interior design but because this concept is based on the t7 multivan there have been changes so let's go and take a look big things first you will notice that the California concept gets not one but two sets of sliding doors both sides which is brilliant for Access and comfort and life generally the thing is that means you no longer have any solid wall space for the kitchen which is now here but that does not mean you get fewer gadgets so we have a capacious fridge unit and then if you feel the need to do some chopping we can pull this down lock it out like that we have a rather lovely table also if you need some storage in here we have really nice little bits and Bobs if you want to make some tea obviously and then in this drawer we've got some Cutlery and that also goes all the way through to the other side in case we need it there's also this which I think is a really handy little thing because this is a portable barbecue it's even got a little pop out camping light which is really neat and then if you want to do some proper cooking we have this so we have a stove top here and then on this side if you open these out that's a gas hob and then under here is the sink and these flip over to become preparation surfaces it's all very clever there's an awning on the left hand side like usual and a top slash sun sail shade on the right here and here and if you've got the doors open VW reckons that gives you three rooms so the left is the kitchen and the dining room the middle is the bedroom and the right hand side is the lounge and living area camping table check it's still there camp chairs they're in the usual spot but they are [Music] much nicer and with a higher backrest but one extra little neat feature that I like is this this is the water tank for the system and then if you pull this you have a shower which even comes up here and locks on there so you can have a slightly squatty kind of shower brilliant and if you fancy playing with the seats they're all on tracks so you can play with multiple configurations and the front seats still swivel and now they have height adjustment cool it converts to a bed like this or you can pop the top and imprison children up there foreign that I like a lot is this new kind of home control iPad that's mounted here in the c-pillar now basically this can control anything in the California concept from you know the roof to the lighting Concepts to I don't know light settings the cool box night mode tilting the roof but also it pops out you can disconnect it or you can tilt it move it about so you can watch your favorite Top Gear episode in the comfort of your own bed you can also operate all of these functions from the multimedia system in the front of the car or an app on your smartphone but I like this it kind of makes sense all of this is evolution rather than Revolution even in this concept but expect more of the same when the all-electric ID Buzz eventually gets its California makeover thing is if you're really going to use your camper for big miles and Big Adventures a plug-in is probably marginally easier to live with right now but still you really could use this as a car in a mobile house no matter the motivation because it packs plenty into that silhouette if you want to see the transformation three two one go foreign I've got to hand it to VW because this California concept makes a whole lot of sense it's just as clever as it was before but with a few genuine improvements that take advantage of this new platform even for somebody who doesn't like camping this would tempt me and I genuinely think that plug-in Hybrid drivetrain makes an awful lot of sense there is one slight fly in the ointment and that's the fact that it's probably going to start somewhere just under seventy thousand pounds but that's cheap for a house right anyway you look get lost I need a nap foreign

Channel: Top Gear

Views: 953,163

Keywords: Top Gear, car review, chris harris, volkswagen id buzz, electric cars, new car review, id buzz, vw id.buzz, volskwagen camper, vw camper, vw id buzz, car reviews 2023, car review asmr, car review channel, camper van, camper, volskwagen, vw, vw california, california, volskwagen california, california camper, best campervan uk, best campervans, top gear full episode

Id: sD2coVgw1Ms

Length: 8min 11sec (491 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 24 2023