Volkswagen Caddy California (2024 - ) review

The Volkswagen Caddy California is powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox outputting around 116PS. The drive quality is good, with a slightly springy clutch that takes some getting used to, but the gears are confident as long as you manage the revs correctly. Basically, don’t swing a corner in third gear and expect to maintain power, drop to second and go from there. We drove this vehicle over 140 miles on motorways, town roads and country roads, experiencing a precise drive in comfort. The cabin is packed with features including fully digital screens behind the steering wheel and in the centre of the dash. The infotainment screen is angled towards the driver and features full connectivity with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. You get automatic air con, adjustable driver and passenger seats with lumbar support, USB sockets, 12V sockets, and storage (including overhead bins). It’s a well-equipped vehicle and that second row of seats with ISOFIX points means it’s easy to justify getting one to be your holiday home on wheels and day-to-day family car. That it’s covered by the excellent ‘5+ Promise’ warranty package, which includes five services and three MOTs over the course of a five-year/124,000-mile warranty, is the icing on the cake.

On the outside, the vehicle looks much like a Caddy van, and on the inside it looks much like a Caddy crew van with a fold-out bed and storage units in the back. The 17-inch alloy wheels (and optional extra over the standard 16-inch alloys) set off the body-coloured panels, mirrors and handles well, with the California decals leaving you with no doubt what you’re driving. This vehicle is about function and camping survival, and there’s little in the way of luxury touches which helps keep the vehicle at a good price. Nothing is wasted, every bit of space has its use. The seat fabrics are nice and comfortable, the plastics easy to keep clean and it all feels quite plain inside. But when it’s all set out, the bed made, a pot of water bubbling on the outside stove and the table waiting for food, there’s something special about how it all comes together. This is one of the most simplistic compact campers around, and it makes no bones about it.

You’re not going to be living inside this campervan, you’re going to be using it as a base of operations while you camp in it. You can’t walk around in it, you can sleep in it and prepare food at the back. However, there is lots of room to store everything. Our favourite storage solutions are the two hanging zip bags hanging in the rear windows, and the overhead storage in the driver’s cabin. Aside from that, you won’t be spending much time beyond driving and sleeping in the vehicle, but it’s not for that so it doesn’t get penalised for it.

Dining is a very simple affair. At the back of the vehicle is a single hob connected to a stowed gas tank on which you cook. It’s housed in a small drawer unit that slides out to reveal the burner and preparation surface, locking in place to avoid it sliding shut. The vehicle is provided with a fold-out table and two folding chairs… cook something simple or boil some water for hot drinks, sit down under the tailgate and enjoy. There’s not a lot to say here beyond having a stove means you’re more independent, and it’s kind of neat how it all stows away with everything in its place. We know it’s not like eating inside a full-size campervan, but then that’s not what the Caddy California is trying to be. We love that simplicity.

We had a good night’s sleep in this compact campervan. The Caddy California features a fold-out bed that secures in place against the B pillars on two legs once the second row of seats is stowed flat. You have just enough room for two cuddly sleepers (the bed is around 1.9m long and over 1m wide) with a bit of head room, but it does feel more suited to one occupant. The vehicle is supplied with some genius magnetic curtains that are so satisfying to set in place and do a good job of blocking out light and nosey parkers. Our tester is six feet tall and didn’t complain of any height related issue while using the bed, and was lucky enough to be sleeping during a heatwave that provided much-needed night-time warmth. You can also set up the included tent at the rear of the vehicle to provide more sleeping space, but it’s just a tent so plan accordingly.

With a base entry price of £36K including VAT, the Caddy California is good value for money as compact campervans go. However, larger options aren’t a million miles away in price if you do want something with more space, although its bigger brother is nearly £30K more expensive (gulp). You have to look at the optional extras too, because on the model we tested (which was kitted out with the assistance package, dark tinted glass in the rear, 17-inch alloy wheels, hinged windows in the passenger area, the winter package, floor mats, tow bar, steel spare wheel and tool kit, rear view mirror and dual zone air-con) these additions brought the price up to £42K including VAT. So, if you go for the base then it’s good value, but the options are worth having which is when you might have your head turned to something bigger with more equipment available on the used marketplace. We do like the inclusion of the table, chairs, stove, curtains and tent package though.

You’ll buy this because you want a compact campervan that’s well equipped for short stays on your own or with another passenger, oh, and you really like Volkswagen. We said in our verdict that sometimes being a Volkswagen campervan is sometimes the only reason you’ll need, and if that describes you then go with it.