Volkswagen Caravelle and California review (2009 onwards)

What - Volkswagen Caravelle MPV and California camper van
Where - Rome, Italy
Date - September 2009
Price - £30,000 - £40,000 (est TBC)
Available - January 2010

Gallery: Volkswagen Caravelle MPV and California camper van
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Summary
New looks for the fifth generation Volkswagen Transport van range mean updates to the people carrying Caravelle and camper carrying California. Big, but are they beautiful?

We like - the space, the underlying build quality, there's nothing else quite like the California, and we like the new looks, too
We don't like - some of the plastics are certainly more VW van than VW car, expensive, total lack of steering feel

First Impressions
Volkswagen has comprehensively facelifted its Transporter van range, giving it an enlarged version of the current corporate nose job (see the Golf, Polo and Scirocco). The result is one scowling commercial vehicle. In Germany the Transporter is apparently known - apparently affectionately - as the Bully.

Well, now it's got the face to match. But it's certainly striking. Why should MSN Cars care? Well, perhaps not at all about the vans. But the Caravelle people carrier variant is pretty handy if you want to carry seven people in plenty of comfort - and with all their luggage.

You can cram up to nine into the Transporter Shuttle, even. But we'll stick to the slightly less minibus-alike Caravelle. Which confusingly is called the Multivan in Germany, while the Shuttle is the Caravelle. Ahem. Anyways - you don't need to know that. But you might be interested in the California.

Called the same wherever you are, the VW California is the world's only carmaker factory-built camper van. It is wonderfully clever in lots of ways. We'll come back to this. Mechanically significant for the refresh is the change from five-cylinder 2.5 turbodiesels to four-cylinder 2.0-litres. This means at least as much power but much lower emissions.

Performance
These new 2.0-litre TDI common rail engines, familiar from the VW car range, also offer increased refinement, and are available with 101, 140, and 179hp. The 101 might just be too lethargic fully occupied. The 140 will do better - though we didn't get to try it. Instead we went straight to the 179.

Reason being this isn't just a tweaked-up single turbo but a new twin-turbo development, labelled BiTDI. The turbines act sequentially, culling lag and delivering a full 295lb ft of torque 1,500-2,200rpm. Delivering response that is so smooth and linear it disguises the VW's 11.4-second 0-62mph pace almost too effectively.

Ride and Handling
140 and 179 can be comboed with a seven-speed DSG transmission (the first time a VW commercial has offered DSG); no paddles but it works well. Comfortable over motorway tarmac, only mildly unsettled by rougher roads, theses machines are sure footed - big, but with decent visibility, and easy to place.

However, the new servotronic speed sensitive steering is way too light - and so lacking in feel you may as well be twiddling the wheel of an arcade game. It is seriously unnerving. The VWs rock and wallow under cornering duress, but remain predictable and we never even got the tyres squealing. Believe us, we tried.

Interior and Equipment
But let's face it, you wouldn't buy one of these to hustle a mountain; fast and stable on the m-way is much more the Caravelle's style, and it eats miles easily. The interior comfort is aided by improved seats. All Caravelles get a pair of sliding middle armchairs now.

These can rotate to create a "lounge-style" atmosphere (erm, ok...), and you can also spec a mobile table device that slides fore and aft between them, popping up and extending as required. The Transporter Shuttle makes do with a middle bench.

Both have ample amounts of luggage room. So, spacious is the word - even if you'll never quite escape the fact you're still essentially piloting a van. Especially in the UK, since we don't get the fancy new Multivan/California dashboard, making do instead with the same revised version as the actual vans.

Plastic quality isn't Volkswagen's finest, but build seems tough. Enough of the ordinary, you really need to scope the California. As stated, VW is the only carmaker to offer a ready-built camper. The result isn't cheap - budget nearly £40k - but fit, finish and practical ingenuity are akin to a reasonably decent boat. This thing is awesome.

It is super cool. Seating for four means sleeping for four, with the fold flat rear seat bedding arrangement joined by a roof mounted affair complete with sprung wooden frame and built in reading light. The canvas tenting (?!) that encloses this is raised electrically.

There's a cooker, a fridge - even an awning. Not content with a slide out table beside the rear seat, there's a pop out free-standing job concealed within the sliding door. The deck chairs that go with it are zipped into the tailgate. The water tank filling cap is now more clearly marked - to help discourage people from accidentally filling it with diesel...

Economy and Safety
The switch to 2.0-litre TDI engines was in part encouraged by emissions reduction. Still not great at 198-205g/km CO2. However, all Transporters are now Euro 5 compliant, and a 10 percent improvement in fuel economy means the Caravelle and California manage between 37.6mpg and 36.2mpg combined.

DSG knocks the BiTDI back to 34.8mpg - a big gain over the old torque converter autos. As for safety, no NCAP ratings unfortunately, but all versions now include the latest ESP as standard. You can also spec blind spot monitors - especially helpful for the actual vans - and rear view parking cameras.

MSN Cars Verdict
Big, comfortable and well made, the Caravelle is a people carrier for folks who place place maximum value on practical functionality, rather than sharp design and storage gimmicks.

You'll need to be well moneyed, though - expect to pay at least £30,000 once pricing is announced. Similarly the California is no kind of budget buy. But it's no kind of budget product either - being a unique and endearing lifestyle vehicle in the purest possible sense.

Gallery: Volkswagen Caravelle MPV and California camper van
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