On the lawn on the Ambassador Wine Club in the Czech Siberia landscape, where sommeliiers go, there are parked residential Volkswagens. He stands apart with a respectable distance to have every privacy. The brand here presents what it offers in the field of motor homes.

There’s more than ever. With exaggeration it can be said that every adventurer can choose. The basis of the smallest models is Caddy California, the center of the offer on which the brand builds and in this category is also famous, is California, the largest representative is Grand California based on crafter.

There are two news of this year. California is built on a multivan platform, a new feature is a practical sleeping box for a classic multivan.

Od Caddy po Grand California

Caddy California offers a simple installation with a folding bed, a pull -out kitchen and independent heating, ideal for pairs or solo travelers looking for a compact and unobtrusive solution.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Grand California, which is a fully self -sufficient motor home with a large comfortable bed or smaller for parents and beds for two small children over the heads of the driver and passenger. There is also a shower, toilet and kitchen. It is designed for those who want comfort and independence from camp services.

However, California underwent the biggest change. For the first time in history, it is not built on the Transporter, but on a modern multivan with MQB platform.

This change has advantages in better driving comfort and also for the first time the possibility of a plug-in hybrid drive, ie partially driving for electricity. New is access to the living area not only through the rear doors, but also by sliding doors from both sides, which increases the comfort of parking and camping.

As a standard, a tilting roof with a sleeping area is available and the lower part offers a folding bed, a kitchenette with a cooker, fridge and sink. To control all the functions of the car for the first time from the mobile application. The new California is longer and has an extended wheelbase, but it has lost about three centimeters inside and is also narrower – passengers lost eight centimeters in front and the lower bed even 17 cm.

There are five variants according to the level of equipment: Beach, Beach Tour, Beach Camper, Coast and High Ocean. Prices range from 1.5 million per car basically only with a tilting roof up to 2.1 million for a fully equipped California. The basic price is even lower than California built on Transporter (model T6.1) at the last sales phase last year – VW sold it for 1,574,000.

“Currently, the most popular is the Beach Tour without a kitchen, the second popular is Beach Camper. We know that there is a little less space inside a small thing, but customers now appreciate that the sliding doors are on both sides,” says Mirka Cimrová

It also praises that a specialized California center was established in the Czech Republic, at the Jarov Motor Show in Kunratice. “Customers have become accustomed to going there and the dealer shows very decent sales, we would like such centers to be at least five in the Czech Republic,” adds Cimrová.

Multivan with a sleeping box

Another novelty this year is a simple, but smart concept with a sleeping box for a regular multivan. This box is simply inserted into the luggage compartment and the crew gets a bed of 200 × 150 cm, storage space for small items and luggage and aprons for more privacy.

The sleeping box can be equipped with a multivan without interference with the interior, so it serves as a full -fledged family car during the week, it will become a practical camper for the weekend.

“The overnight packet makes the multivan an even more versatile car. It will be useful for a festival, weekend trip or any other spontaneous event,” says Cimrová.

There are even two variants, in addition to the basic bed with a version of Plus, which also offers camping furniture with table and chairs. The basic version costs 70 472 CZK, the Plus package costs CZK 82,372. The luggage compartment is standard for two small things – it is not separate and does not have hooks for hanging bags.

Trend: Flexibility instead of large motor homes

Volkswagen recalls that the trend of recent years is clear, more and more people want cars that can be a normal car in a small car during the week. Not everyone longs for a large motor home, and not everyone wants to invest in a specialized camper.

“It is true that we had harvest during Covid and just after it, the market was greedy and sold 20 Grand California cars per year. We believe that the new California Multivan will be slightly more successful than the model, and we want to sell more than 50 cars next year,” says Cimr.