I took the VW California on a 2,000-mile adventure and found this modern camper van to be quite the globetrotter – but I’m more excited about the electric potential

['Mat Gallagher', 'Editor-In-Chief', 'Layer Van-Ds .Vds-Author Font-Size Var --Text-Base', 'Font-Size Var --Vds-Author-Font-Size', 'Var --Text-Base', 'Line-Height Var --Text-Base--Line-Height', 'Line-Height Var --Vds-Author-Line-Height', 'Var --Text-Base--Line-Height', 'Letter-Spacing Var --Tracking-Normal', 'Letter-Spacing Var --Vds-Author-Letter-Spacing'] Latest from T3 2026-08-12 06:00:00

The camper van has long represented the ultimate in travel freedom, and none more so than the VW camper. Having previously tested Mercedes-Benz’s Marco Polo , I was interested to see how advanced this new VW camper really was. Interestingly, the boot access isn’t electric and is pretty heavy to close – which seems an odd decision. (Image credit: VW)An electric future…It’s hard to imagine that a fully electric drivetrain version of the California isn’t on its way. I’m excited to see what an electric California could bring in the future, or an ID Buzz camper – whichever route VW go down.