What is a VW Calforinia Beach?
VW now offers two versions of their popular California Beach van. These new vans are designed for those who love spending time outdoors and want to take their family or friends along with them. Each one comes perfectly designed for your family and has all the features that make it great for adventures. Perfect for anyone who wants to enjoy the great outdoors but wants to take a few creature comforts along with them.
VW Beach Camper
The new ‘Camper’ version of the VW California Beach will be more than just a vehicle for adventures in the great outdoors. You can now take your family or friends with you on those trips and have a welcome cup of tea or bacon sandwich when you arrive. Or perhaps a warm meal after a cold day surfing. All of this is possible thanks to the stowaway mini kitchen.
VW Beach Tour
The ‘Tour’ version of this van has a useful addition for UK buyers who worry about exiting the vehicle onto the traffic side. It comes with twin sliding doors, which can be opened up to make entry from either side possible and also offers a convenient way of loading any larger items into your vehicle. Perfect for those big bulky items for outdoor pursuits.
VW California Price UK
The Beach versions of the California campervan sit at the more ‘affordable’ end of the California range.
- California Beach Camper From £58,211.00
- California Beach Tour From £58,502.00
Prices correct as of 13 February 2022
Features of a California Beach
The Beach is another option for those seeking a Lifestyle choice. There are a number of common features across all the ‘Transporter-based’ California vehicles. The California is famous for the camping chairs stored neatly away in the tailgate and the outside table cleverly hidden in the side door. Other common features are the wind-out canopy and also the electric hook-up so that you can plug it into a campsite. Not forgetting of course the pop-up roof that instantly makes this recognisable as a campervan rather than a normal van.
Both the Camper and the Tour come with a new digital camper control unit in the roof console. This is an upgrade from the old dot-matrix screen. VW has now installed a very sleek iPad-esque touch screen. The new pull-out blind system covers the front windscreen, rather than the previous screen which had to be manually removed and stored after use. This is welcome additional as the previous method was a bit fiddly.
The kitchen worktop is a fold-out unit that pops out from the side panel between the B- and C-pillar. It has a single-hob gas cooker on the left and a small hotplate/worktop on the right. Above the gas cooker, there is also a cover plate, which when lifted up for cooking serves as a splashback. There is a gas-safe compartment in the lower section that holds the 1.8 Kg gas bottle.
Once you are finished with the kitchen worktop you can simply flip it up and push it back into the door trim that it popped out of. It is such a clever design and doesn’t take up any room. You are not compromising on any internal space. It’s quite a feat of design engineering.
What is the difference between VW California Beach and Ocean?
Both are great vehicles from the VW Lifestyle range. The main obvious difference Is the Ocean comes with a sink, fridge and kitchen cupboards. The gas stove on the Ocean is also larger with two burners rather than the one that is available on the Beach Camper. The Ocean is really designed to accommodate four people with occasional seating for 5, provided you have specified the correct options. The Beach caters for larger groups. There are loads of other smaller differences between the two but we can cover those in another post.
Does the California Beach have a heater?
Both versions of the Beach can be specified with the optional camping heater. Working independently from the engine, this clever heater sips fuel directly from the vehicles main fuel tank to keep you nice and cosy. Simply set your perfect temperature and let the heater automatically do the rest. It even comes with a remote control to activate the heater from a distance.
Final thoughts
The new California 6.1 Beach provides plenty of options for seating. The seats can be repositioned on the rails and two extra seats can be added to enable the vehicle to act as 7 seater MPV when required. This flexibility makes it the perfect campervan for larger groups.
Whether you’re cooking in the mini kitchen or just relaxing on the bench seat, the campervan can be easily reconfigured to suit your needs. So don’t miss out on this versatile and compact campervan!
