Volkswagen New Zealand’s commercial division has just launched two variations of the Grand California; the four-berth 600 and the two-berth 680. The 600 costs $159,000 and the 680 is $4000 more. 

The Grand California is based on the Crafter van, and both versions have a 2-litre, four cylinder turbo diesel engine producing 130kW of power and 410Nm of torque. But what’s exciting about the Grand California is that it has Volkswgen’s four-wheel-drive system 4Motion, so you literally go off the beaten track.

The 600 is 600mm long and the 680 is, you guessed it, 680mm in length. The 600 is taller at up to 3094mm as it has a bedroom space above the front of the cabin.

AutoMuse will be testing the Grand California 600 soon, so what do the global journalists think about it?

Top Gear UK

“Volkswagen has taken the successful formula behind the Transporter-based California and applied it to a completely new, larger camper, based on the Crafter van.

The result is Volkswagen’s biggest camper yet, not to mention its most luxurious. Volkswagen says the Grand California’s interior design has been inspired by yachts, with white cabinets and flooring that apes a teak deck. The headline news, however, is a toilet.

Until now, the California has never had a loo. Volkswagen has maintained it never needed one; California buyers tend to pitch at campsites and use their facilities to do their ablutions. But Volkswagen’s also aware it’s missing out on those vanners who’d rather be more independent, or families who’d like to plan longer trips away.

Forget the overwrought textiles and faux wood you’ll find in most camper conversions; inside the Grand Cali is clean, bright and sleek. There are white, wipe-clean units as far as the eye can see, contrasting dark wood flooring and restrained fabrics throughout. And at night, you can turn on the standard ambient lighting for a bit of a boutique hotel vibe.

Space-wise you won’t be wanting; even six-footers will be able to stand up in the 600 without issue, and there are lockers seemingly without end, as well as a big 800-litre ‘garage’ beneath the double bed. That’s where you’ll find the gas bottles, too.

On the wall you’ll find a rather natty touchscreen that controls most of the van’s major functions, while every window and the big sliding door all have flyscreens and pull-up blinds. There are touch-sensitive, dimmable reading lights everywhere, and the recessed strip lighting around the ceiling can be dimmed too.

You also get a two-burner hob, a fridge-freezer, a folding dining table, a bench seat with Isofix mounts, and two big, comfy, swivelling armchairs up front. There’s a slew of options, too, including air conditioning that works when the engine’s off, a satellite dish, an integrated Bluetooth sound system, solar panels…

Solar panels? Yes, so in theory, you don’t actually have to plug in when you get to the campsite. They feed the leisure batteries and ensure you’ve got power wherever you go. There are USB sockets dotted everywhere around the van, too, so you’ve always got somewhere to plug in your phone/tablet/USB-powered roll-up piano (it really is a thing – Google it), and so on and so forth. And of course, you get standard three-pin sockets, too.”

Autocar UK

“The idea of an enlarged California camper, based on VW’s bigger-boned, third-generation Crafter panel van rather than the current Transporter T6, first emerged in 2017 when VW Commercial Vehicles showed off the California XXL concept.

That show car was close in layout and execution to the production-version Grand California that went on sale last year; so much so that if you’d simply edited out the XXL’s bulbous stepped rear end from your mind’s eye, you might have been viewing the finished article.

This is what motorhome experts call a van conversion – and sadly, an optional two-tone paint job doesn’t exactly make it attractive. As distinct from something with a commercial backbone chassis and a third-party body, then, this is effectively a Crafter van that has been slightly modified and refitted internally.

Unlike most motorhomes, it has full-height twin back doors and a full-height sliding side door. On the inside, meanwhile, you’ll find an adult-sized double bed and lots of storage space at the rear; ‘dinette’ living quarters at the front immediately behind the swivelling front seats; and kitchen and – for the first time in a California – on-board bathroom facilities in between.

Thereafter, the layout of the two varying-length derivatives offered by VW diverges a little. Opt for the shorter-wheelbase 600 version (the nomenclature describes the vehicle’s six-metre overall length) and you’ll get a higher roof and an optional kid-sized double bed slung out immediately above the driving quarters.

Go for the longer 680 instead and your roof will be lower and your wheelbase and primary double bed longer – although the over-cab second bed isn’t available.”

What Car? UK

“Have you ever watched George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces? Every week, it takes the viewer around a number of bijou properties where a talented designer has made the best use of a tiny amount of space to create the perfect home. Well, it seems that someone at Volkswagen is a fan of the show, because they’ve managed to pull off the same trick inside a Crafter van. The result is the Volkswagen Grand California – a mobile home from home, complete with a shower, toilet, central heating and hot and cold running water.

You might be thinking ‘what’s significant about this motorhome?’ Well, this is pretty much the only vehicle of its kind that’s produced in-house by its manufacturer, rather than being converted by a specialist builder. 

The 2-litre diesel engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox are more than up to the job of motivating this 6m-long (or even 6.8m) motorhome in an easy, if relaxed, fashion. 

In fact, there’s more than enough power to panic the van’s overactive stability and traction control system, which will often limit engine power halfway around a roundabout or during tight turns. Mind you, it’s better to play it safe and drive calmly when even the smallest (and we use that in the loosest of terms) Grand California weighs 3.5 tonnes; the last thing you want to do with a vehicle of such mass is to spill your passengers’ morning bowl of [Weetbix] as you attempt to take the racing line through corners.

You might expect such a tall and heavy vehicle to feel intimidating to drive, but the Grand California is an easy steer once you’re used to the length of it. Its accelerator pedal is very progressive, so it’s easy to make tiny movements to and fro when parking in a tight bay. The steering requires that you make fairly large movements to follow your chosen course, but it’s light enough that you can ease your way down a tiny village lane without breaking into a sweat. Even the automatic gearbox is far smoother than the occasionally jerky automatic found in the smaller California. Front-wheel drive is standard, while the longer 680 version offers the options of 4Motion four-wheel drive and a locking rear differential, for extra traction on those boggy, rain-soaked campsites.”

Motor 1 USA

“With a 110-litre freshwater tank and coach batteries linked to solar panels, the Grand California allows owners to stop wherever they like. An on-board toilet, shower, and bathroom sink further adds to its versatility.

If you’re completely at one with nature, then the outdoor shower attachment affords Grand California owners to get a good scrub in before bed. More likely, though, owners will use the setup to clean muck off bikes, sea water off wetsuits, or wash dirty pets.

When you reach your rest stop you’ll really appreciate the quality of the Grand California’s interior, its fixtures, and its fittings. It feels more luxury jet than recreational vehicle. There are some really neat touches, too, including the way the camp chairs stow neatly in the rear doors and the electronic control panel that displays the status of all the onboard systems; be it water levels or battery status. The panel also allows users to control the van’s heating system.

The Grand California is an idyllic, cosseting space that offers the promise of ultimate escapism.

That’s a huge part of its appeal. Whatever your interests, the Grand California can facilitate and enable them. Whether you’re a hiker, biker, racer, artist, or photographer, this big VW van can serve as a base, a studio, or a mobile home. As escapism goes, the Grand California is about as appealing as it gets, which makes it a real shame VW doesn’t sell the van in the U.S. No doubt, the Grand California would be even more at home in the big spaces of America than the tighter confines of Europe and the UK.

Driving the Grand California is much like any large commercial vehicle. It is a van, after all. But vans have improved in recent years, with refinement and comfort that make them easy to pilot. There’s some additional resonance and noise that’s inevitable given you’re effectively hauling a condo in the back, but the cabin is generally quiet on all but the most poorly surfaced roads.”