Hats off for the latest Perodua Kelisa Ex. Britain’s most affordable car is the car-world’s answer to the ever rising cost of living. At £4,449, this Malaysian budgetmobile promises 64.2mpg on a long run and running costs of 15.1 pence per mile over three years. It’s not a diesel, but is devilishly tight with its housekeeping.
Problem is, though, despite having four doors and two airbags, it’s not quite big enough to enable you to make the ultimate saving: sell your home, cash in the mortgage and take to a life on the road. For that, you need this beauty: Volkswagen’s new California.
With the average UK house now costing £199,184 (according to the Land Registry), this two-bedroomed, £37,945 Volkswagen, on the market now, is set to compete savagely against Britain’s absurdly over-inflated starter homes. Of course, Volkswagen hasn’t groomed the California to take a slice out of the housing market, but comparison with bricks and mortar seems more relevant here than with mere MPVs and minivans.
With all the aplomb of an estate agent, let me guide you through the convenient amenities. The California enjoys the benefits of full central heating (well, more specifically there’s a fresh air system with manual air con, a separate timing-switch operated domestic heater for when you’re parked up and even a remote radio control for the whole system), wonderful views all round (particularly if you pull the hand brake on in Snowdonia), split-level accommodation (there’s a fold-out double bed downstairs and – once you’ve opened the electrically elevated section – a bigger double in the roof), a mod-con gas cooker with stainless steel sink and drainer and, naturally, alongside the cupboards and ample storage, a fridge. If you sought as much in Chelsea you’d be looking at £250,000 plus. And you can forget the views.
It doesn’t stop there. The California comes fitted with a folding dining table, two folding chairs (stored neatly in the tailgate), a clothes cupboard, blackout blinds and smart draw curtains. Spend £280 more and you get a roll-out awning, a final cherry on the accessory cake to make all those £29.99 three-man domes from Millets look decidedly cheapo.
You will, indeed, be the envy of the campsite in this vehicle, thanks largely to the fact that it’s all ultra-modern with more than a lick of VW cool. Most camper vans look like abandoned oversized fridges; the California – even if the name sounds slightly dodgy when you’re pulling up in Clacton-on-Sea – has crisp edges, clean lines and hulking great alloy wheels to match.
So what is the downside to waving goodbye to the mortgage? Well, the California might be the ultimate anti-kitsch camping accessory, but it’s far from perfect to live with. At the campsite you soon realise that those compact lines are at the expense of a ceiling that’s lower than what you’ll smack your head on in the average Elizabethan cottage. And though the roof-section bed is more adult size, older people might have to excessively huff and puff, let alone resign their dignity, in reaching it. Basically, you have to scramble up over the front seats and through a sunroof-size aperture.
And you also – at some point – have to drive the thing. Good bits first: once it’s up to speed, it’s surprisingly quiet and calm, making it a doddle for long-distance motorway cruising. Bad bit: you have to get to that speed. And that can take some time. The beast labouring beneath my feet was VW’s 174PS version of the 2.5-litre five-cylinder TDI PD, an engine I have always had doubts about but one that here clearly struggles. I can only cringe to think what the alternative 130PS and the smaller-still 1.9 diesel versions don’t go like. VW doesn’t put the 0-60mph figures in the press kit; I think they’d prefer not to mention them… The key weakness wit this six-speed set-up, however, is that third gear on a hill can kill progress instantly, while dropping to second sets the revs too high.
Nevertheless, on a longer journey, my California bust the 30mpg barrier quite easily. And even if the ride is very bumpy over country lanes, those looks you get from mere mortal campers when you’ve arrived are worth the journey. Short of buying a house, this is a very nice place to live.
Tiscali verdict: 8/10 Camping has a cool new icon
