Latest VW California on sale today from £66k

Order now for early 2027 delivery - best get planning those summer holidays already...

By Matt Bird / Wednesday, 4 November 2026 / Loading comments

This is a clever bit of timing from Volkswagen. The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping as the end of the year approaches. So what better opportunity to be thinking about warmer months and a new family van to enjoy them in? Very smart. UK orders for the facelifted California open today, with first deliveries due early next year - or ‘just in time for the summer season’. It’ll be here before you know it…

While still recognisably a California, the latest one gets a new look up front that brings it more in line with the rest of the passenger car lineup. VW says the larger LEDs lend ‘the characteristic VW Bus face an even sharper appearance’. There are some fresh wheel designs, too, which you can obviously sell when the BBS arrive, plus power doors and boot to save any faff there.

Probably of more use for the average Cali customer are the upgrades inside, as even the big bus didn’t escape from some of VW’s more questionable interior decisions in recent years. It now boasts a ‘sophisticated control centre for your home away from home’, also known as a new pair of screens for the centre console and the driver; new materials ‘for a premium finish and enhanced comfort’ are also promised. The least that should be expected, really, given what a California costs.

The range now kicks off from £66,334 on the road, which buys a 150hp California Beach TDI. And if that seems a lot, bear in mind that the rest of them are £70k-plus - so the kids best really appreciate the new ambient lighting and uprated USB charging.

The 245hp 1.5 PHEV is from £74,637, the Coast cars start at £71k with the diesel you really want, and it’s from £80k for an Ocean. PCPs are from £550, with £16k down - a Cali costs a lot however you cut it. Even with five services, five years’ roadside assistance and a five-year warranty included. Maybe a good time to remember the residuals are strong…

Need proof? There’s one on PH from this decade at less than £50,000; there are vans from 2010 commanding more than £30k; even 20-year-old Californias with a hob, fridge, oven and PD power (perfect apocalypse spec) are more than £25,000. So with the money retained, holidays in a California wouldn’t actually cost much. It’s just the remortgage needed to buy one new that might be tricky.