New Volkswagen Caravelle MPV and California campervan go on sale in the UK
The people carrier has regained its predecessor’s name and gone on sale from £53,703
The resurrected Volkswagen Caravelle is on sale now, starting from £53,703 in Life trim. It’s then £59,703 and up for a Caravelle Style, and £63,303 for the range-topping Caravelle Edition.
Having been dropped in 2021, Caravelle now replaces Multivan as the name for the big people carrier, with the closely related California camper van also receiving the same updates to front-end styling, interior quality, equipment and infotainment. It’s also on sale now, with a starting price of £66,334.
The most obvious changes for both are the new, larger LED headlights, including a lightbar stretching right across the front on higher-spec models, and the redesigned front bumper. That’s joined by fresh two-tone paint finishes, combining a candy-white top half with one of grey, brown and sunset red. There’s also a matt grey option, while various new alloy designs have been added.
VW claimed “major” interior changes, upping material quality alongside a new 12.9-inch infotainment screen that replaces the previous 10.0-inch version and now incorporates touch sliders for audio and air-con controls. The drive selector also moves to the steering column, as per the ID. Buzz, and smartphone fans will be excited to hear the wireless charging pad gets a power boost from five to 25 watts, while the USB ports jump from 46 to 60 watts. The cup-holders are also illuminated, while memory and massage seats are available for the first time, along with traffic-light recognition being added to the suite of safety kit.
The Caravelle is also more versatile than ever, with a new eight-seat option comprising two three-seat benches facing each other. The long-wheelbase version costs around £1,500 more across all trim levels and engines.
Speaking of which, the Caravelle comes as standard with a 148bhp TDI-badged diesel engine, plus there’s a 242bhp ‘eHybrid’ plug-in hybrid available with an electric-only range of up to 55 miles. It’s roughly £2,000 more across all versions of the Caravelle.
That powertrain line-up is mirrored everywhere in the California, which starts at £66,334 for the Beach TDI, with the Beach eHybrid costing £74,637. The California Coast costs from £71,464 to £79,672, depending on your chosen engine, while the Ocean runs from £79,762 to £87,970.
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