Car Deal of the Day: Hello campers! Get out and about with a VW California for only £342 a month

• Flexible Beach specification – four-berth with kitchenette
• High-quality interior; frugal diesel power
• Only £341.89 a month

With Britain currently enjoying sunnier, warmer weather, perhaps now is the right time to consider getting that campervan you’ve always promised yourself. 

The good life rarely comes cheap, and these types of leisure vehicles normally cost a small fortune to own – but not with the Auto Express Buy A Car service.

Scouring our platform, we spotted Select Car Leasing offering arguably the daddy of the campervan world, the Volkswagen California, for well under £350 a month on a two-year deal.

For a vehicle that costs £64,432 in its base form, you might expect to have to fork out a chunky initial payment to get the keys. However, a 12-month up-front payment will only set you back £4,456.68, or you can knock this down to nine months for £3,736.47. Do the latter, and the monthly price only rises to £375.83. 

Mileage on the 12-month initial payment option is limited to a standard 5,000 a year, but you might want to take the California on long continental holidays to chase the sun. If that’s the case, you can revise the agreement to 8,000 a year for an extra £16.17 a month or extend to 10,000 for under £25 extra a month – two great options if you need more flexibility for roaming. 

The new VW Multivan-based California comes in three flavours, Beach, Coast and Ocean, with each one offering different levels of onboard living. You’ll be taking the keys to the Beach, which is a great option if you still need the practicality of the standard Multivan but want some of the California’s famed camping lifestyle. 

The Beach has four sleeping spaces, with the main one being a roof bed with a sprung frame, under a manually operated pop-up roof. There’s a very cleverly designed pull-out kitchenette under the bottom bunk, which includes a gas hob, plus an external power supply to keep you on-grid. There are also three separate rear seats, so the Beach can be used as an MPV to transport the kids during week, and then converted into a campervan at the weekends.

Power comes from one of VW’s dependable 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines, and with 148bhp it’s an excellent unit that’s equally at home cruising on French autoroutes as it is climbing steep single-track roads in Cornwall. A seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox makes life easy, and the car-derived Multivan underpinnings means the California is comfortable and surprisingly agile to drive.        

The Car Deal of the Day selections we make are taken from our own Auto Express Buy A Car deals service, which includes the best current offers from car dealers and leasing companies around the UK. 

Terms and conditions apply, while prices and offers are subject to change and limited availability. If this deal expires, you can find more top Volkswagen California leasing offers from leading providers on our Volkswagen California page.

Check out the Volkswagen California deal or take a look at our previous Car Deal of the Day selection here…