• 2.0-litre diesel surprisingly efficient
• Costs a lot to buy
• But Californias hold their value incredibly well

What are the running costs?

Buying a Grand California won’t be a cheap affair. The range starts at around £80,000, and with options can be pushed over £100,000.

By van conversion standards, that’s quite a lot, but you need to remember that the Crafter base vehicle is very high-specification – most rivals that you see for £50,000 or so will be on very basic vans, with low-powered engines, manual gearboxes and few niceties in the cab. By contrast, the Grand California’s infotainment screen and cab air-conditioning feel very luxurious, and its powertrain is excellent.

Campervans all hold their value well, but Volkswagen campers hold their value even better. The cheapest Grand California we could find for sale was still more than £70,000 at two years old. Expect to get back a large proportion of what you paid when you come to sell your van.

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Fuel economy is par for the course with a van this size. VW claims around 26mpg combined. You’ll see this on short journeys or in stop/start traffic, where hauling the sheer bulk of the Grand California up to speed takes a lot of effort. But on a longer run, it’s easy to top this. By sticking the cruise control at a comfortable 65mph, we averaged over 32mpg on a long journey through Europe – very impressive.

Four-wheel drive models will be marginally less efficient, while 680 models make up for their greater bulk with a more streamlined silhouette that slips through the air better.

Servicing and warranty

One of the plus points of buying a VW motorhome is that your Volkswagen Van Centre is responsible for everything – the base vehicle and the conversion. Regular motorhomes may require separate servicing, or to be taken back to one specific motorhome dealer at service time.

The Volkswagen warranty is three years, and 100,000 miles, or unlimited mileage in the first two years. That applies to both the base vehicle and to the conversion.

Most of the fixtures and fittings can be serviced by any motorhome dealer, though – there are few specialist VW parts or appliances, so you’re not tied to a VW van centre. It’s also worth mentioning that with motorhomes, it’s often better to service at a regular time rather than basing it on mileage – these vehicles often sit stationary for weeks or months at a time before being called upon to do long journeys.

Reliability

The VW Crafter has been in the top ten most reliable vans for the past five years, an impressive achievement and one that suggests that with regular servicing your Grand California should remain mechanically sound.

The appliances are all well-proven from companies such as Thetford and Dometic, but the furniture doesn’t all feel the most sturdy, particularly the latches on the upper lockers. Forums are awash with smaller complaints like this, with customers – rightly so – believing that for the premium price Volkswagen charges, the Grand California should be near-perfect.