There's a new, cheaper VW California camper

Lockdown – and the months of uncertainty following it – have brought untold doom and gloom to us all. But every cloud, and all that: the horror show of 2020 has kinda given us this, the new Volkswagen California Beach. The pictures also provide a welcome ‘spot the dog’ competition to round off the week. No prizes, though seeing a dog is a prize in itself, we’d argue.

We’ve had the Beach before: an entry-level Cali, shorn of the kitchen set-up to save you cash and also free up room for up to seven seats, so your campervan can serve daily duties as a people carrier.

But for the new-fangled T6.1 Cali, it’d disappeared. Until this year's trend for ‘staycations’ stoked the fire of the campervan market and convinced VW to bring it back.

It starts at an oddly precise £52,062 with a 148bhp diesel engine and seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox, dropping the price of entry by over four grand on the California Coast. Five seats come as standard, but you can up this to six or seven depending on your needs. The pop-up roof – for sleeping duties up top – is manual.

You can also pop a weeny little kitchen back in for another £300, though maximum seating capacity is five if you do. Either way, we know for certain you’ll have better weather protection than a pop-up festival tent should you decide to camp at Anglesey race circuit for the week…