wtf is that about- you two guys are about the only car reviewers apart autoeuropanaples i watch... went on marek`s channel and he has a hour and half long vid about your review lol cheers and check out autoeuropa...you`re in for a treat!
I bought one of these 2 months ago. I’m new to vans so I don’t have anything to compare it to but I really love it. Actually very easy to park in cities. Zero stress driving it due to the all the parking sensors and cameras. It uses very little gas for warming and cooking (I think vw must have insulated it reasonable well). Yes you have to be smart with packing but you get into a routine after a couple of days. Two adults and our one year old with baby seat and pram fit just fine. A small sofa cussion fixed the uncomfortable back seat! Thanks bob for the review! 👍
We all secretly envy you. I think Bob Flavin was a little stuck on reviewing the Grand California with a family of four in mind. And I don't get why he is so negative on storage, to me the GC looks to have alot of it (as long as you don't put pots and pans in the over head storage over the bed...)
I agree there are compromises in any van. This one I have and for just my husband and me it's perfect. It doesn't feel like dentists. If it did, I wouldn't go in as I hate dentists lol. It's not perfect but we wanted a shower and toilet and so we changed our minds about the California Ocean. We don't have the upstairs bed in ours which has created a ton of storage instead.
My guess at why water is dumping when you run the tap is that the water heater protection valve has opened as it got to less than 3 deg. A standard feature to stop the expensive heater freezing up. It needs resetting.
Think you’re getting a bit confused with some of your facts, eg there is no water heater of any type on a T6/6.1 California and no option to have one. As for not being able to walk very well under the kids bed when it’s down, how well can you walk in a Transporter when the roof bed’s down? Probably best sticking to car reviews, looks like you just don’t “get” campervans.
Now Andy, we are all entitled to an opinion but yours is no more valid than mine so saying that I don’t get camper vans when I’ve been using and testing camper vans for a couple of decades now shows your lack of knowledge about me. Wild camping is the point of this van, there’s a toilet and shower so there has to be a way to heat water. There’s no diesel heater and so there’s only one way to heat the van, the choices are limited for many options. In a T6 I bend down and walk though the whole van, I can’t in the grand version. With the ladder in place there is no access to the living area and very limited access with the upper bed is in place. Maybe you should watch the video again without assuming my knowledge base and understand that this car is very expensive and a complete compromise on everything.
@@BobFlavinVideo I think you can get a diesel heater as an upgrade option if I read the brochure correctly. Plus I think there is one which can heat the water while driving so its hot when you arrive.. again an option.
Don't really agree with this review. What you are saying can be applied to any van (malibu, aria, pössl, etc). You can in this one stand in the van, while in a california you can't. And the price of the california is actually kind of the same as this grand california.
Honesty is the best policy! Keep it quiet that the California is the best there is, Owning a T5.2GP for 10 years, keep the secret under the happy few and not the happy many. Cheers!
If it were not for the glowing review you made previously for the California Ocean, I might think you were being over-critical. But I don’t think you were - these are proper concerns you raise. Apart from that, this vehicle would do a great job of being a police speed detection vehicle in the UK from the rear. All it needs is a camera warning sign. Good and fair review Bob, thanks.
I tried one of those Crafter-based camper vans (custom job before the Grand California came out), and it was disappointing as well. Having tried the regular California and Marco Polo I expected the larger van with a shower/toilet to be a game changer, but it turned out to be a disappointment. A lot of wasted space, insufficiently large water tank, frequent grey water dumps, etc.
Exactly my thinking, it's like VW learned nothing from making the standard California. There's so much they could have done with this car but it's ended up trying too hard and achieving nothing
@@BobFlavinVideo I'm not sure you could do a lot more here. As far as I'm concerned it's a mobile toilet :) It's still a 2 adults + 2 kids affair. AFAIR you have kids. I don't. For me the California was an ideal camper van for 2 people, who may want to invite guests over for a dinner and drinks (been there, done that :) ). Raising the roof turns the California into a small living room, and then you don't have to fold the seats etc., because you go sleep upstairs. In this one you can't really have adults over, because as you said, the two fixed seats are uncomfortable. I watched a number of "living in a van' videos, and this size van is a good idea for singles/couples, who really want to live on the road, but shower/toilet is something they do outside. If you want shower/toilet you have to go size larger. That's probably no longer a camper van, but a motorhome, like those Hymer custom things over 3.5 tonnes.
Overpriced for what it is, and badly designed. I’ll stick with my Ocean. Love the realistic review as well btw, that’s what potentially purchasers want to see.
It's not a pure couples van, nor a pure family van, somewhere in between and it is a muddle and get nowhere. Great shame it could have been so nice. I often wonder if the designers of these vehicles ever go camping in them to test them out. Good review as always, thanks.
I can't help thinking the designers went to a trade show with a notebook and wrote down everything they liked but couldn't decide on what to actually make
The Designers of these yokes should go to Japan for a few ideas...I am sure given a similar space to work with, there would not be a compromise over yonder.. oh by the way am hit with youtube ads everywhere on your videos Bob, sign of good things for you!!
Good afternoon. I love the California (I own one) and was interested (to some low extend) into the Grand California (watching several videos and I had a look in the showroom too). Your review is interesting - it even hurts with the things you point out, but you are right with those things. All camper vans ask the users for compromises, but for so much money they might have been better solutions. But the strange part is that a good spec California Ocean T6.1 might be even more expensive! Do you plan to review the Grand California 680 too? It might would be a good idea to compare the two different versions (have I said that, I would be more interested in the GC 680 anyway). Also do you plan a review of the California T6.1? I am also interested in this vehicle, maybe to upgrade from mine T6.0 to the T6.1?
I've only seen two, the one in this video and the other one VW Ireland has for events. I've never seen one on the road but there's plenty of California's
Bob Flavin I would think if someone here in Ireland is buying a camper, they’re going into continental Europe? We’re only a small island really, so they don’t really have much use domestically,unless you’re a true diehard!
VW Grand California needs to be compared to Knaus BoxStar XL and Knaus BoxDrive XL - the high-roof models. They have a much more home-like interior and look more human-oriented overall.
Sorry Bob, At the 11th min 3 sec point I just got a fit of laughing and let's say, needed a toilet... £76,000 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 plus admit it Bob, you were struggling not to do a Basel fawlty on that thing with a branch..... horrible clinical hospital waiting room interior with ZERO comfort for the kids while travelling... what lunatics would even consider dropping almost 80grand on what's essentially a van... But having said all that it just goes to prove why your going from strength to strength.. no horseshit. Tell it like it is.... love your stuff Bob 👌
€13000 and mostly a better functional sprinter Built to own spec. And no toilet 🚽. I’d take it over €80k. But you Point is buy and drive . I would be building my own or professionally kit a panel van and insulate it better.
You're dead right. We have a t5 camper and I can use it any time. Gas bottles for the heating is bonkers. They cost a fortune and dont last and they are hard enough to get
Well done Bob. That’s the most honest review of the “dazzling” new VW Grand California so far. I won’t be buying one after this review, but I will become a subscriber to your channel
Not as many as you'd like - renting a camper is bloody expensive too. €1200 euro a week in Portugal at a random site I just tried. So €170/day. So about 450 days. That's fine for some people but if you use it a lot you'll be ahead after a few year from buying the thing. But vans with toilets/showers in are generally a bad plan if you ask me. Too much space.
Fantastic review Bob 👍. I had actually put a deposit down on Grand California 600 with a lot of extras a few months ago without having a test drive due to Corvid19. I am so glad I came across your review last week. I have since cancelled my order. I actually forwarded your video to VW as my reason for cancelling my order. Thank you Bob 🙏🏻
I love Bob's reviews - should wear a T-shirt that just says NO HORSESHIT for the next Sunday Service - the latest regular VW 6.1 California Ocean with ( DSG and 4wd option ) list price in VW liffey Valley is €81 520 - they are taking the pi** with the prices for these in Ireland - id strongly advise people to consider the UK VW van specialists and conversions - they actually use better quality fits outs and offer serious savings ( like 10-15K level of savings) compared to the Irish prices - NO HORSESHIT ;-)
Sean Fallonfn no they still dont match irish prices actually- you are correct the factory built California doesn't vary too much - but the quality conversions
You're a happy Bob today, aren't you? :-)
Just so you know Marek, I'm pinning this comment and possibly framing it!
Ah Bob it's your Brother from another Mother
wtf is that about-
you two guys are about the only car reviewers apart autoeuropanaples i watch...
went on marek`s channel and he has a hour and half long vid about your review lol
cheers and check out autoeuropa...you`re in for a treat!
I bought one of these 2 months ago. I’m new to vans so I don’t have anything to compare it to but I really love it. Actually very easy to park in cities. Zero stress driving it due to the all the parking sensors and cameras. It uses very little gas for warming and cooking (I think vw must have insulated it reasonable well). Yes you have to be smart with packing but you get into a routine after a couple of days. Two adults and our one year old with baby seat and pram fit just fine. A small sofa cussion fixed the uncomfortable back seat! Thanks bob for the review! 👍
We all secretly envy you. I think Bob Flavin was a little stuck on reviewing the Grand California with a family of four in mind. And I don't get why he is so negative on storage, to me the GC looks to have alot of it (as long as you don't put pots and pans in the over head storage over the bed...)
The review I was looking for. Thank you for the honest review.
I agree there are compromises in any van. This one I have and for just my husband and me it's perfect. It doesn't feel like dentists. If it did, I wouldn't go in as I hate dentists lol. It's not perfect but we wanted a shower and toilet and so we changed our minds about the California Ocean. We don't have the upstairs bed in ours which has created a ton of storage instead.
Great job Bob. You can really see in this review that you have a great depth of knowledge of the practicalities of family camping.
My guess at why water is dumping when you run the tap is that the water heater protection valve has opened as it got to less than 3 deg. A standard feature to stop the expensive heater freezing up. It needs resetting.
Think you’re getting a bit confused with some of your facts, eg there is no water heater of any type on a T6/6.1 California and no option to have one. As for not being able to walk very well under the kids bed when it’s down, how well can you walk in a Transporter when the roof bed’s down?
Probably best sticking to car reviews, looks like you just don’t “get” campervans.
Now Andy, we are all entitled to an opinion but yours is no more valid than mine so saying that I don’t get camper vans when I’ve been using and testing camper vans for a couple of decades now shows your lack of knowledge about me.
Wild camping is the point of this van, there’s a toilet and shower so there has to be a way to heat water. There’s no diesel heater and so there’s only one way to heat the van, the choices are limited for many options.
In a T6 I bend down and walk though the whole van, I can’t in the grand version. With the ladder in place there is no access to the living area and very limited access with the upper bed is in place.
Maybe you should watch the video again without assuming my knowledge base and understand that this car is very expensive and a complete compromise on everything.
@@BobFlavinVideo I think you can get a diesel heater as an upgrade option if I read the brochure correctly. Plus I think there is one which can heat the water while driving so its hot when you arrive.. again an option.
Don't really agree with this review. What you are saying can be applied to any van (malibu, aria, pössl, etc).
You can in this one stand in the van, while in a california you can't. And the price of the california is actually kind of the same as this grand california.
Honesty is the best policy! Keep it quiet that the California is the best there is, Owning a T5.2GP for 10 years, keep the secret under the happy few and not the happy many. Cheers!
If it were not for the glowing review you made previously for the California Ocean, I might think you were being over-critical. But I don’t think you were - these are proper concerns you raise. Apart from that, this vehicle would do a great job of being a police speed detection vehicle in the UK from the rear. All it needs is a camera warning sign. Good and fair review Bob, thanks.
Wow ,what an honest review! Fair play Bob
I tried one of those Crafter-based camper vans (custom job before the Grand California came out), and it was disappointing as well. Having tried the regular California and Marco Polo I expected the larger van with a shower/toilet to be a game changer, but it turned out to be a disappointment. A lot of wasted space, insufficiently large water tank, frequent grey water dumps, etc.
Exactly my thinking, it's like VW learned nothing from making the standard California. There's so much they could have done with this car but it's ended up trying too hard and achieving nothing
@@BobFlavinVideo I'm not sure you could do a lot more here. As far as I'm concerned it's a mobile toilet :) It's still a 2 adults + 2 kids affair.
AFAIR you have kids. I don't. For me the California was an ideal camper van for 2 people, who may want to invite guests over for a dinner and drinks (been there, done that :) ). Raising the roof turns the California into a small living room, and then you don't have to fold the seats etc., because you go sleep upstairs. In this one you can't really have adults over, because as you said, the two fixed seats are uncomfortable.
I watched a number of "living in a van' videos, and this size van is a good idea for singles/couples, who really want to live on the road, but shower/toilet is something they do outside. If you want shower/toilet you have to go size larger. That's probably no longer a camper van, but a motorhome, like those Hymer custom things over 3.5 tonnes.
Overpriced for what it is, and badly designed. I’ll stick with my Ocean. Love the realistic review as well btw, that’s what potentially purchasers want to see.
Is it possible to remove that black storage under the rear bed in case i want custom storage solution or have room for a few bikes?
It's not a pure couples van, nor a pure family van, somewhere in between and it is a muddle and get nowhere. Great shame it could have been so nice. I often wonder if the designers of these vehicles ever go camping in them to test them out. Good review as always, thanks.
I can't help thinking the designers went to a trade show with a notebook and wrote down everything they liked but couldn't decide on what to actually make
The Designers of these yokes should go to Japan for a few ideas...I am sure given a similar space to work with, there would not be a compromise over yonder..
oh by the way am hit with youtube ads everywhere on your videos Bob, sign of good things for you!!
Informative video, huge VW!! great work :)
The 680 definitely looks like the better choice, but spec it out a bit and it's almost 100K, which gets you an amazing Hymer with a Merc engine...
Good afternoon. I love the California (I own one) and was interested (to some low extend) into the Grand California (watching several videos and I had a look in the showroom too). Your review is interesting - it even hurts with the things you point out, but you are right with those things. All camper vans ask the users for compromises, but for so much money they might have been better solutions. But the strange part is that a good spec California Ocean T6.1 might be even more expensive! Do you plan to review the Grand California 680 too? It might would be a good idea to compare the two different versions (have I said that, I would be more interested in the GC 680 anyway). Also do you plan a review of the California T6.1? I am also interested in this vehicle, maybe to upgrade from mine T6.0 to the T6.1?
Looks like the interior was designed by IKEA!
Like the folding ladder. Nothing else
Hi Bob, interesting review, any chance you can do a review of the Golf Mk 8 in R-Line trim in Ireland 🇮🇪 sometime soon cheers
Too many compromises after parting with nearly €80k!
Bob, have you seen any Californias apart from the VW press one in Ireland? I haven't, but that said I've only seen one California ever in Europe.
I've only seen two, the one in this video and the other one VW Ireland has for events. I've never seen one on the road but there's plenty of California's
Bob Flavin I would think if someone here in Ireland is buying a camper, they’re going into continental Europe? We’re only a small island really, so they don’t really have much use domestically,unless you’re a true diehard!
What is the main bed like for size and comfort?
Brilliant review!
Brilliant Bob but you forgot to mention how awful the cab side windows and front screen curtains are to fit.
Bob,
How much is the normal California for comparison?
No built in blinds in the front fantastic
That van is soo cool, never knew they made it! great video bob
Is it possible for you to do a review on "Mercedes Sprinter 4X4 Revel by Winnebago" ?
You should not review this type of campers in the future. Well its obvious that there is a lot of compromise in these type of campers
Named after our state, but nowhere to be found. It’s a cool camper.
VW Grand California needs to be compared to Knaus BoxStar XL and Knaus BoxDrive XL - the high-roof models. They have a much more home-like interior and look more human-oriented overall.
Sorry Bob, At the 11th min 3 sec point I just got a fit of laughing and let's say, needed a toilet... £76,000 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 plus admit it Bob, you were struggling not to do a Basel fawlty on that thing with a branch..... horrible clinical hospital waiting room interior with ZERO comfort for the kids while travelling... what lunatics would even consider dropping almost 80grand on what's essentially a van...
But having said all that it just goes to prove why your going from strength to strength.. no horseshit. Tell it like it is.... love your stuff Bob 👌
Thanks Darnjem!
Bob where's this far side you always talk about?
€13000 and mostly a better functional sprinter Built to own spec. And no toilet 🚽. I’d take it over €80k. But you Point is buy and drive . I would be building my own or professionally kit a panel van and insulate it better.
Exactly - you can't buy campers anything like as nice as you can build. Pity it takes such a long time...
Nice van , but it’s expensive for what you get , bit cramped for 4
You're dead right. We have a t5 camper and I can use it any time. Gas bottles for the heating is bonkers. They cost a fortune and dont last and they are hard enough to get
You're correct. The Ocean is perfect for its size. The Grand in comparison is a disappointment
Well done Bob. That’s the most honest review of the “dazzling” new VW Grand California so far.
I won’t be buying one after this review, but I will become a subscriber to your channel
Looks good that’s about it . Years behind and 30k more than a whole lot of other 6m Motorhomes
If only we had the weather, no more need to pay rent or mortgage...
Woukd it not have been better compromise to put the toilet at the back?..... and no I don’t mean hang your arse out the rear door 🤣
images.app.goo.gl/szZzgAaNJDmnF2XP9
Vilken bitter Britt ny skilld
Looks like a dentist room. What were they thinking
How many camper rentals could you get for 76k? 😂 😂 White elephant of a yoke
Not as many as you'd like - renting a camper is bloody expensive too. €1200 euro a week in Portugal at a random site I just tried. So €170/day. So about 450 days. That's fine for some people but if you use it a lot you'll be ahead after a few year from buying the thing. But vans with toilets/showers in are generally a bad plan if you ask me. Too much space.
Bob you are a big joker.
GC is good van, and better than some custom made ones. In the meantime, you can buy diesel heating...
Fantastic review Bob 👍. I had actually put a deposit down on Grand California 600 with a lot of extras a few months ago without having a test drive due to Corvid19. I am so glad I came across your review last week. I have since cancelled my order. I actually forwarded your video to VW as my reason for cancelling my order. Thank you Bob 🙏🏻
This or 3 trips around the world???
I love Bob's reviews - should wear a T-shirt that just says NO HORSESHIT for the next Sunday Service - the latest regular VW 6.1 California Ocean with ( DSG and 4wd option ) list price in VW liffey Valley is €81 520 - they are taking the pi** with the prices for these in Ireland - id strongly advise people to consider the UK VW van specialists and conversions - they actually use better quality fits outs and offer serious savings ( like 10-15K level of savings) compared to the Irish prices - NO HORSESHIT ;-)
heres an example for comparison !
vanworx.co.uk/vw-kombi-and-camper-conversions/t5-and-t6-camper-conversion-packages/chilli-plus-conversions/
Add very to those prices plus exchange rate from euro to Stirling and they are probably the same as irish prices
Vrt
Sean Fallonfn no they still dont match irish prices actually- you are correct the factory built California doesn't vary too much - but the quality conversions
Sean Fallonfn in uk can save thousands for comparable campers actually
I don't like it at all...give me a westfalia syncro any day!