Volkswagen Golf GTI - long-term review

The Story

We swapped out of a hot hatch and into a mobile home, and the similarities were striking.

Long-term reviewsVolkswagen Golf GTI - long-term review Report 3Long-term reviewVolkswagen Golf GTI - long-term review Prices from£41,860 OTR / £45,490 as tested / £451.18pcvLeasing offers from£207 p/mExternal link towith Leasing.comRowan HorncastlePublished: 05 Aug 2026 Read why you can trust our independent reviews.

The latest T7 Cali is the Golf’s practicality argument stretched to the point of having a pop-up roof. It is bigger, taller and better equipped for making tea, but underneath sits the same broad Volkswagen philosophy: transverse engines, front-wheel drive, clever packaging and enough shared MQB architecture to make a camper van feel disconcertingly like a family hatchback.

I had the 2.0-litre petrol California Ocean, which is powered by a less excitable version of the Golf GTI’s turbocharged four-cylinder engine and paired with the same seven-speed DSG. It has less power the the Golf, considerably more onboard furniture plus the aerodynamic properties of a semi-detached house, yet the resemblance when behind the wheel is striking.

Not on the straights, obviously. BMW still had horsepower, physics and Bavaria on its side. But through the bends, the California could be leaned onto its doorhandles – it has an electric sliding door on either side now – and driven like an enormous hot hatch. Simon was laughing because he was having to work rather harder than expected to keep a kitchen in sight. Behind me, the cutlery, kettle and crockery sounded like a branch of Robert Dyas being pushed down a staircase.

It was ridiculous, but deeply impressive. This is a vehicle tall enough to stand up inside, carrying 22 litres of fresh water, an outdoor shower, two beds, chairs in the bootlining and a hob. Yet its chassis never felt loose or that it was going to spit me off. You are aware of its mass, but the California never seems particularly troubled by it. Like the Golf, it encourages you to push harder.

However my greater concern is what the California reveals about modern Volkswagen. Its modular approach is an extraordinary feat of engineering. It allows VW to make a camper that drives with some of the discipline of a Golf, shares familiar controls and can be understood within minutes. The problem is that almost every Volkswagen can now be understood within minutes and look and feel the same.

Why It Matters

But through the bends, the California could be leaned onto its doorhandles – it has an electric sliding door on either side now – and driven like an enormous hot hatch.

CarMotion Daily’s Take

If Volkswagen delivers, this is the kind of EV move competitors will have to answer.