Should you buy one?

Yes. For the money, the T5 Volkswagen California is the best camper van you can get. Its interior is so well thought out, easy to use and comfortable. There’s a level of quality and attention to detail that other campers – whether T5-based or nor – just can’t match. It’s lovely to drive, as well, enormously practical and isn’t especially expensive to run – that’s why a lot of Californias are the owners’ only vehicle.

That the oldest T5 Californias are 20 years old shouldn’t put you off, either. The T5 was the only van of its type at the time to be properly rustproofed and the engines are very reliable, so there’s really not much to worry about with them. And that knowledge helps you enjoy adventuring all the more.

What we like

The T5 California is so easy to use and live with, we like how it drives, we especially like the sound the five-cylinder diesel engine makes. Most of all, we like the quality of the camper conversion and the T5’s lack of notable reliability and rust problems.

What we don’t like

You expect to pay a higher price for quality, but even the oldest T5 Californias in good condition command a £25,000 asking price and we’ve seen some listed at well over £30,000. You can get other T5 camper vans for considerably less, but then they’re probably not built to the same standard. We should also note that T5 Californias are actually quite rare in the UK, therefore there’s not that many for sale at any one time. The model didn’t really take off in here until the T6 version was launched in 2015.