The “vanlife” is finding more and more followers and there is something for everyone. With the Volkswagen California and Mercedes Marco Polo, you have access to top-of-the-range services. To decide between them, let’s go for a trip to the Bay of Somme.
Adventure without constraints, maximum freedom, a certain vision of travel boosted by post-health crisis desires … converted vans to find ever greater success. And in this area, two major manufacturers offer their own interpretation with similar arrangements to accommodate four people to sleep on board. Faced with the VW California reference, the Mercedes Marco Polo plays the premium card, two interpretations of a new nomadism for the holidays.
Give honour where honour is due : the Volkswagen California is the worthy heir of the legendary VW Combi, bearer of a “coolness” underlined by its name, evoking surfing and the sweetness of life. It was reviewed less than two years ago, in a final stretch before its replacement in 2022 by the T7 generation which will see the arrival of a plug-in hybrid version. In the meantime, the T6.1 offers good performance with its TDI units, especially in our version tested at the top of the range 198 hp (recently increased to 204 hp in the catalog). Beautiful dynamic performance and excellent build quality are on the program for the Volkswagen, based on the Transporter. The fittings of this van are developed and assembled within the brand’s factory, which makes it unique. His rival of the day, the Mercedes Marco Polo, is also marketed directly by the brand, but its layout is entrusted to the German specialist Westfalia.
Based on the V-Class, the Marco Polo is less famous but it is nevertheless marketed for over 30 years by the star mark. It is longer (5.14 m against 4.90 m) but its height also remains under 2 m, which allows our two vans to enter the car parks equipped with a template to prohibit motorhomes. They can also use the toll and electronic toll lines for private vehicles (category 1 tariff) but be careful with underground garages: often, a few centimeters, it does not work … Note that a new air suspension option for the Mercedes allows it to lowering below 1.90 m, which solves the problem.
If the Mercedes sports its premium badge, its exterior presentation remains very basic and it will be necessary to resort to the long list of options to give it a slightly more fun look. In comparison, our California Ocean, with its beautiful two-tone paint, is much more attractive. A classic against a challenger with a placid air but who has more than one trick up his sleeve: the duel promises to be tight, contested on a terrain very popular with nature travel enthusiasts, the Bay of Somme.
