Well it’s been a long journey in many ways. This is the short version. Finally, early in 2024 (after a 6 month hiatus) we hitched up the caravan for the first time and towed from East Devon to Cadiz, crossing the sea from Portsmouth to Santander.

Our previous towcar was a Kia Sorento (a succession of three in fact) and we were somewhat nervous about how this outfit would perform in comparison.

Our California Ocean (Nellie) is the 204PS version with all-weather Bridgestone tyres. I’ve seen some concerns on various forums about these but so far no problems for us.

These are our thoughts and experiences so far, in no particular order.

• The power of the 204PS is more than enough for our 1600kg van (fully loaded). On one hill start under wet conditions we noticed a small amount of wheel spin. The 4-Motion (not available when we ordered) would have been a nice, but expensive, add-on.
• Cruising on the motorways you really don’t fell any instability whatsoever. It exceeds our experiences with the Kia Sorento which I find remarkable. On bumpy roads the Cali is firmly in control whereas with the Kia, there would always be a little bit of feedback from the caravan in such conditions.
• We averaged 25mpg which on this journey is 25% more than we achieved with the Kia. That’s no disrespect to the powerhouse of the Sorento but the bikes on top are very aerodynamically unfriendly.
• The 80l fuel tank upgrade we purchased, coupled with the extra MPG is a real gamechanger
• The Bike Rack sits on the tailgate of the Cali and I can load the bikes without the high-wire act of a lighweight 3-step ladder. I asked on many forums if there was any chance under a hard lock whilst reversing that the rack might snarl with the front of the caravan. All responses were positive and our experience is that the there is a large space under all possible lock conditions. We can now discard the stepladder from our packing
• Once Bikes are loaded onto the rear rack, forget opening the tailgate. If you’ve left a key piece of equipment in there needed during the tow, it’s going to mean removing both bikes
• Comfort wise, the cabin on the Cali is very comfortable and it was an effortless tow to the South of Spain. Plenty of gadgets and the Adaptive Cruise Control is a game changer!
• Still getting to grips with the packing. The reason for the Cali is for us to be able to head off from the Caravan and explore areas for just a few days. Deciding what should be in the Caravan versus campervan and then which part of the campervan is definitely going to require more work. The usable boot space in the Cali is not as big as the Sorento.
• Space is tight out of our house and around the locality and we wondered if the Cali would be more of an issue negotiating the busy streets and tight turns but again, no problems out first time.