Volkswagen California vs Holden Commodore

What's the difference?

While a global pandemic was busy wreaking havoc on the international travel industry, Australians overwhelmingly turned inward to the realm of 4x4s, camper trailers, and campervans to explore the corners of our massive continent.

It’s a trend which has existed here long before the pandemic, though, with local outfits like Trakka already cashing in on the momentum of modified vans to suit all sorts of long-distance tourers, old and new.

It is a ripe time then, for Volkswagen’s own first-party camper creations, to enter the Australian market, as the latest versions of the Caddy, Multivan, and Transporter.

In such a competitive space, though, are there good reasons to consider the Transporter-based California over its home-grown rivals from the likes of Trakka? Let’s take a look.

For many Australians, calling the new ZB a Commodore is tantamount to being forced to call your Mum’s new boyfriend ‘Dad.’ 

It's not built here, available in rear-wheel drive, there's no sign of a V8 or a sedan body, so why should we accept it as a worthy heir to the badge worn by Holden’s proudest model since 1978? 

One big reason is that it was always going to be the next Commodore, even before Holden decided to stop building cars in Australia. Yes, it was even set to be built here. 

Once the VE/VF Commodore’s Zeta platform was axed during General Motors’ post-GFC rationalisation, the next best thing was to align with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia designed primarily for Europe. 

Holden was actually involved with the new Insignia’s development from the beginning, which has led to some key details for the Commodore version and Australia, and a whole lot of input from our world-renowned Aussie engineering team. 

So it’s a whole lot more Commodore than you may realise. Whether it lives up to its reputation is another matter.