The Proace City comes from the Berlingo family and is therefore on par with others like the Opel Combo Peugeot Partner or Peugeot Rifter – they are basically the same car from a size/chasis perspective. What you get here is a Toyota engine and parts, making this the most reliable and low-cost maintenance MPVs out there. This means it’s a great car for camping – it offers plenty of room in the back, given its van roots, it is reliable and well built. Similar MPVs out there in the same price range, f.e. the Fiat Doblo, Nissan NV200, Caddy Maxi Life might offer more room in some cases, but are either less reliable or cost more to maintain.
The middle seats fold down almost completely flat, which is always an advantage when you don’t want to build a camping conversion, just throw a mattress in.
It offers additional under-roof storage too – much bigger compartments compared to say a Sharan or any SUV. These can also be see in the Berlingo or Rifter or Caddy.
Overall, the Toyota ProAce City Verso – Long is a great choice for car camping – especially if you are looking for size and long-term reliability. If I would rate the engine reliability and maintenance costs too, I’d give it 4.5/5 (making it the #1 car for camping in our database).
Toyota Sienna certainly is a big car! You can have a camping box behind the seats in the boot and a bed prepared on top of the seats (some DIY adjustments are needed). But, it does come with one of the lowest boot heights out of US minivans (5-10cm/2-5inches lower). It is one of the top cars in terms of size, but not in terms of consumption – it eats almost double of what a typical EU MPV does – you’ve been warned! No wonder, as it has a powerful 3.5 liter V6 engine that offers up to 296 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful minivans available.
The Prius gives you unmatched consumption whilst still boasting a good-size boot for a station wagon/estate body type, even with the battery being in the boot. So if you are looking for a low-fuel cost car that you still can sleep in, the Toyota Prius is a very good choice.
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a mid-size SUV that pays homage to the original FJ40 and it is well-rated for off-road driving and people like its distinctive looks and the rear doors that open towards the back. It also drew criticism for having significant blindspots due to its design, smaller-than-average load capacity, and rear seats that were cramped and difficult to access. Its boot is not very long and sleeping inside is doable (mostly for one person), if you don’t mind having your legs bent and can lie diagonally across the boot. Max possible length, with a DIY camping conversion and front seats pushed forward as much as possible is 188cm/76”.
