Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2022 i What Motorhome

Season 2022 might have been blighted by delivery delays and poor chassis availability but that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from developing some exciting new models. I was especially impressed when I became the first journalist ever to try a Coachman motorhome – the Travel Master looked good at its NEC show debut but it was only after a couple of days of real use that I appreciated just what a luxurious ’van this is to live in. Another model that easily exceeded my expectations was the Ford Nugget Plus, which proved to be so much more than just a Nugget with a loo. On the other hand, I just knew Murvi’s latest campervan would be great – they always are. Then, with an eye on increasing prices across the market, I…

Europe’s largest motorhome show, Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, will be even larger this year after its organisers confirmed an extra three halls have been added. The show, which takes place from 26 August to 4 September, will be presenting ranges of new motorhomes, campervans, caravans, tents and accessories from some 600 exhibitors across 250,000 square metres in 16 halls. This year, the first Friday of the show will be the Preview Day. Alongside media representatives and trade visitors, exhibitors will also be able to invite end-users, permitting them to explore the showground on that first day in a quiet atmosphere. One-day weekend tickets cost €18, while one-day tickets on working days are €16. Afternoon tickets (2pm – 6pm) are also available from Monday to Friday at €10 and Preview Day tickets…

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is offering customers the option to hire a Caddy California for seven days in a new ‘try before you buy’ scheme. Potential buyers can trial the new Caddy California for £499, with no obligation to buy, although the cost will be offered as a discount if you choose to buy within three months of the rental taking place (terms and conditions apply). The compact camper is based on the fifth-generation Caddy. It features a new, foldaway bed (1.98m by 1.07m), which is stored in the boot and opens out above the rear seats, as well as a simple galley that slides out to use the single-burner hob. A full road test was published in our March 2022 issue and this, along with all our past reviews since…

SO, you’ve decided you want a campervan with a fixed bed. You’re not alone – this type of ’van accounts for a huge sales volumes across Europe and, while it’s not as much of a whitewash in the UK, there’s still plenty of support for campers like this. So much so that all the big brands sell them here. Knowing your Knaus from your Hymercar or picking a Pilote over a Bürstner is more of an issue as most of them look much like one another. Dreamer launched its D51, part of the more upmarket Select range, into this overcrowded sector this season. It’s not as much of a game-changer as other offerings in the range, but it has enough qualities to beat off established competitors. DISCREET FOR OFF-GRID LIFE…

The ultimate digital What Motorhome What Motorhome’s extensive digital library is a fantastically convenient way for you to access all the motorhome buying information you could possibly need – whenever and wherever you want! With your ultimate digital subscription, you’ll benefit from all of this… The latest digital issue, plus future issues before they go on-sale in the shops Instant access to over 10 years of issues Fully-searchable access across all issues - simply use the search tool to find what you are looking for Content pages and websites linked for your convenience and easy navigation All viewable via a PC, smartphone or tablet No risk – cancel at any time Interactive digital issue Featuring lots of extras including access to Motorhome TV, photo galleries, news podcasts, live web feeds…

THE Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star has long been a feature on a select band of upmarket motorhomes. Since the arrival of the latest generation of Sprinter, with the availability of front-wheel drive, its popularity has blossomed – but, even with more choice, you still needed a very healthy bank balance. Buyers now have to find over £80,000 for an Auto-Sleeper Mercedes and probably more still for a Hymer wearing the star, by the time you’ve added all the essential options. It was a breath of fresh air, then, when Weinsberg debuted its Pepper Edition on a Merc chassis for the first time. These MB-prefixed models should have been launched at the Stuttgart CMT show in January but that was a Covid casualty, so they actually appeared in public for the first…

GENRE-BUSTING campervans and motorhomes don’t come along very often. And some, like the original Hymer Exsis, are simply too far ahead of their time. Or, like Pilote’s City Van, they’re just a bit too out there to catch a wide enough audience of buyers. But if anyone was going to come up with a revolutionary motorhome/campervan crossover that really works, then it was probably going to be French firm, Chausson. This Gallic brand aims to combine the best of both types in its X550 – and it’s added a bit of design flourish, too. Technically, this is a lowprofile motorhome with the usual sandwich construction bodywork. It’s only 5cm wider than a Fiat panel van, though, and exactly the same length (5.99m) as the long-wheelbase Ducato. Definitely more campervan than…

German manufacturer, Hobby, has signed an agreement with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles that lays the foundations for a long-term collaboration between the two companies. The partnership will see a new Hobby campervan, based on the Volkswagen Crafter, launched at the Caravan Salon 2022 in Düsseldorf later this year. Lars Krause, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Management Board Member for Sales and Marketing, says, “Over the past several years, we have seen a constant growing trend in respect of our campervans. That applies not just to our California models, but to the whole industry. ‘Vanlife’ has become a genuine lifestyle. We are therefore delighted to start our partnership with Hobby, as we are certain that our Crafter is an ideal base vehicle for their motorhomes.” Bernd Löher, MD of Hobby, adds, “The cooperation with…

Hymer has opened its own chassis production facility at its factory in Bad Waldsee, Germany. Following two years of construction, the new Super Light Chassis (SLC) production hall, which officially opened on 12 May, enables Hymer to start mass-producing its own chassis, making it the first motorhome manufacturer to do so. Aside from the drive unit (from Mercedes-Benz or Fiat), Hymer will now supply leisure vehicles that come from a single source, enabling it to respond more flexibly to the current market situation, emerging trends in technology and its customers’ needs, and making the manufacturer less dependent on external suppliers. The SLC hall covers an area of 3,100 square metres and includes a production line and adjoining logistics area. Christian Bauer, President of Hymer GmbH & Co KG, says, “Hymer…

MURVI is not a large company, nor does it introduce new models with great regularity. But what it does – Fiat and Ford-based front lounge campervans – it does exceptionally well. And it has been collecting gongs in all the main motorhome awards competitions since the 1990s. One day, perhaps, it’ll need to move to a bigger factory, just to accommodate all the trophies… So, it was no great surprise to find that this new Fiat Ducato-based Pimento XL SB has a side sofa lounge, or a rear L-shaped kitchen with washroom adjacent – because that’s the oh-so-successful Murvi formula. And nor was it a shock to discover that this latest model is an absolute joy to use – because it’s the result of decades of gradual development and amelioration.…

MANY motorhomers aspire to own an A-class. The fully integrated design of the body, the panoramic windscreen, the spacious full-width cab and the drop-down bed that doesn’t rob you of all your lounge – all are reasons to want one. But the painful truth in 2022 is that many of us will only ever be able to dream of an A-class on the drive. Unless, perhaps, your lottery numbers come up – or you visit your nearest Itineo dealer, because this French brand offers a range of models with uncharacteristically reasonable prices. Even if the prices of A-class motorhomes don’t put you off, though, another barrier to entry is size. Think A-class and you’ll probably have in mind something almost the size of a Shearings coach. However, Itineo’s new Nomad…

THIS isn’t the first continental model to try the UK favourite format of a rear lounge, nor even the first from Pilote. But, when we compared it head-to-head with another new end lounge model from across La Manche, it came out as the victor. It’s not hard to see it pinching sales from British ’vans, too, as it has features you’ll not find from the home teams. The new layout comes in Évidence spec, too, which has already been hugely successful here. That’s hardly surprising when you see the list of standard kit, which includes Fiat’s nine-speed automatic gearbox, alloy wheels, GRP side walls, a side skirt storage locker, 100W solar panel, cab blinds, leather steering wheel, carpets, insulated waste tank, a roll-out awning and Pioneer multimedia unit with 9in…

WHEN a new marque enters the motorhome world, we’re sure its marketing department and customer surveys say ‘play it safe’ in unison – and the result is often something predictable. Predictably unexciting, that is. However, Coachman’s aspirations to become a motorhome manufacturer were realised alongside the acquisition of the company by a new Swedish parent. And that Scandinavian influence has brought with it a major emphasis on heating and insulation, as well as safety. This is not just a copy of a top-of-the-range Auto-Trail or Swift, but something much more interesting. In fact, the very first Coachman-branded motorhome is built by Kabe in Sweden. But it’s not a rebadged continental model. The Travel Master has been designed to suit the UK – from NCC approval to its habitation door on…

Erwin Hymer Centre Travel world first welcomed the Hymer brand to its dealership in 2012, before becoming an exclusive Erwin Hymer Group dealer in 2015, and then achieving Erwin Hymer Centre status in 2018. Its first Hymer customers, Alan and Gillian Cunnington, bought an Exsis-i 674 from the Stafford-based dealership in 2012, and are still enjoying their motorhome a decade on. Alan, from Ludlow, Shropshire, says, “We had hired motorhomes in the past while in New Zealand and Canada and decided to take the leap and buy one. We looked at dozens at various shows before we went to Travel world and met Managing Director, Ross Edwards. “We saw the Exsis-i and it was the exact spec we wanted and could be replated to 3,500kg. The next day we bought…

WHILST the original short-wheelbase Nugget has plenty to commend it, not least top-notch build quality and a layout quite unlike its rivals, it also has enough demerits to keep it off our shopping list. Add an extra 367mm of length, though, and it becomes sufficiently enhanced to go to the top of the increasingly busy class of Ford Transit Custom-based campervans. Crucially, this new Plus version gains a fitted cassette toilet and that gives it a real USP when compared with the other OEM campers, the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo and Volkswagen California. Not only that but it’s an advantage over the other new Ford campers from Auto-Sleepers and Swift. Of course, the Nugget Plus is marketed by Ford and sold through its own dealer network, so you should never be…

WHILST nearly every small campervan has berths for four, finding a larger panel van that’s family friendly is much more difficult. Recent trends towards the option of a pop-top on existing models has gone some way towards changing this but it also takes away all-season touring capability. Wouldn’t it be better to have all the beds within the steel confines of the base van? Yes, of course, but there’s only so much that can be fitted into even the extra-long (6.36m) vans. It’s surprising then that others have not followed the lead of Dreamer which, for a number of years now, has offered a drop-down bed in some of its campervans. Up until now this has been manually operated but, for 2022, the Camper Van XL gets an electric bed.…

WHAT could be more British than a spacious rear lounge two-berth motorhome? Even better, if it’s priced right. And yet Swift, Britain’s proclaimed largest leisure vehicle maker, doesn’t have this format anywhere in its 2022 coach-built motorhome portfolio. Nor does the Erwin Hymer Group UK, which makes Elddis motorhomes, have a rear lounge version of the Autoquest or Encore (or their Compass-branded equivalents). And, Bristol-based Bailey only has an end lounge two berth in its most expensive Autograph range. Fortunately, however, for those conservative consumers who still love what you might term the ‘pie and mash’ of motorhome layouts, one manufacturer is keeping the faith. In fact, Auto-Trail offers a selection of rear lounges, including this entry-level F-Line, which is new for 2022. The F68 is now the sixth model…

WITH motorhome prices having soared of late, many families will feel that they’ve been priced out of the market. If that’s you, don’t turn to the pre-owned market until you’ve seen the latest ’vans from Rimor. Prices for the Evo range start at under £60k and all Brit-bound models come with an Enhanced UK Pack, which includes £4,200 worth of additional kit as standard. It’s the 77 Plus that is one of the best sellers in the line-up and we can see why. It fits front and rear lounges into a sub-7m overall length. You’ll also appreciate the fact that it’s based on a Transit, with its car-like driving position, reach and rake-adjustable steering wheel and height/tilt-adjustable seats. Even better is that you get the 170PS engine as standard. That…

It’s always fascinating to look back through the old (slightly dusty) issues of this magazine that the Editor keeps in the garage. The front cover of our August 1992 mag proudly displayed the new Autohomes Explorer, a rear lounge coachbuilt that had just been launched on the VW Transporter (T4) – tested by a young Peter Vaughan… Autohomes later folded and the name (but not the Poole, Dorset factory) was purchased by Elddis, while today you’d struggle to find a coachbuilt motorhome on a VW base, which seems a mighty shame. Having recently spotted T4-based Compass Calypso and Auto-Sleeper Clubman models still going strong, it seems odd that neither had a T5-based successor. Opportunities missed… Those were truly compact motorhomes but even this larger Explorer was quoted at a modest…