Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2023 i What Motorhome

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Peugeot Boxer PRICE FROM £72,400 BERTHS 3/4 TRAVEL SEATS 4 LENGTH 7.49m WIDTH 2.35m HEIGHT 2.95m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg PAYLOAD 455kg SOME motorhomes just feel ‘right’ when you walk in, and so it is with this Rapido. The layout can be found in other ranges from numerous other brands but the design, spec and pricing hit the nail firmly on the head in this 696F. It comes only in new Ultimate Line trim, which gives it a dash of unique styling and extra spec to differentiate it from lesser Rapidos. That includes Truma Combi 6 EH gas/electric heating and a heated waste water tank. Externally, you can recognise an Ultimate Line model by a new design for the graphics, while the cab can be ordered in Lanzarote…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 PRICE FROM £197,540 BERTHS 4 TRAVEL SEATS 2 LENGTH 6.45m WIDTH 2.16m HEIGHT 3.07m GROSS WEIGHT 4,100kg PAYLOAD 535kg ATRUE staircase that leads to the generous Instant Loft upstairs bedroom… Curved glass around the rear lounge to create an Infinity Screen… A solid bamboo tabletop that slides away under the seats… Two sanitary rooms in one, via an expanding wall… A home office area… A walk-on sundeck… Just one of those features might have had the Venture S in the running for this award. With all of them included – and more – it was a foregone conclusion. Perhaps it’s best summed up by Christian Bauer, President of Hymer GmbH & Co KG, who says, “Our innovation? An entirely new motorhome category – the…

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WATCH THE VIDEO motorhome.ma/review262 FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Vauxhall Combo-e Life PRICE FROM £58,000 BERTHS 1+1 TRAVEL SEATS 2/4 LENGTH 4.40m WIDTH 1.92m HEIGHT 1.84m GROSS WEIGHT 2,290kg PAYLOAD 310kg ELECTRIC campervans are still in their infancy but one small company has shown larger brands how it can be done. The Vikenze III-e might be by far the smallest ’van in our awards this year but its battery and solar capacities put larger models in the, err, shade. The reasoning behind this electric tour de force is simple. If your camping is mostly fairly local, you don’t need to worry about en route charging – simply leave home fully charged (you don’t even need a wallbox at your residence) and recharge on your campsite pitch via the usual hook-up cable. This…

WATCH THE VIDEO motorhome.ma/review238 FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Fiat Ducato PRICE FROM £75,900 BERTHS 4 TRAVEL SEATS 4 LENGTH 6.99m WIDTH 2.30m HEIGHT 2.88m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg (3,650kg option) PAYLOAD 485kg THERE’S still a lot of love out there amongst British motorhomers for rear lounge layouts, but what if you could combine that generous seating zone aft with instant sleeping quarters come bedtime, avoiding all the faff of moving cushions around? Well, that’s exactly the recipe offered by this high-spec lowprofile model from French maker, Pilote. Up front, it’s no surprise to see a Fiat cab, but you’ll be impressed by the spec that’s included as standard – Évidence models come with all the toys, with no further options available. So, it has a 140bhp motor and automatic transmission, a Pioneer…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Ford Transit PRICE FROM £71,506 BERTHS 6 TRAVEL SEATS 6 LENGTH 7.12m WIDTH 2.35m HEIGHT 2.95m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg PAYLOAD 510kg IF you want a truly family-orientated motorhome, it’s often with the Italian brands that you should start. And so, perhaps, it’s not surprising that the Tuscan marque, Roller Team, takes our family ’van award. The shock was that we didn’t even know these new Ford-based Auto-Rollers were being launched until we arrived at the NEC show. It’s the switch from the Fiat Ducato to the softer-riding Ford Transit with its superior cab ergonomics for the 2023-season Auto-Rollers that first got the judges’ attention. Externally, this 707 model (one of three family ’vans in the range) is a modern-looking low-profile with a silver cab, overcab sunroof and…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE VW Transporter T6.1 PRICE FROM £63,500 (Comfort spec) BERTHS 4 TRAVEL SEATS 5 LENGTH 4.90m WIDTH 1.90m HEIGHT 2.00m GROSS WEIGHT 3,200kg PAYLOAD 600kg HERE’S one award for which the winner was almost a foregone conclusion. It’s hard to argue with the fact that the Editor went out and put his own money into one of these! But why, with so many side kitchen VW campers on the market, should you follow him and choose a CMC HemBil Urban? Well, for a start, its maker, Concept Multi-Car, has quite a pedigree. It has been building VW campers since 1988, with Sam and Toby Shortland now at the helm of a family business set up by their parents. It was the company that first brought top-notch components from…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Ford Transit PRICE FROM £69,311 BERTHS 2 TRAVEL SEATS 2 LENGTH 5.98m WIDTH 2.06m HEIGHT 2.58m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg PAYLOAD 500kg MURVI winning another award is a bit like Manchester City winning a trophy – a pretty regular occurrence. While one plays football (and hasn’t branched out into skiing), the other simply builds front lounge campervans and does so better than just about anyone else (never venturing into coachbuilts and long since having moved away from VWs). Its Pimento XL SB is available on a Fiat Ducato or Ford Transit, but we’d choose the latter every time because its cab has better ergonomics and it’s simply a nicer vehicle to drive. As an added benefit, it also has a better kitchen than the Fiat version. That galley…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Peugeot Boxer PRICE FROM £72,100 BERTHS 4 TRAVEL SEATS 4 LENGTH 6.61m WIDTH 2.19m HEIGHT 2.80m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg PAYLOAD 630kg THE CJ660 is the star of Itineo’s compact range, which was new for the 2022 season. It is built on a 3,500kg Peugeot Boxer chassis, although a switch to the sister Fiat is possible if you need an automatic. Unlike many motorhomes at this maximum weight, however, it has a very respectable payload – so you really can load up its garage, or travel en famille. Another key difference is the Itineo’s slim 2.19m width and a short drive is all it takes to appreciate the benefit of that. It doesn’t feel like a big ’van and the big bus-style mirrors and a reversing camera (part…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Ford Transit PRICE FROM £58,628 BERTHS 2/4 TRAVEL SEATS 2/4 LENGTH 5.99m WIDTH 2.35m HEIGHT 2.88m GROSS WEIGHT 3,500kg PAYLOAD 710kg THE F-Line is Auto-Trail’s only Ford-based range and it contains two of its smallest coachbuilts, including this F60. Like the bigger models in the range, this is a low-profile with an overcab sunroof, plus (more unusually) a choice of five cab colours. Standard power unit is a 130PS motor, which is more than adequate for a motorhome that’s under 6m in length. In fact, the compact size is a big part of the appeal here, especially as it results in really surefooted handling in combination with Ford’s motorhome chassis with wide rear track and the F60’s ultra-short rear overhang. You’ll have no worries about exceeding…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE Mercedes Sprinter Al-Ko PRICE FROM £122,000 BERTHS 4 TRAVEL SEATS 4 LENGTH 8.06m WIDTH 2.47m HEIGHT 2.96m GROSS WEIGHT 4,500kg PAYLOAD 850kg IT’S not every year that a major new brand enters the motorhome market and perhaps never before has one started off with a highend model that’s gone straight to the top of its class. Of course, Coachman already had decades of experience in building caravans and its takeover by Swedish maker, Kabe, was just the fillip it needed to go from tuggers to luggers. Its first ever motorhomes were only launched in February but they combine extensive experience from a brand that knows a thing or two about coping with harsh Scandinavian winters with British-style layouts and design. So, here’s a motorhome with NCC approval…

FROM our eight category winners, our judges went on to choose our overall Motorhome of the Year winner for 2023, Hymer’s Venture S. Here’s why: “Though the price tag is a little eye-watering, this Hymer is jampacked with innovative, unique features, topped off by an überstylish interior and super-cool exterior look”Rachel Stothert, Awards judge and Deputy Editor MMM “It’s so rare to see such a huge number of truly innovative elements packed into one motorhome. Those lucky enough to be able to afford one of these new Hymers can look forward to a world of adventures in one of the most unique, desirable and remarkable motorhomes ever to be launched”Daniel Attwood, Managing Editor MMM “There was only one word possible on seeing the Venture S for the first time – wow!…

FACT FILE BASE VEHICLE MAN TGE or Mercedes Sprinter PRICE FROM Around £100,000 BERTHS 2-4 TRAVEL SEATS 2-4 LENGTH 5.98m-6.80m WIDTH 2.02m-2.04m HEIGHT varies GROSS WEIGHT varies PAYLOAD varies WE’RE very aware that the definition of cool can be very subjective, making this one of the hardest categories to judge. We were looking for something with a wow factor and an indescribable quality that makes it stand out from the crowd. So, meet the Castello by CargoClips. This is an Austrian firm that’s been making campervans for about five years, but is only just starting to make inroads into the UK market. However, a UK base of operations has been set up to expedite this. The exterior is fairly simple but it’s inside where the fun starts. Instead of your traditional…

MAKING a decision between our six very different campervans for the overall winner was a tough job as each one of these winners appeals to very different markets. However, we managed to come to a consensus and we can reveal the Campervan of the Year for 2023 is the Globe-Traveller Voyager Z… “I first saw Globe-Traveller at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf five or six years ago and was super-impressed then. It has so many excellent or unique features and isn’t just a copy of other rear bedroom campervans”Peter Vaughan, Head of the judging panel, Editor What Motorhome “The Voyager Z immediately impressed with its high-quality interior and neat little features like the cup holders and USBs next to the rear travel seats. Plus, it’s a versatile camper for couples…