Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i What Motorhome

What Motorhome|February 2023

In this issue of What motorhome

I was buzzing (sorry!) when the invitation came to drive Volkswagen’s new electric van, the ID Buzz. Surely, this is the most exciting development in light commercial vehicles in decades? Whether you’re in favour of the switch to electric or not, this is not the usual boxy panel van that looks as stylish as the container for your Weetabix. I’m sure that it’ll be the ’van to be seen in, if reactions from other road users are anything to go by. But where is the Tesla of the van or campervan world? Electric vans, up until now, have looked the same as their diesel equivalents, just with batteries adding weight and cost, while reducing payload and range. Fine for city centre parcel deliveries, but not so good for leisure purposes.…

1 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

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1 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Auto-Explore SB

THE Auto-Explore brand, which is exclusively sold by Webbs Motor Caravans, debuted last summer with a range of three Peugeot Boxer-based campervans. We featured the fixed bed RB model in the October issue but, while that had an almost continental feel to it, the front lounge SB (side bench) layout seen here is much more traditionally British in design. In fact, this is something of a classical floorplan, often usurped by more fashionable formats in many ranges. It has a long side sofa facing the sliding door, with a single rear travel seat adjacent to the opening. Sounds like an Auto-Sleeper Symbol? Well, yes, but the Auto-Explore uses the longer 5.99m van, rather than the medium-wheelbase Boxer. Auto-Sleepers offers that, too, but its Symbol Plus has a kitchen blocking off…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Hillside Birchover Classic

VOLKSWAGEN campervans can often look much of a muchness, especially if you’re new to the market. Some converters will try to blind you with bling, but before you fall in love with leather or get attracted by alloys, look beneath the surface. It’s quality and safety that are the top priorities, followed by good practical design. You can’t go wrong with a ’van that meets the high standards of Volkswagen’s own relatively recently introduced Motorhome Qualification Scheme. Firstly, conversions must be type approved (to ensure they meet all of the legal obligations for road use and can be registered from day one as a motor caravan). Then, they must also have approval from the NCC (the industry’s governing body), have at least three years’ trading history and the conversion must…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Yucon 6.0 BD

OVER three years ago, Frankia unveiled a campervan concept called Yucon. It was based on a Mercedes Sprinter and its rear lounge layout was rather a break with the norm, but it didn’t find favour, at least not here. Fastforward a couple of years and the range grew to include more mainstream layouts and a second base vehicle option – Fiat. Well, the big news for 2023 is that we’ll start to see these ‘microliners’, as Frankia calls them, available in the UK. There are some key differences, as the Mercs are built at Frankia’s service centre in Germany, while the Fiats are converted by Pilote, the parent company, in France. Also key is that the Sprinters are offered with all-wheel drive and the company says that 70% of sales…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Rear view mirror

The Dalbury E didn’t last that long in the range of campervans offered by Hillside Leisure, largely because the company decided to concentrate solely on VW-based models, but it was the first of its kind – and our road test was a world exclusive! Of course, it was the arrival of an electric version of the Nissan NV200 (which Hillside was already converting in diesel form) that made an EV campervan possible – the living area was virtually unchanged. But the Derby-based converter should be applauded for beating the big boys to it and launching an electric campervan – eight years later, none of the major manufacturers yet has anything like it in their ranges. Even more incredibly, considering the prices of campervans in 2023, the Dalbury E arrived with…

2 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

This month

Laika enhances Ecovip for 2023 For the 2023 season, Laika is introducing a number of improvements to its Ecovip low-profile and A-class motorhomes. Outside, the restyled models receive matt black graphics and a Laika logo on the Fiat grille, as well as chrome Ecovip lettering on the cab. Inside, there are new details, such as the rear bedroom walls, which are now upholstered in eco-leather. Above the bed, a new option is a maxi panoramic rooflight (70cm by 50cm) for, Laika says, “a romantic night view and pleasant lighting during the day”. Thermal and acoustic insulation reach even higher levels in the latest Ecovips, with the addition of a padded microfibre lining in the ceiling, with the soft-touch technical material increasing insulation. Turning to the furniture, top cupboard doors are…

12 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

E-asy does it

IF you can’t wait for an ID Buzz campervan, a small converter in Essex has already come up with a clever, car-sized conversion that, in many ways, shows how an EV can work as a leisure vehicle. It comes from Wheelhome, where the boss, Stephen Wheeler, is already an electric convert. Not only a Tesla owner, he tows a Dashaway caravan (his own design) behind it and now he’s launched the company’s first fully electric campervan – the Vikenze III-e. Based on the Vauxhall Combo-e Life, the camper is an evolution of the previous petrolengined conversion and looks all but identical on the outside. This sister vehicle to the Citroën ë-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Rifter and Toyota Proace City Electric is little bigger than a VW Golf in this standard-wheelbase version and…

9 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Bürstner Limited T 727 G

STREAMLINING its ranges for 2023, Bürstner has introduced a four-strong line-up of low-profiles – called Limited – to replace its previous Delfin and Nexxo Active models. However, only two of these are currently destined for the UK, this 727 G model and the shorter 690 G (also with twin beds). What sets this layout apart from its sub-7m relative (and are the reasons to buy) are the lounge and washroom. Let’s start up front… The cab seats swivel to face two inward-facing sofas, with a large table between, which folds in half to help access to and from the cab. Both settees will convert into travel seats, if needed, and the lounge can make into an extra single berth, thanks to the table and infill cushions. If you want your…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Laika Ecovip 645

WHEN a major European manufacturer launches a new Fiat-based campervan, you pretty much know what to expect – either fixed single beds or a transverse double at the back and a half-dinette up front. However, this year Laika decided that it didn’t want tocreate a campervan that was essentially just bedroom transport; it wanted to explore the space at the rear and create something different. What it came up with should go down well in the UK. Up front, the new Ecovip 645 is pretty much the same as the existing 600 model and fairly typical of continental campervans, with a half-dinette lounge and kitchen opposite. At the back, though, instead of fixed beds, you get a rear lounge with sofas long enough (1.92m and 1.75m) to be converted…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Meet the manufacturers Rimor

FOR the 2023 season, Rimor has launched a new range of Ford-based coachbuilts that is expected to attract a significant number of British buyers. The new line-up includes both low-profile and overcab models and we’ve already reviewed the compact Kilig 4 – which was highly commended in the Best Motorhome under £60,000 category in the 2023 Motorhome Awards – in our November issue. There’s another model, the Kilig 50, on page 44. However, the brand is still not widely known here and this is something that Sales Director, Prisco Vicidomini, aims to change in 2023. “We would like to make ourselves known more and more to the UK public as the Italian brand synonymous with reliability and the quality/price ratio,” he says. The arrival of the new Kilig will be…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

On the Buzzs

IT’S been a long, long wait. VW first teased us with a retro-styled people-carrier with hints of Type 2 back in 2001. The Microbus concept never made production, of course, but the idea of mixing modern technology with classic camper looks didn’t go away and, in 2017, we first saw the ID Buzz as another concept, this time an all-electric one. Now you can finally buy a vehicle that looks tantalisingly close to that five-year-old Detroit Motor Show star – and we’ve driven it, in righthand drive UK spec, on British roads. The first deliveries should also have happened, for those who got their orders in early, before Christmas. There are both panel van (ID Buzz Cargo) and passenger-carrying (ID Buzz) versions of the new model, and each is an…

8 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Charging ahead

SO far, the electric campervan scene has been constrained by the lack of many suitable base vehicles. The Nissan e-NV200 has established a small following but is too petite to compete in larger sales volumes, while both range and cost remain an issue for most electric vans. That is slowly changing with the arrival of vehicles like the ID Buzz but, although most popular panel vans have a fully electric derivative on sale, many are totally unsuitable for a leisure role because you simply wouldn’t be able to stray far from a charging point. The Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, for example, has a quoted WLTP (officially tested) range of just 82 to 95 miles, depending on spec. And that’s for an empty van costing over £50k… Fortunately, there are some more realistic options…

12 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

CamperKing Le Mans

CAMPERKING’S entirely VW Transporter-based range includes the usual array of side kitchen conversions, all built on pre-registered panel vans (usually with between 5k and 30k on the clock), avoiding any requirements for Type Approval. Most are based on the lighter T28 version of the T6.1, unless the DSG automatic gearbox is required, in which case the T30 (3,000kg) van is selected. Typically, the entry-level Startline van is used (spot the unpainted bumpers), but a Business Pack is added to give you the benefit of cab air-conditioning. This is a typical example, with the 110PS engine, five-speed manual gearbox, rear barn doors (rather than a tailgate) and registered on a 21-plate. It’s the Le Mans featured here, which has a wider rear seat than the entry-level St Tropez and the…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

Rimor Kilig 50

ITALIAN brand, Rimor, is best known for its entry-level motorhomes and even more so for its family-friendly layouts, so it has a USP in a marketplace where many models are aimed at couples. The new Kilig range follows that form and slots in below the existing Evo, which is also built on the Ford Transit. We’ve already reviewed the compact Kilig 4 (see November issue), but this model is rather different, offering berths for six and a unique layout that’s sure to appeal to big families (and probably hire fleets). It’s an overcab model at a time when many manufacturers have switched to building lowprofiles with drop-down beds above the lounge. However, that format often has a few compromises in a family vehicle. Storage is likely to be reduced…

4 min

What Motorhome|February 2023

What can you afford?

Under £20k If you’re spending less than £20k, you may find the occasional ’van at dealers specialising in lower-priced vehicles, but you might have to consider private purchases, too. The ’vans in this price range will often be over 20 years old but, if well cared for, could still be an affordable way into the motorhome lifestyle. Just watch out for any issues with damp/water ingress, check for rust (especially underneath), and consider whether older engines (particularly diesels) will fall foul of low emissions zones where you live or where you want to travel. 2001 Maesss SLX 5801 BERTHS: 5 TRAVEL SEATS: 6 BASE VEHICLE: Fiat Ducato ENGINE: 2.8-litre diesel (75bhp) LENGTH: 5.80m DEALER: Mr Motorhome, Liverpool mrmotorhome.co.uk If you think you’ll be doing most of your touring abroad, then…

17 min