What Motorhome

The Out and About Live Awards are back and, after months of planning and deliberating, we’ll have presented the winners with their trophies at The Savoy in London – thanks to our sponsor, Creation Personal Finance – by the time you read this. This issue, then, is devoted entirely to the winners, both campervans and motorhomes. Our judging process began in the summer, when the major manufacturers started to reveal their 2026-season models to the press. That’s when we started to compile a shortlist of potential candidates. There followed four feet-achingly long days at the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, where the list grew longer. To ensure that smaller campervan companies did not miss out, they were invited to special judging days in September where they could present their latest wares to…

There’s nothing new about the concept of a six-metre low-profile motorhome with a half-dinette lounge and a transverse fixed double bed over a garage, but Giottiline has produced a fine example of the breed at a very tempting price. Despite the optional extras fitted to this show model – an electric drop-down single bed over the lounge, a kit to turn the dinette into another berth, an oven and Truma diesel/electric heating – the little Italian still stays under £66k, which almost seems like a misprint these days. That even includes the Privilege Pack, encompassing a colour-coded front bumper with integral fog lamps, a 9in touchscreen radio with steering wheel-mounted controls and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an HD rear camera, a wide entrance door with window and central locking,…

Swift created something special when it launched its Trekker campervan a year ago, a ’van that we voted the Coolest Campervan of 2025. We said that it has the looks of an off-road adventure ’van but without the cost or complexity, and described it as “the most exciting campervan Swift has ever launched.” Clearly recognising that it had found a winning formula, the company has expanded the Trekker brand into low-profile motorhomes for 2026. These new models have the same Trail-spec Ford cab and all-grey bodywork (cab and habitation) with bold grey and yellow graphics as their little brothers, while interior layouts are borrowed from the successful Voyager line-up. With black 16in alloy wheels (fitted with all-season tyres), these motorhomes will stand out from the crowd wherever you travel, but…

The appeal of an island bed motorhome is easy to understand, with a proper bedroom and access to your double mattress from either side. And yet, many are surprisingly compromised in the zone that is their whole raison d’être, the bedroom. Designers often tell us that it’s harder to get an island bed right than it is a twin bed layout. So, reducing the vehicle’s overall length from the usual 7.5m of an island bed model to a whisker under 7m should make the motorhome designer’s task much more difficult. Somehow, though, this new Rapido feels bigger inside than that 6.99m length – and its bedroom is better than in most competitors’ longer ’vans. Of course, being an A-class helps, with that full-width cab and lots of daylight coming in…

Pilote’s Atlas range is the company’s most up to date in design and its bold, angular exterior with geometric graphics is mated to a metallic grey Trail-spec Ford Transit cab with black alloy wheels (as a £990 option). It comes as standard with the 165hp engine and eight-speed automatic transmission, as well as a wide rear track, so it will drive as well as it looks. Front fog lamps, automatic lights and wipers, an electric parking brake and adaptive cruise control are all included, too. In the cab, you benefit from the Transit’s excellent driving position and the 12in infotainment screen with reversing camera. Crucially for added driver appeal and ease of getting off the beaten track, this is not a large motorhome. Length is a smidgen under 7m, while…

It’s not the first time that this Rapido Group marque has won the Best Family Motorhome title. In fact, it’s a repeat victory, for Itineo took the trophy with its SBD700 model a year ago. That’s a Fiat-based A-class, while this year’s winner is a low-profile motorhome on the Peugeot Boxer chassis. Itineo is an entry-level brand and one that has a particular speciality in family-friendly layouts. Both the 2025 and 2026 awards winners have floorplans that include rear transverse bunk beds (77cm wide and a super-generous 2.07m long here), but the PS740 goes even further in catering for your offspring. In this motorhome they have their own mini-lounge/dinette adjacent to the bunks. Teenagers can escape their annoying elders, while younger ones have their own table for games or drawing.…