Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i What Motorhome

THE name isn’t new (it was previously used by Auto-Trail from 2009 to 2011) but this Excel 690T is part of an all-new four-model range of Ford-based compact low-profiles for 2024. An important aspect is the 2.24m overall width and Auto-Trail says its new models are aimed at customers looking to upgrade from a campervan. Interestingly, this slimline coachbuilt sector seems to be growing – Bailey’s new Alora (see page 16) targets a similar buyer. All Excels have a 3,500kg gross weight and yet payloads are generous (570kg for this 690T). Prices look keen, too, starting here at £64,478. However, to match the Bailey’s spec, you’ll need to add alloy wheels (£995) and cab blinds (£680). Then the Lux Pack (9.5in touchscreen with satnav and reversing camera, external barbecue point,…

SURPRISINGLY, this classic style of very British two-berth motorhome no longer figures in the Swift range and can only be found from Auto-Trail in its more entry-level F-Line range. True, there are rivals from Bailey and Auto-Sleepers but the former’s Autograph has been beset by chassis delivery issues and the latter is over three quarters of a metre shorter than this Elddis. At 7.41m, this is indeed a large ’van for a model with just two travel seats and no fixed bed. It will come as no surprise that this newest member of the Encore range has a rear lounge – those big windows on three sides give the game away. However, you actually enter the 295 just behind the cab, where there’s a sideboard and tall wardrobe opposite the…

THE Volkswagen Crafter (and its sister van, the MAN TGE) is becoming increasingly popular as the basis for larger, more upmarket campervans – well, we did tip it as a class-leading base vehicle right from the off. Here, though, is something quite unlike the mostly fixed bed layouts we’ve seen so far and it comes from highly respected converter, Rolling Homes, which is best known for its Transporter T6.1 campervans. It is one of the select few brands approved under VW’s Motorhome Qualification Scheme, as well as having NCC (National Caravan Council) approval. There’s no permanent bed in the Darwin but, rather than going for a classic rear lounge, Rolling Homes is trying something different. No, it’s not a front lounge, either, with a sofa facing the sliding door as…

THE Alora was one of the stars of last October’s NEC show. It’s a significant addition to Bailey’s line-up, fitting between the Endeavour campervans and larger Adamo coachbuilts with a trio of layouts that are all 6.99m long but, more crucially, just 2.12m wide. There are island and transverse double bed layouts (the latter a class winner in the 2024 Motorhome Awards), but here it’s the single bed model that’s under scrutiny. The Alora range follows on from the Endeavour and Adamo in adopting a Ford Transit chassis, here with the 130hp engine and manual gearbox as standard (the automatic transmission is a £2,000 option in combination with an upgrade to 155hp). In typical Bailey fashion, you don’t have to budget for other extras or packs as the £75,499 price tag…

NOT so long ago the extra-long Fiat/Peugeot vans were considered to be about as big as most campervan buyers would want, at 6.36m long. Now, though, there are an increasing number of long-wheelbase MAN, Mercedes Sprinter and VW Crafter conversions of around 7m in length. And then along comes IH with something even bigger – a 7.27m-long Iveco Daily which can be ordered with a five-tonne maximum gross weight and a 3.5-tonne towing capacity! Not only is this a bigger panel van, but it can also be specified with a potent 210hp engine and twin rear wheels (all Dailys are also rear-wheel drive). Of course, it’s as long as many a coachbuilt motorhome but the 710 IFL is still a lot slimmer, making it easier to pilot through towns and…

ONE of our readers recently opined that the October NEC show was boring, due to the similarity of designs offered by most of the major manufacturers. It’s certainly true that, if you’re after an island bed motorhome of around 7.5m in length, you won’t be short of choice. But this new ’van from Swift has two things that you’ll struggle to find in rival ranges – an overcab bed and a sub-£70k price tag. The appeal of the latter is undeniable, especially as it’s an on-the-road figure that doesn’t require you to add myriad options or packs. You can specify Ford’s six-speed automatic gearbox for an extra £1,795 but everything else is standard. Yes, everything including the cab’s metallic paint, the alloy wheels, front fog lamps, the 100W solar panel…

WHILE the French bed layout has quietly slipped out of many manufacturers’ model ranges, it lives on in the Broadway line-up from Auto-Sleepers. Here then, is a traditional floorplan from that most traditional of marques, combining a fixed bed with a spacious lounge and a fairly modest overall length of 7.20m. Usefully, this model is on a 3,500kg chassis to suit any driver, although the payload of only 338kg may require a degree of caution when loading. As a pure two-berth (there are no foldaway rear travel seats as in some of the competition), that’s less of a worry, but you’d need to do your calculations carefully if opting for the £1,100 option of a half-dinettestyle lounge with seatbelts. Where the Broadway now falls into line with more of the…

IN the past, we’ve been hugely impressed by CJL Leisure’s conversions of the T6.1 Transporter, especially the newest addition to the line-up, the long-wheelbase Adventure Coast, but this Grande Adventure moves the company into a new league, not just as it’s a larger (Crafter-based) camper but because of its sheer sophistication. Making its debut at last October’s NEC show, the 600-4 model walked off not only with the title of Coolest Campervan, but it also grabbed the overall Campervan of the Year award from under the noses of more established competition. If any panel van conversion has an immediate wow factor, this is it. The show model looked very special, with eye-catching, lime-green contour line decals contrasting with the dark grey body. Inside, it’s even more impressive but it’s only…

WHAT a pretty campervan! It would be hard to have any other reaction to this stunning VW T6.1 LWB from Knights Custom Conversions. We shouldn’t be surprised, because this Lincolnshire-based converter has built up an enviable reputation for building top-quality campers with more than a dash of style. Here, it’s the Mountain Tourer conversion with a retro-inspired blue and white duo-tone exterior and stunning chrome/white wheels. Inside, it’s equally impressive, with Powder Blue Nappa leather covering both the upgraded cab chairs (featuring much more embracing side bolsters) and the rear RIB Neptune single seats. Floor-level mood lighting, concertina window blinds and Corian kitchen worktops complete the premium feel. But this isn’t just another VW camper with some added bling. Knights says that this rear kitchen layout has become its best-seller…

ONE of the surprises of October 2023’s Motorhome & Caravan Show at Birmingham’s NEC was also the very first campervan under the Xplore brand, part of Erwin Hymer Group UK. Up until now, this has been a purely touring caravan marque but it’s certainly out to make its mark with its first motorised unit, the CV X8. Although inside it’s clear to see that this new model takes much of its design from the well-established Elddis Autoquest CV80 (note the related naming, too), there’s an equally obvious mission here to attract a new type of customer. “Designed for adventurers” is how the marketing folk put it. So, while this is yet another six-metre Fiat Ducato panel van conversion, it won’t be hard to spot on a campsite surrounded by ‘white…