Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i What Motorhome

THIS is no simple redesign – the 2025 Arto from Niesmann + Bischoff is all-new from the ground up. That starts with Mercedes underpinnings, probably the most important aspect as previous Arto models have been based on Fiat’s Ducato. There are two models, with this shorter one (the 78) being affectionately referred to by Niesmann staff as the ‘big iSmove’ (the larger Arto 88 is essentially a ‘baby Flair’). That shows how closely the three ranges are now linked, with a very similar look. The model we’re reviewing here is to a fairly standard spec, with fewer options to maximise the payload available (over a tonne). You step on board through a wide solid door; just inside there are controls for the vehicle locking, awning light and garage doors. It’s…

PANAMA may be a completely new brand on the UK market but with campervans based on the all-new Ford Custom starting at under £60k, it’s sure to make its mark in double-quick time – especially as it has the marketing might of Marquis Leisure behind it. There are just two models to choose from, the P12 with its conventional side kitchen layout featuring up to seven travel seats (five as standard) and this much more unusual P57. Here, we have the long-wheelbase Ford, a different floorplan with a shower and toilet but still a great-value price tag, from £63,995. As with the smaller model, there are no optional extras – not even a choice of exterior colour – but little that you’d want to add, bar the usual dealer-fit items…

MOTORHOME manufacturers often like a special edition. Add some spec, tweak the décor and an existing model can suddenly seem rejuvenated, with added appeal against its opposition. Even more so if the deal offers increased value for money. That’s the case here; not that Rapido’s C Series has been with us for an eternity – it was only launched in 2021. But with more brands now offering slimline motorhomes – the C86 is 2.17m wide, compared with 2.35m for the 6F Series – it was perhaps time to spice up the recipe. Hence the Night Edition, available as a C55 single bed model (6.72m long with a plethora of rivals) or this C86 with an island bed and much less direct opposition. So, what’s the benefit of this special edition?…

RECENTLY, we’ve seen high-end 4x4 campervans creeping over the £200k mark in the UK, but the Vanyx, which we photographed at this year’s Caravan Salon Düsseldorf in Germany, is in another league. As seen here, it’s €344,280 (about £290k at today’s exchange rate) – and that’s for the base model, called Pure. The Luxury Edition version is a scarcely believably €890,000, or around £750k! It’s designed to be a true adventure vehicle but the basis is not a high-riding Unimog but the relatively mundane MAN TGE, albeit with four-wheel drive, 250hp and full air suspension (no springs) – a system that Vanyx says is not available elsewhere. You might not immediately recognise this is the Crafter’s sister van, though. There’s a different grille, a taller, squarer roofline, chunky off-road wheels…

THERE are two new Ford Custom conversions under the Dreamer umbrella but they are very different designs and even built in different factories. While the latest long-wheelbase Cap Land has a shower and toilet and is built in France, the simpler, more conventional City Camp is converted at Westfalia’s plant in Germany (where it also makes the sister-model Club Joker Urban under its own branding). And this isn’t strictly in the Dreamer range but an entirely separate offering under the title ‘City by Dreamer’. It’s the first model to sit under this brand, which has its own dealer network (see panel over the page). Along with the Panama P12 from Marquis Leisure, the Swift Monza and Landseer’s latest campervan, this is one of the first conversions on the UK market…

THE rear lounge has always been a staple of British motorhome manufacturers – and one that continental brands sometimes fail to comprehend. But in amongst the plethora of island beds and fixed singles you can occasionally find spacious end seating areas in imported marques’ brochures. Indeed, they can often bring with them not just a different look but features that are harder to find in UK-built rivals – drop-down beds, double floors, garages… One such less conventional take on the rear lounge was Pilote’s P696U, a low-profile model that won the Best Drop-down Bed Motorhome award in 2023. It certainly wasn’t short on appeal but one thing that buyers decided it was regretably short of was storage. So, for the 2025 season, the P696U is dead; long live the new…

THERE was an obvious gap in the Swift portfolio for a compact model with a large lounge and a drop-down bed, so it’s no surprise to see the Voyager 510 joining the line-up. It inherits much of the design and all of the spec of its bigger brothers, just in a more compact package – only 6.19m long. For 2025, it also benefits from the latest Ford spec, including a digital dashboard, SYNC 4 touchscreen with 12in display and the option of the new eight-speed automatic transmission with rotary controller. The first thing that strikes you about this newcomer is its tiny rear overhang, which should make this the best handling of the Voyager breed. Of course, it’s still a Ford Transit, now with the 130hp motor (unless you upgrade…

NEW for this season is the Yucon V-City 6.0BD, offering a more affordable way into the world of Mercedes Sprinter-based campervans. It’s basically the baby brother to the K-Peak that was launched last year. On the outside, this short-wheelbase (6m) Sprinter has a very stealthy look, all in black. There is some orange detailing to match the Yukon branding, but it’s very subtle. Even the wheels (steel, not alloy) are black. There’s a toilet cassette hatch and a mains hook-up socket on the nearside. It’s also got the extended side pods for the bed; you can’t sleep across the width of the vehicle in a Sprinter without these. The one on the nearside is deeper than the one on the offside, where the sliding door has to clear it. Then,…