Technical Specification

Model Year	2012
Manufacturer	CI
Class	Low Profile
Range	S-Line
Base Vehicle	Fiat Ducato
Engine Size	2.3TD
Maximum weight (kg)	3500
Payload (kg)	510
Length (m)	6.67
Width (m)	2.31
Height (m)	2.80
Berths	6
Belted Seats	4
Main Layout	Bunk Beds
Price from (£)	44390
Price from (€)	-
View the full Buyers Guide entry

Detailed Review

 MMM road test

Motorhome road test - 2012 CI S-Line 680 Family on the 2.3-litre Fiat Ducato 130
This review is featured in the May 2012 issue of MMM

There’s room for mum, dad, the kids and even visitors – all cosy inside this new roof bed-equipped low profile from Italy.

The CI S-Line (and doppelgänger Roller Team’s T-Line) was first unveiled last year at importer Auto-Trail’s 2012 model preview. The range follows the current fashion of ditching the bulbous luton overcab, replacing it with a streamlined dome shape, which is set a little further rearwards and usually above the lounge. This is home to a stored (raised) transverse double bed, which cantilevers down over the seating.

Bürstner was the first volume producer to offer the design more than two years ago. Retailers report that sales of this new class of motorhome have been buoyant, so CI has followed suit with its own interpretation of the genre.

TRACKING THE FIAT

One would expect Fiat’s wide-track chassis to offer sure-footed road holding with little, if any, roll on corners. However, this time with dire road conditions and very limited visibility (freezing fog) on occasion, I concentrated on safely getting from A to B rather than performance testing.

I did note that the Euro 5 version of Fiat’s 2.3-litre 130-horse lump continues to be a joy to drive, but seemed thirsty on this occasion. Much low gear work in the Yorkshire Dales must have taken its toll, though I would have thought that this might have been balanced out by lower than usual cruising speeds and by that slippery body profile.

CONTEMPORARY LOUNGE

Step aboard via the (UK offside) entrance door and one is immediately struck by how contemporary the interior looks. Rich, sensuously-dark wood with high-gloss cream high-level locker doors promote a high-end uptown apartment ambience and yet everything is wipe-clean, so no worries over practicality.

The bulk of the artificial illumination is achieved by utilising tilting LED strip lights mounted under the high-level lockers. These proved good, providing a high level of illumination for a remarkably anorexic current drain. LED lighting is one of them there ‘noo-fangled’ inventions that appears to have come on in leaps and bounds recently.



COOKING COOL AND WARM

The centrally-placed, nearside galley includes a hob is inset into the worktop so any spillages should be contained. A hinged glass lid completes the installation.

The nod to the UK market is by way of a separate combi oven/grill. Dometic’s cabinet of cool has a removable freezer compartment, which is a great idea - simple and effective.

The inward-facing cupboard on the end of the short leg of the L-shaped base unit got quite warm with the heating on 24/7, making it not so good for storing perishable food.

Above the base unit, the L-shaped worktop is home not only to the hob and sink, but also to a top-access storage compartment.


COMFORTABLE BATHING

The new-for-the-season shape to the moulded washbasin is both practical and easy on the eye. Storage for toiletries abounds and the separate shower compartment features a moulded seat for the less steady on their pins or for toddlers to rest on whilst a carer assists with ablutions. The shower head is on a riser rail and delivered a steady flow of water, which then (mostly) evacuated quickly via the single drain hole.

SLEEPER SERVICE

Probably the strongest trump suit for this appealing Italian motorhome is the beds. For most of us, this S-Line will be chosen as a four-berth family ‘van and, as such, it should work brilliantly. However, unexpected visitors can be accommodated overnight by converting the dinette into an extra transverse double bed.

The far rear is home to a brace of generously proportioned, adult-sized bunk beds. Each has its own opening window (with blind and flyscreen) and an adjustable reading light.

This leaves us with the main act: a drop-down transverse double that descended smoothly and effortlessly from the lounge ceiling. The operation isn’t motorised and it didn’t need to be, which appears to suggest that just the right amount of assistance has been specified for the cantilever mechanism.



 GOOD GARAGE?

Without doubt, the most important storage area to get right on any garage-equipped motorhome such as this is the garage itself. Unfortunately, in this early production model, the conversion from lower bunk to garage was problematic but CI has now resolved the issue. I should point out that with the mass in running order (MIRO) and payload figures quoted, it appears no allowance had been made for the Lux pack, which both increases the MIRO and correspondingly decreases the payload.

If you opt for the standard 3,500kg gross vehicle weight for example, with all travel seats occupied, the remaining payload would be just 260kg. However, there is a free option to upgrade to the 3,650kg chassis, which we would recommend.

EXPECTED KIT

CI Motorhomes makes great play of the suitability of its products for use on winter holidays, quoting industry leading thickness of floor insulation, efficient heating systems and inboard freshwater tanks. What can be said unequivocally is that it coped very well with temperatures remaining stubbornly below zero for the entire duration of this test.

The diesel-fired Webasto space heater was a star and managed to keep the interior at a constant temperature without continually cycling.

ExPS (Extreme Protection System) is the latest feature used to promote CI motorhomes. In short, higher density UV-stable plastics have been used in mouldings, a waterproof membrane added to the underside of the floor, a GRP panel under the garage floor and denser Styrofoam used as the filling in the bonded sandwich walls, roof and floor. All CI motorhomes now have a 10-year body construction integrity warranty.

CONCLUSION

Despite the odd niggle, I enjoyed my time with this early production S-Line and think the range is a good replacement for the no-longer-imported flagship CI Mizar and mid-range Granduca ranges. The 680 Family squeezes a lot of accommodation into a comparatively small footprint and does so with aplomb. It pleased far more often than it disappointed.


Motorhome road test - 2012 CI S-Line 680 Family on the 2.3-litre Fiat Ducato 130
This review is featured in the May 2012 issue of MMM