Bailey Endurance E65 campervan

Off-road looks and contemporary design for Bailey’s latest campervan aimed at the outdoor adventurer

Soft-roaders, faux-by-fours, crossovers – call them what you will, the car market is dominated by models with off-road lifestyle appearance but no real ability to go green-laning. In the motorhome market, the buzzword, in contrast, seems to be 4x4, but whether you’re drawn to a Hymer CrossOver or a Eura Mobil Xtura, the entry price is high – typically around £150k. Or more.

The question isn’t just whether you can afford these towering ’vans but if you need all-wheel drive at all. Maybe some decent tyres and an adventurous appearance – at a more attainable cost – would fit the bill? If that’s the case, Bailey has the answer in its new Endurance campervan.

Painted on-trend non-metallic Grey Matter with contour-line graphics and black alloy wheels shod with all-season tyres, the Endurance looks quite different from the existing Endeavour range, even though it inherits key aspects from the latter’s B65 model.

Like its sister ’van, it’s based on the six-metre Ford Transit but here it gets the Trail version’s cosmetics – bumper, skidplate and bold FORD-emblazoned grille. It certainly looks the business, and that’s before you add the £1,250 Adventure Pack – a Rhino roof rack and rear ladder and light bars (for off-road use only, not to be used to intimidate the car in front on the M25!).

Bailey describes the Endurance as moving away from traditional-looking designs, with a campervan designed for an active lifestyle and outdoor hobbies. Job done.

Two-berth, four with optional roof tent

The Endurance is designed primarily as a two-berth campervan with four travel seats. Unlike the Endeavour B65, there’s no pop-top fitted, nor is one offered as an option. Instead, if you need to have extra accommodation, a TentBox is available (£2,790, but you also have to specify the Adventure Pack).

The TentBox is a roof tent, something that suddenly seems to be all the rage on UK campsites. It’s easy enough to use, just undo a couple of clips and push – much like you would with a pop-top, except that here you’re standing on a ladder, not inside the ’van. The bed it provides is a good size and there are accessories like fairy lights, a canopy, storage pockets, flyscreened vents and a torch. Park up in a scenic spot and the views can be amazing because you’re so high up, but climbing down that ladder if you’ve forgotten your pyjamas or need the loo won’t be for the faint-hearted.

Other exterior features on the Endurance include pods on either side at the rear to give the necessary width for a transverse double bed, plus smart flush-fitting windows. The electric step for the sliding door auto-retracts but the entrance doesn’t have an insect screen. The water tanks are both underslung, which isn’t ideal for winter camping and their drain taps are small and will have you on hands and knees, but that’s still not unusual with British campervans. At least the fresh tank is a good size (100 litres). An external barbecue point comes as standard, too.

The overcab sunroof (fixed and glass) is as fitted to the Endeavour, but here is an optional extra – one that surely everyone will want. Where the new ’van scores is with its enhanced off-grid potential – in tune with those looks. You get a 130W flexible solar panel on the roof as standard but, if you tick the Adventure Pack option, that’s upgraded to a pair of 100W solid panels. There are twin leisure batteries, too – an 80Ah Banner AGM unit mounted under each of the cab seats. The vehicle is also pre-wired for an Avtex mobile WiFi system to be fitted at the dealer.

Rear garage storage

With the sporty outdoor theme in mind, it’s no surprise to find that the Endurance features a rear fixed bed/garage layout. Here, again, Bailey seems to have put more thought into how the campervan will be used.

That starts with the chequerplate flooring with four fixed lashing points, as well as the pull-out shower in the offside corner of the garage and a mains socket on t’other side.

The load space measures up to 90cm high and a metre in width, while front to rear it is 1.38m. In this area, on the offside, you’ll find the Truma Combi boiler (a D 4 E diesel/electric version) and the gas locker (only one 6kg cylinder, but you shouldn’t need more with it serving just the cooker). All the habitation fuses and trip switches are also easy to find here.

Where the Endurance scores is with its practical shelves fitted with elasticated retainers to keep their contents in place – much more accessible when the space is loaded up than cupboards. The bulkhead at the front of the garage is a simple sliding panel that can be opened to reach into the space from the living area, or to carry longer loads. And, if it’s tall items (bikes, etc) that you want inside, then the way the centre of the bed folds up is simplicity itself.

Interior design

While the silver fox look might suggest that you’re advancing in years, the predominantly grey appearance inside this campervan breaks away from the traditional ‘woody’ design and feels all the more contemporary for it – dare I say ‘trendy’? There’s still some Natural Oak (the kitchen counter and wardrobe door, for example) but Lunar Grey and Moonstone 
décor dominate.

The storage unit above the table retains a wood finish but really needs deeper lips or retainer nets to make up for the fact that it is open to the elements. The floor has a wood pattern but its plank design is also grey (removable carpets are available as an option), while the wood slats on the ceiling are the most obvious timber on show. Automotive plastic trim panels on side and rear doors and around the windows complete a very cohesive interior scheme.

The upholstery has gone grey, too – called Stratos, it mixes a patterned cloth with ‘vegan leather’ (no cows harmed in Bristol!).

While the décor is all-new, the layout is familiar from the Endeavour B65 but improved to give more space in the lounge (at minor cost to the washroom). This is the classic continental-style campervan with a rear transverse bed, although it is unusual in being based on the Ford, rather than a Fiat or Peugeot panel van.

Lounge area

The cab seats swivel easily and can be raised to match the height of the rear bench. The latter comes with Isofix for one child seat and has Bailey’s usual hoops underneath to stop the bench’s occupants submarining under the seatbelts in an accident. That innovation came with Bailey’s very first motorhomes when the company undertook crash-testing, while another finding was that tables should be stowed for travel. Here, you unclip it from the wall and secure it in place in the garage. Not only does that improve passenger safety, it makes for a more spacious-feeling ’van when it’s stowed away.

Lighting is also excellent, with a mix of ambient LEDs, downlights and, most welcome of all, flexible wand reading lights above each of the cab seats.

With the optional overcab sunroof fitted, there’s plenty of daylight but the roof vents are hampered by the Adventure Pack and could not be opened here.

A microwave can be added in the kitchen

The Endurance kitchen takes the continental approach, so you get just a two-burner hob as standard, although a microwave can be fitted in the low-level cupboard. The combination cooker/sink unit has a fashionable matt black tap and the handles and buttons are also black.

Storage is good, with an XXL drawer at the top (no separation for cutlery and utensils) and cupboards below. For once in this type of layout, reaching into those lockers is not just for those who are of racing snake build – the design of the washroom creates much more floorspace here, with an aisle that’s 85cm across at its widest point.

The use of Ford’s tallest Transit also means that there’s LOTS of headroom – up to 1.98m. That benefits the top locker over the galley, too, which is unusually tall.

Worktop is enhanced with the usual folding flap at the forward end, while two mains sockets are fitted above the fridge where there’s a slim counter for a kettle in front of the wardrobe. That has a front-to-rear hanging rail (its 81cm drop is ideal for jackets, etc) and, below, the cooler is a 90-litre compressor model from Thetford.

Cleaver space-saving washroom

On the opposite side of the ’van, the washroom adopts a design that we first saw in the first Bailey Endeavour a couple of years ago, with a rotating tambour door that shrinks the ablutions space when it’s not occupied. A false floor covers the part of the shower tray that is in the centre gangway and simply lifts out when you take a shower.

Surprisingly, there’s plenty of room to hose yourself down in here and the shower curtain only covers the furniture alongside the wall and the loo, so you don’t get all wrapped up in it. The basin’s tap pulls out to become your showerhead and there are two drains in the tray but you’ll have to wipe down the tambour door when you’ve finished as it swivels round to become the outside wall of the washroom.

Washroom storage is good but the basin is tucked in close to the wall, so you can’t really get your face over it. The loo height suits the more giraffe-like amongst us, too, but the biggest issue in this cleverly designed space is the lack of ventilation (just a tiny fixed mushroom vent).

Comfortable bedroom

With three opening windows, that’s not an issue in the bedroom and the bed here is a good size, thanks to those side pods. It’s also extremely comfy (rather softer than in most German campers). To get into bed you slide out a three-rung ladder from underneath and hop in.

Once there, you’ll spot the smaller cupboards above your head than those over your feet but the best feature is the ratcheted support for the head of the bed that allows it to be lifted to a comfortable angle for reading or unwinding. There are two more of those flexible wand reading lights, again with built-in USBs.

Powerful ford transit

Being based on the newest generation of Ford’s big van, there’s not much different to shout about on the outside but inside it gets Ford’s latest 12in SYNC 4 touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This also serves as the display for the standard-fit reversing camera.

The first things you notice when you set off, though, are the start button where you used to insert the key and the electronic parking brake, instead of reaching for a handle. The latter certainly makes life easier.

Then you might spot that rarely seen species – the manual gearstick. Here, it’s a pleasure to use and, if you’re not a total convert to automatics, it’s definitely worth considering for the amount of cash you’ll save.

The Endurance prototype had the 130hp engine, but production models have an extra 35 horsepower as well as the option of an eight-speed auto transmission (for £1,850). Even the less powerful motor was easily capable of cruising at 70mph. You might be aware of a whistling from the roof rack at that speed but probably only if you haven’t tuned into Radio 1 (Radio 2 surely isn’t ‘hip’ enough for Endurance buyers!).

Of course, the Transit retains its usual benefits of a smooth ride and a more car-like driving position than most vans. In this latest guise it also gets intelligent speed assist, intelligent lane assist and autonomous emergency braking, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Endurance buyers go out and buy a set chunkier all-terrain tyres soon after taking delivery, just to add to the off-roader-style looks (Swamper alloys are a £650 option).

The best Bailey yet! Here’s a campervan designed to appeal to the more active owner but with plenty to please every campervanner. It has the contemporary looks, increased off-grid potential and neat design touches in a number of areas. The comfortable rear bedroom and well-planned garage are star features but underslung tanks may limit its use in mid-winter.