Malibu Genius 641 LE

The award-winning Genius campervan had a rear pod that extends the length of the Mercedes Sprinter from just under 6m to 6.40m

This is the most talked about new campervan of the 2025 season. It was the star of last September’s Caravan Salon Düsseldorf and it has now been crowned Campervan of the Year. It’s called Genius which, for once, might not be overstating things too much.

So what’s all the fuss about? Put simply, Malibu (Carthago’s sub-brand that builds all of its campervans) has added a GRP pod onto the rear of an L2 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, taking it from 5.93m to 6.40m long. It isn’t the first company to do something like this (Dehler, followed by Karmann and then Auto-Sleepers did similar in the 1990s on VW T4s) but the execution here is so good that it looks like a product of Mercedes itself. And, this time, there is a very good reason for it.

Single bed layouts are incredibly popular throughout Europe, both in motorhomes and campervans. It’s a format that sells like heisse strudel in Fiat’s extra-long (6.36m) panel van, but can’t really be squeezed into the shorter Merc. It can be found in the L3 Sprinter but, at 6.97m long, that’s just too unwieldy for most buyers. So, with no ‘right size’ van coming direct from the home of the three-pointed star, Malibu has made its own.

CLEVER REAR BODYWORK

Malibu’s rear extension replaces the barn doors of the Sprinter van with a one-piece sandwich construction GRP shell featuring “extra protect” insulation and removing thermal bridges from the bedroom area. The company has gone to great lengths to merge it with the Mercedes bodywork, so you won’t immediately notice where one starts and the other stops. You can have it in a choice of colours, too – white is standard, with silver, grey or black as options (£2,625 extra).

From the rear it actually improves both the looks and practicality, with a full-width tailgate (linked to the central locking) lifting to reveal 1,400 litres of storage. Internal width is up to 1.68m, with headroom of 99cm reducing to 85cm further into the load area. Here, furniture on either side incorporates the gas locker and Combi boiler on the nearside, with useful (removable) drawers opposite.

Add the optional floor rails and you’re ready for a Pedelec bike rack (£750) or a set of storage boxes (£1,710), each sliding out for loading. For larger or longer items it’s possible to hinge up the beds and open the small door that separates the living area from the garage. With so much space available, it’s little wonder that Malibu calls this a ‘Motorhome Van’, saying that the Genius mixes the best of campervan and motorhome worlds.

Space, of course, isn’t much use without payload and our test campervan had the optional 4,100kg upgrade, resulting in a 915kg carrying capacity. You can have a 3.5-tonne Genius but you’d need to exercise a degree of restraint when ticking the options.

Yes, this is another German campervan where the base price (£85k) can be disregarded and the list of optional extras is a long one. ‘Our’ Genius was almost £125k, which is likely to be a typical spend (more if you want the 4x4 version, called Genius Performance, which is only available as a 4,100kg vehicle).

OPTIONS AND OPTION PACKS

The five options packs fitted – Chassis, Chassis-Plus, Style, Habitation and Driver’s Assistance – account for the majority of the extra cost and weight here (£20,510 and 81.5kg to be precise) and you’ll almost certainly want them.

The priciest, the Chassis Pack, includes essentials like the MBUX multimedia system with sat-nav, the electric parking brake, reversing camera, cab blinds, a flyscreen for the door and cab seats upholstered to match the rear.

The Chassis-Plus Pack adds the 170hp motor (150hp is standard) and nine-speed auto gearbox, plus the Thermotronic automatic air-con and 17in alloy wheels. The Style Pack gives you the chromed grille and colour-coded bumper, while the Habitation Pack adds comfort features like the microfibre headlining, ambient lighting and insulated waste tank.

The Driver’s Assistance Pack completes the spec with adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, high beam assist and tyre pressure control.

The only pack not fitted to ‘our’ Genius was the Self-Sufficiency Pack, which includes two 150Ah lithium batteries and an 1,800W inverter for £5,570 (or £7,315 if you want two 110W solar panels added). But there are plenty more individual extras you can add, both from Mercedes and Malibu.

For example, the heating was upgraded to the Combi 6 E gas/electric unit for £785, but for £1,310 you could have diesel heating instead. The upholstery here is one of three no-cost fabrics, but part and full leather options are also listed – there are 10 choices in all. A third berth is possible, too, with a kit to convert the lounge. So, you can tailor your Genius to your needs, budget permitting!

The test vehicle also came with a towbar, front fog and cornering lights, high-performance LED headlamps, heated cab seats with electric lumbar adjustment, an awning with exterior lighting, 24in TV (ideally placed for viewing from the cab seats), asoft-closing sliding door and an additional bedroom window.

MERCEDES SPRINTER

In Obsidian Black, with modest graphics, alloy wheels and framed habitation windows, the Genius looked stunning, but I wouldn’t choose this colour, either for parking in the summer sun or trying to keep it clean.

However, I’d have absolutely no regrets about this base vehicle spec. From the moment you press the ‘engine start’ button, engage drive and the electric parking brake automatically disengages, it feels like a premium vehicle. The MBUX’s clear display for radio and navigation still impresses and the seats are super-supportive, with the benefit of tilt adjustment and extendable squabs for taller drivers.

When manoeuvring, the modest wheelbase and rear-wheel drive make this Genius feel smaller than it is, while the three different views offered by the rear view camera are a further boon. Then, on the road, it’s simply a pleasure to drive, with smooth, quiet and effortless performance – and a dearth of habitation area squeaks and rattles. It’s hardly surprising that Malibu wanted to base its flagship campervan on a Sprinter.

LOUNGING

An electric step (with buzzer instead of auto-retraction) eases access through the large, offside sliding door and you enter a typically continental campervan layout with interior design (called Cherry Style Plus, with London upholstery) that will be wholly familiar to anyone who has owned a Malibu. It’s the details – and the quality – that make the difference.

One aspect that has been carried out exceptionally well is the merging of the half-dinette lounge with the cab. The cream soft-touch headlining continues over the front seats (replacing the usual gloomy grey in Merc cabs), while the top lockers not only continue seamlessly but incorporate ambient lighting, too. With sturdy hinges and chromed handles on those top cupboards plus more padded fabric around the side window, you’re left in no doubt that this is a premium camper.

There are plenty of downlights, plus a wind-up Heki rooflight for daylight. The sturdy wall-mounted table has an extension leaf to serve the driver’s pew and the floor beneath it incorporates some extra storage. Even the shape of the bench’s backrest seems well-judged and there’s Isofix here, too. A drawer under the half-dinette adds practical storage.

KITCHEN

Then, opposite, more drawers offer the most practical use of space in the galley. Worktop isn’t huge, but, with the split sink cover, flip-up extension at the forward end, plus a raised area over the fridge, there’s sufficient. What you won’t find, even on the options list, is an oven but, if you can’t cook your favourite dishes on a two-burner hob, consider carrying a Remoska or perhaps an air fryer – you’ll have plenty of room for either.

The fridge is an 84-litre compressor model and the fact that it’s not a full-height unit allows the through-view to the bedroom that makes the Genius feel more spacious. Then there are yet more drawers under the foot of the bed (the lowest one incorporating a bin). And those extra drawers in the garage area can be reached, too, by simply opening the door between the beds. You won’t be short of space for all your gear.

WASHROOM AND TWO-ROOMS LAYOUT

We’ve seen the ‘two rooms’ concept before in Malibu’s Fiat-based First Class models but it works well here, too. The washroom door opens round, then locks against the kitchen before a hinged panel completes the separation between the lounge and bedroom. Our only criticism is that the washroom light switch is on the wrong side of the partition – oh, and the kitchen drawers can’t open with that room divider in use.

Now, you not only have a good-sized washing area but a changing room as well, with the larger-than-expected wardrobe (50cm-long hanging rail) sited under the end of the nearside bed. Initially, you might wonder where everything is, though. There’s a window, mirror and cupboards but the loo and basin are nowhere to be seen!

Again, Malibu has used a slide-away toilet previously, but the washbasin that swings down from the side wall is a new design. What they both achieve is a lot more space for showering and even better is the folding screen that extends the cubicle beyond the toilet door. Malibu calls it the Supermax bathroom and it is indeed a bigger, better shower than you’d normally expect in a campervan.

There’s not the same space when it comes to legroom on the loo, but it should be adequate for most folk.

BEDROOM

However, where the extra length of the Genius really shows is in the bedroom. Here, a single step (hiding a little more storage) provides access to two comfortable single beds that share the full width of the campervan along most of their length. And these are long beds, the cold foam mattresses measuring 2.03m on the nearside and 1.96m on the offside. There are top cupboards along each side but, with nothing at the head of the bed, there’s plenty of room to sit up.

You can charge your phones with convenient USB ports on either side, plus shelves for devices, specs, etc. And on a hot night you can benefit from opening windows on three sides as well as a roof vent above.

I didn’t get to try that as it was minus six overnight on the Knaresborough Caravan and Motorhome Club site – not that I really noticed until seeing the thick frost on the bonnet in the morning. Heat from the Combi is distributed right around the bedroom and under the nearside bed is a storage area directly over the boiler – perfect for the next day’s clothes.

The 100-litre fresh water tank is inboard for proper winterisation, while the 90-litre waste tank is underslung but thoroughly insulated (it survived minus six). If you’re planning on skiing trips, additional heating for the grey tank is available as a £925 option.

Sometimes, picking the Campervan of the Year is easy and never has a winner been any more obvious than this year with the Malibu Genius. Here are all the things we like about the Malibu campervan range, combined with the premium, rear-wheel drive Mercedes base vehicle. It’s just that Malibu had to create its own unique size of Sprinter van to make this possible!