Rapido V62 65th Anniversary Campervan

What’s the difference between a campervan and a motorhome? No, it’s not a joke, but sometimes – like this new Rapido – it can be hard to tell...

One of the most common questions I get asked in this job is: ‘what’s the difference between a large campervan and a motorhome?’ In some ways it’s fairly straightforward – generally, a campervan is a converted panel van where all the fittings are built into the original metal shell. 

A motorhome, on the other hand, sees a coachbuilt habitation area manufactured; only the cab and chassis of the base vehicle are used. 

That’s the simple answer, but it can get more complicated. In fact, these days there are many examples where it’s quite difficult to decide which is which. The Rapido V62, based on the 6.36m-long Fiat Ducato, is a prime example of where the line between a campervan and a coachbuilt is blurred. 

It is essentially a panel van with a low-profile motorhome layout, featuring a spacious L-shaped kitchen, a full-length mirrored wardrobe and a fixed French bed with a washroom alongside. 

It provides all the advantages of what you might call “motorhome comfort” without the disadvantages of a motorhome’s wider body.

The V62 first came on the scene for the 2020 season but it’s been given an upgrade in this special edition to mark the French company’s sixty-fifth anniversary. 

The base price is £67,800 and that includes some anniversary extras as standard, including alloy wheels and a 150W solar panel and 100Ah lithium battery. With the optional extras included here – such as automatic transmission, a Skyview panoramic window, an array of driver assistance features and a Pioneer multimedia system with a 7in screen – you pay £76,390.

On the outside, the Iron Grey bodywork with silver and black trim is smart and there’s a 65th Anniversary logo, too. Typically for a European campervan, the sliding door, with mesh bug screen and electric step, is on the driver’s side. 

Exterior appearance

The V62 is based on the extra-long Fiat panel van, but there’s no clue externally that it’s anything out of the ordinary. However, when you step through that side door, you realise that this isn’t your typical campervan layout.

The first thing you’ll notice is the Nacarat furniture and white Palma leather-look upholstery, which is striking and instantly gives the interior a premium feel. The lounge is the familiar half-dinette bench and swivel cab seats set-up, but there’s an extra (backless) seat in the doorway which creates a seating area more akin to that in a motorhome. The removable dining table has a swivel-out extension. 

That additional seat actually doubles up as the gas locker, which is in a fairly unusual position for a campervan. But having it up front certainly makes sense, as it frees up a bit more space in the rear garage. At night, the lounge area can be converted into a single bed, should you need an extra sleeping berth.

The overcab Skyview window – where the Ducato would normally have a shelf – and a second sunroof over the lounge increase the feeling of roominess in the seating area. And that sense of space continues as you move through the campervan into the L-shaped kitchen – again, it’s motorhome-esque.

Kitchen layout

Unlike the side kitchen layout that we’re used to in campervans, this Rapido has the cooking area opposite the sliding side door. And rather than having the washroom directly opposite the cooker, you instead have the 146-litre Dometic compressor fridge and a large cupboard. This gives you much more floor space to move around in when you’re cooking and passing through the campervan to get to the bed.

The kitchen features a two-burner gas stove and stainless-steel sink, with a spice rack and some useful recesses on the surrounding walls. Below, you’ll find five soft-close drawers with central locking (an alert sounds if you try to drive off without locking them) and the ever-popular oven.

 The work surface space is quite limited, but there is a slot-in worktop extension to give you more prep area. Beside the fridge there’s a narrow, slide-out drawer that could work for storing tinned food – or maybe even a bottle of wine or two!

Next to the kitchen is a surprisingly large, mirrored wardrobe, which has plenty of room inside for hanging your finest attire, as well as shelving and a shoe drawer. It’s much bigger than anything you’ll find in most campervans and, you guessed it, more like a motorhome wardrobe.

Bedroom and washroom

The fixed bed is on the offside and, although it doesn’t occupy the full width of the campervan, it’s still fairly generous at 1.22m across – certainly better than you’ll find in many smaller campers. 

The Bultex mattress (1.97m long) is comfortable and can be raised at the head to allow you to lounge during the day and sit up and enjoy breakfast in bed of a morning. Although do mind your head on the overhead lockers! Reading lights, USB ports and a speaker complete the spec in the bedroom. 

The bed itself is mounted quite high off the floor, but access is made easier by a pull-out step. That extra height provides more storage space under the bed, which can be ä accessed from the inside via a tambour door or through the rear doors. The boot area measures 1.20m wide by 1.05m deep and 0.79m high.

The washroom is squeezed into the space alongside the bed – and I mean it when I say ‘squeezed’. The space inside is quite generous, but the problem is actually being able to get easy access in the first place. 

Thanks to the limited space and the positioning of the tambour door and the washbasin right beside the entrance, fitting through the gap was a real issue for me. 

That’s obviously not going to be a problem for everyone, but it is something that a good number of campers will have to take into consideration. 

Inside the washroom you’ll find a shower, duckboard, swivel loo, roof vent and two large mirror-fronted cabinets. The shower curtain clips onto the wall, so shouldn’t cling to you as you wash, but there’s only one drain in the shower tray and surface space is lacking. 

Heating and hot water comes from a Truma Combi 4, which is controlled from a digital panel in the lounge. There’s a 110-litre fresh water tank on board and the 85-litre waste water tank is underslung but heated. All the habitation area windows are double-glazed, with blinds and flyscreens.

• Campervan supplied by Maple Leisure  near Hull and thanks to Burton Constable Holiday Park 

This is a campervan that thinks it’s a motorhome – and that’s not a bad thing, with the manoeuvrability of a camper coupled to the spaciousness of a coachbuilt. The V62 is an interesting layout that’s pretty much unique in the campervan world and I really like it… apart from the narrow entry to the washroom.