Westfalia Kipling campervan

The latest addition to the Westfalia range is an exceedingly good campervan.

It’s fitting that the latest addition to Westfalia’s range of campervans bears a name inspired by Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling.

The iconic German brand says the Kipling moniker embodies its “spirit of exploration and independence”.

And that’s all well and good, but I have a feeling that the first thing that will come to mind for most British buyers will be more cake-related. Exceedingly good cakes, at that.

In fact, as the new Kipling is being built at Westfalia’s factory in France, you might say that this is a French Fancy. 

Anyway, enough of the dad jokes. Let’s focus on the more important stuff, like what this new campervan is all about. 

Westfalia says the compact Kipling, with its fixed transverse rear bed and generous storage, is a response to growing customer demand, with an increasing number of people looking for a campervan that works equally well for day-to-day domestic use and longer camping trips.

Base vehicle

It is built on the Ford Tourneo Custom and is available in 136hp and 170hp versions with the option of an automatic gearbox. It also features double sliding doors, allowing access to the living area from either side of the campervan, particularly useful when you are using it as a daily drive.

The Tourneo Custom benefits from numerous driver assistance features, including adaptive cruise control, emergency braking and lane assist. The standard Ford spec also features such luxuries as a reverse camera, 13in display, electric parking brake and automatic front windscreen wipers.

For added comfort, the driver and passenger seats have lumbar adjustment.

Transverse double bed

There’s no doubt that the Kipling’s key feature is the permanent transverse double bed, which measures 190cm by 130cm. Clever side extension panels fitted to the sides of the campervan give the vehicle a few inches of extra width, making it more comfortable for taller campers. 

The mattress and slatted base combo makes for a pretty comfortable bed. And the design means the base can slide back or be removed completely to provide more storage space for transporting bikes, boards and other sporting equipment.

Storage options

Fixing points in the back allow you to strap your cargo down to prevent it shifting while you are on the move and below the bed there are storage cupboards. It is fitted with 50-litre fresh and waste water tanks and there’s the option of a Truma boiler to the sink and the handy external shower with hot water supply. 

When the temperature drops, warmth comes from a Webasto 2,000W heater.

Second double bed

For family campers, in the pop-top roof, there is a second double bed measuring 192cm by 128cm and on hot days the canvas can be zipped open to reveal panoramic mesh windows, which have the double effect of providing ventilation and allowing light to flood in – without giving bugs the chance to invade your space.

Back ‘downstairs’, the side kitchen unit has two gas burners, a 51-litre compressor fridge and a sink and there’s an optional fixed cassette toilet in the back that slides out to use and can then be hidden away in its own cubby hole. 

Dining and relaxing

The two travel seats, with Isofix fittings, are used for dining around the table along with the swivel cab seats, creating a cosy lounge and dining area.

Other options available include a 92Ah AGM cell battery, a reinforced aluminium protective plate in the storage area and a heated steering wheel.

Also new is Westfalia Connect, an optional system that will allow you to control on-board functions, such as heating, remotely.

Pricing for the new Kipling starts at £60,900 and it will be available from UK Westfalia dealers from January 2026. Optional extras will bump that price up, with the fully specced version you see here coming in at around £76,000.

Westfalia’s campervans never fail to impress and the Kipling is another example of a campervan that innovates while delivering practical benefits. With a fixed transverse rear bed and generous storage in the back, the Kipling is a compact campervan with big ideas and meets the growing demand for campervans that double up as daily drivers. With an array of standard and optional features, overall this is, indeed, an exceedingly good campervan.