Chausson innovates for 2024

About Chausson

For more than 40 years, tens of thousands of enthusiasts have been driving in Chausson vans or motorhomes, a major French brand now known and recognised for its innovations.

Titanium is still king

With chassis availability still causing issues, and seemingly having spread from Fiat to Ford, there has been further reduction of the main Chausson portfolio, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of excitement from this part of the Trigano Group. The company describes 2024 as “the year of flexibility.”

First, though, let’s focus on the bread and butter of the range – the Ford-based Titanium Ultimate low-profiles. For 2024, the slimmed down line-up consists of the 640 (large front lounge, rear garage and XL washroom), 777 (single beds) and 788 (island bed). All three get the 168bhp Ford motor and six-speed automatic gearbox.

Gone are the one-of-a-kind 660 and the flexible family motorhome, the 720, but extending the range is a lower-spec version of the established 650 layout – a 6.39m motorhome with side settee lounge, drop-down bed, and a full-width washroom (plus a garage).

For 2024, this entry-level motorhome will be based on a manual gearbox Peugeot Boxer (fitted with steel wheels). Despite being a more affordable model, the 650 will come with cab air-conditioning, cruise control, ESP, Isofix, diesel heating and a panoramic skylight.

One in, one out

Chausson’s ‘S’ range of compact (narrow-bodied) low-profiles dips out of the company’s 2024 range, in the UK at least. In some countries, it swaps from the Ford chassis to a Renault Master but we’re not destined to see the Renaults here. Instead, we’re told the ‘S’ range will be back in 2025.

In the meantime, the ‘X’ – the crossover vehicle that blends motorhome facilities with campervan size – returns after a year out (as Chausson previously struggled to meet demand). Described by the company as “neither vans nor motorhomes… imagine a new generation of vehicles which merges the agility of vans and the comfort of low-profiles”, the X550 also gets a bigger brother for the first time – the X650.

The six-metre (and 2.10m wide) X550 returns to Britain with just minor changes (some new ‘X’ motifs next to the fridge and on the underside of the drop-down bed) – but also a key detail. Watch our video at motorhome.ma/review220 (775,000 people already have) and you’ll see that a major point of contention was the lack of an offside window in the lounge – well, the 2024 version has one.

So does the new X650, which is 6.36m long (the same as an extra-long Fiat panel van). The bigger ‘X’ has the same front lounge and drop-down bed, but the washroom moves from the rear to the nearside – behind a tambour door, it has a swing-wall to create a decent, curtain-free shower. Opposite that is the kitchen, featuring plenty of storage and, for the UK, an oven (integrated into a Thetford Triplex unit with gas/electric hob).

Where the X650 differs, not just from the X550 but every other motorhome on the market, is its rear garage. Big enough for two standard cycles, it has a wardrobe above but the size of this (which includes drawers and hanging space) is variable. Press a button and the wardrobe gets deeper, reducing the garage height, until the latter disappears completely and the zone becomes a walk-in changing room – a ‘dressing’ in French.

Both ‘X’ models are built on the Fiat Ducato and come in Exclusive Line spec, featuring Traction+, front fog lights, 16in alloy wheels and an Eco Pack.

Italy replaces UK

Chausson’s 33 Line campervans were built in Britain at the Auto-Trail factory but the UK arm of Trigano is focusing on its own models now, so Chausson has turned to the group’s specialist van conversion factory in Italy for the supply of its 2024-season campers.

Two models will be offered here, both based on the six-metre Fiat Ducato and with the more upmarket Sport Line spec which includes Campovolo Grey paintwork and an automatic gearbox. They are optionally available with a pop-top to give them four berths.

The two new campervans have typically continental fixed bed layouts – the V594 with a transverse double bed, the V597 with twin singles. Spec includes black alloy wheels, front fog lamps, Traction+, Eco Pack, on-road heating, a washroom window and panoramic skylight. An awning and solar panel are also included in the Sport Line spec.

There are two models to choose from. Both come with a spacious front lounge, featuring those desirable face-to- face sofas that convert to travel seats when needed. There’s a drop-down bed above here, which can drop all the way to the seat cushions, or you can set it at mid height to allow another double bed below made from the lounge seats

The X550, at 5.99m long, was the first in the family and a veritable revolution on the market. An outstanding living space and a lounge that can accommodate up to five people, all in less than 6m!

The newest addition is the X650, which is 6.36m long – that’s no longer than the extra-long wheelbase Fiat Ducato campervan. This is the big brother, featuring a garage space and wardrobe.

The front is identical to the X550, but the rear features an innovative modular concept: the SDR (Smart Dressing Room) system, which lets you raise or lower the wardrobe to adjust the size of the garage area according to your needs. Unique to the market, in the raised position, the garage can accommodate two bikes. In the lowered position, your wardrobe becomes a whole other room.

This 650 is available as a special Etape Line edition model, on the Peugeot Boxer chassis with the 2.2-litre 140bhp engine and manual gearbox. The standard kit list is comprehensive and starts with the IRP roof, floor and walls made out of GRP.

You also get a flyscreen for the habitation door, panoramic skylights above the cab and lounge, low-level ambient LED lighting, the Technibox that combines water and electrical services into one place, external gas point for a BBQ, solar panel, awning, pre-wiring for reversing camera and TV, and an oven.

The V597 is also equipped with all the comfort you need for a peaceful night in the great outdoors. As well as those comfy beds at the back with generous storage below for all your holiday kit, the washroom offers a shower, while the two-burner hob and sink unit in the kitchen makes the most of the available space.

That half-dinette up front provides for both dining and lounging, and there’s the option of an extra berth in the cab, if required.