Carthago Chic C-line I 4.9 LE L A-Class Motorhome

Carthago’s best-selling range has been updated this season with a new look inside…

Sitting above the C-tourer, the Chic C-line is described as being synonymous with the Carthago brand. It is the company’s best-selling range, with nine A-class models and a pair of low-profiles to choose from, as well as Fiat or Mercedes power (each with an Al-Ko chassis). So, a new-generation version is big news in the premium motorhome sector.

Don’t expect big changes, though. The company from Aulendorf believes more in evolution than revolution, so the new Chic C-line is still very obviously a Carthago and tried and tested features such as the body construction with curved join from roof to sides and the deep double floor remain. This update is more about a refreshed interior to keep the design contemporary and, well, chic.

This 7.89m model, supplied by Camper UK and tested on its picturesque Leisure Park near Lincoln, is actually one of the smaller models in the range, based on a single-rear-axle Mercedes – C-line lengths range from 7.34m to 8.78m.

In UK spec this I 4.9 LE L starts at £140,395, but, as usual with German motorhomes of this calibre, you have to dig deeper – much deeper – into your savings once the options and packs have been added. The £177,215 total of this example would not be unusual. So, what do you get for that substantial investment and what’s new in this new-generation motorhome?

Exterior refreshed

The new front on this Mercedes-based Chic C-line is called the ‘V-face design’. It has a very automotive, deep front grille with the chrome ‘C’ even taking precedence over the three-pointed star above. With new graphics on the sides, black alloy wheels and the optional Silverline finish (£3,405), it makes quite a statement on the campsite.

More importantly, its wood-free construction has GRP on the roof and under the floor, while aluminium skins the inside and outside of the side walls, which have an RTM hard foam insulation at their core.

Then, at the rear, the imposing coach-like design has double shell insulation and a separate bumper. It’s all backed by a 10-year water ingress warranty.

Of course, it features a deep double floor, too, with a usable height of up to 70cm. There are hatches into this space on both sides and the heated basement load space (minimum height 20cm) stretches right across the vehicle. For true winterisation, the double floor also houses both the fresh and waste water tanks (170 and 140 litres capacity, respectively). 

There’s also the usual deep well (beer cellar?) under a trapdoor just inside the entrance, measuring 48cm high and also serving as the location for grey waste and boiler dump valves. Further to the rear, another floor hatch reveals a heated compartment (39cm deep) in the kitchen floor. These hatches are hidden when the optional carpets are in situ, while the standard flooring has a new concrete-effect appearance.

On the offside, the double floor also provides a home for the leisure batteries, two 80Ah gel units as standard but here upgraded to twin 150Ah lithium (a £2,080 option). To further increase your off-grid capability, ‘our’ Chic C-line also had two 110W solar panels (£1,720), but on the toilet is just a standard cassette.

You won’t be short of storage in the generous rear garage, with large loading doors on either side. Remote central locking secures not just the cab and habitation entrances but also the garage doors and the external hatches (except for the toilet and gas) as a £625 extra.

The garage area is heated and can carry up to 350kg, but the chequerplate flooring (£160) and external shower (£305) are further options. It measures 1.29m wide at floor level and has 1.19m headroom, while lashing eyes affix to rails front and rear. There are also elasticated straps on the back wall to hold your deckchairs in place and pockets on the offside door for small items.

Two 230V sockets are fitted and even the winding handles for the awning and rear steadies are neatly clipped into place, although the lighting in here is rather meagre.

At this point it’s worth talking about weights. The 4,200kg gross weight can be upgraded to 4,500kg for £295, but that becomes an essential once you’ve spec’d the vehicle with the options here. Extras such as the 5.5m awning (£2,325 with LED lighting) don’t just add cost but weight – 72kg in this instance.

Another significant addition is the Polar Package Alde (£4,045), which adds 82.5kg. Standard heating is Truma blown-air but this pack replaces that with Alde’s ‘wet’ radiator system, powered by gas and/or 230V. Also included in the option are an external insulating mat for the cab glazing and double-glazed cab side windows.

With the spec seen here, the Chic C-line retains a payload of 581kg to accommodate your passengers, kit, water, etc.

New look inside

If the external changes are a little underwhelming, the revisions inside are more noticeable – and more important in keeping the Chic C-line competitive. They start with the new Essenza furniture with handleless top lockers, clean lines and comprehensive ambient lighting.

It comes in the new Amalfi finish shown, featuring walnut and matt white, contrasting slate grey walls and a stone-effect finish for the worktops. Alternatively, there’s the Cortina ‘world of style’ (also new) with colour (white) upper cupboards and wood-effect worktops.

The changes continue in the lounge, where a narrower L-settee creates a wider aisle through to the kitchen and anthracite and fabric-covered window surrounds look so much more appealing than plastic frames.

It’s still recognisably a Carthago, with a flat floor into the cab and right back to the bedroom, as well as a foot-operated button to swivel or slide the table. The beautifully finished Pearl leather (£3,175) is a trademark, too, although there are various other options.

At 93cm by 67cm, the table seems a tad too big for the space and unnecessarily large for couples but you’ll have no truck with the comfort of the lounge, whether you bag the sofa or one of the Aguti Roadliner captain’s chairs. The passenger seat swivels right round for feet-up relaxation but the driver’s chair can’t as it is hindered by the offside seat and steering wheel.

Ambient lights in the base of the cab bed and a multitude of downlights ensure that the space is well lit, while a large wind-up rooflight provides ventilation (and more daylight) and the huge windscreen gives great views out. The 32in telly pops up manually from behind the single side seat, but of course it’s another option (£1,605).

Kitchen with wine glasses cabinet

The kitchen continues with Carthago’s clever wrap-around design that extends the L-shape along the shower cubicle’s wall. The raised shelf that offers demarcation between galley and lounge has been increased in size and makes the perfect space for serving up, but the coffee machine (part of a £1,745 package that also adds a 2kW inverter) no longer pulls out from a ‘secret’ compartment.

The Krups Nespresso machine is now fixed in the corner, behind the sink, where it’s at a more accessible height. But a Chic C-line needs a bit of bling and here it’s the illuminated bar cabinet (with four tumblers and four wine glasses, all Carthago branded), plus a pull-down bottle holder. Presumably, that’s for your finest Château Pétrus, while the supermarket plonk goes in the cupboard (with four bottle holders) down below.

Cooking is on a three-burner hob with those hefty cast iron pan stands, while the Thetford Duplex oven/grill (£915) is sensibly positioned below. The sink has a pull-out hose-style tap and a split lid, the larger section removing to form a shelf. There’s good drawer-based storage (no central locking, though), including one for cutlery, plus two bins.

Opposite, the two-door 153-litre fridge/freezer is mounted higher for easier access and has doors that open from either side. There’s also a pull-out pantry for eye-level storage of tinned and packet foods.

Four wardrobes

The usual format is adopted for the ablutions zone, with the shower on the nearside and toilet opposite. There are sliding doors to separate the bedroom, while the toilet door closes off the area from the lounge. Here, there’s also an additional door to give the toilet privacy, even when someone else is using the shower.

And the ‘L’ suffix on this model adds two extra wardrobes (one on each side, both with upper and lower hanging rails) – the standard I 4.9 LE is shorter, at 7.52m.

The shower has been redesigned with new ambient lighting and a stone-effect finish for the duckboard and behind the riser bar. It’s a good-sized space with twin drains and a hanging rail but the substantial step in the floor makes it feel smaller in use.

There’s no shortage of room to use the ceramic cassette loo (£200) but you might have expected a similar upgrade to a Corian basin – it’s only plastic but it is generously proportioned.

There’s plenty of storage, too, with practical fiddle rails in the cupboards concealed behind the backlit mirrors. There’s a linen basket under the washbasin, robe hooks on the wall, plus a mains socket, soap dispenser and his and hers toothbrush mugs.

Single beds with chaise longue position

It’s never a surprise to find twin beds at the rear of a German motorhome and here they live up to the premium price tag in size (1.96m and 1.98m long) and comfort (Carawinx springs under seven-zone cold foam mattresses, plus heating ducted all around the bedroom). You can even sit up in bed, despite the stylish overhead lockers), thanks to the head of each bed rising into a chaise longue position on a ratchet system.

The revised 2026-season aesthetics mean that the windows are surrounded with anthracite fabric trim, to match the lounge, while the mirrored headboard completes the look.

Practicalities extend to ambient strips and downlights, mains and USB sockets, a roof vent and two more wardrobes, found under the foot of each bed and accessible from the front or above. As they drop down into the double floor, they have a hanging height of just over a metre.

A Carthago novelty, although nothing actually new, is that the central steps can slide out, extending the central mattress between the beds from 1.11m long to 1.55m. This, effectively, creates a king-size bed without the usual downside of having to deploy a ladder.

Another unusual touch is the TV (a £1,415 option), which is hidden in a locker at the end of the offside bed but then slides out to the centre of the motorhome, so neither sleeper gets preferential viewing!

And, of course, there’s another bedroom in the cab. Both the windscreen blind and the bed itself are manually operated (a surprise, perhaps, at this price) but the bed is large (1.94m by 1.53m) and comes with a roof vent, privacy curtains and a slatted base. Just watch your head on the shelf when you sit up in the morning.

Sprinter cab

On the road, the Merc’s 170hp motor always seems to have plenty in reserve and the ride quality is superior to a Fiat’s, causing fewer rattles.

Sadly, though, a couple of Carthago anomalies remain – a small reversing camera screen rather than using the Mercedes MBUX display and a step switch on the passenger’s side (no automatic retraction). The big plus, though, is the superb cab chairs, which lowered and tilted to give me a perfect driving position.

If you found Carthago’s interior design wasn’t contemporary enough for your taste, it’s time to think again. The latest Chic C-line keeps all the brand strengths but moves things on aesthetically. It excels in the washroom/changing room and its double floor and garage storage with just a few details remaining that we’d like addressed at the next refresh.