Carthago Chic E-line I 51 QB DA MB

With a new look externally and over £40,000-worth of options, as tested, you can enjoy the high life in the latest Chic E-line A-class from Carthago

Joking with family and friends, I messaged them “I’m slumming it this week” from my temporary abode at the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Cannock Chase site, having collected this test vehicle from nearby dealer, Go European. Nothing could have been further from the truth as Carthago’s Chic E-line sits above the C-line which, in turn, outranks the brand’s C-tourer – all in a line-up that starts where some mainstream marques have their flagships. At over eight metres long and with a list price north of £200,000 (as tested), this E-line I 51 QB DA MB promised to be something special.

The MB in the title refers to the Mercedes-Benz underpinnings, mated to a double-axle (the DA bit) Al-Ko low-frame chassis with special wide rear track (you can also have an E-line on a Fiat). The QB means queen’s bed (or island bed), although the range also includes LE single bed layouts, as well as single rear axle versions and overall lengths from 7.89m to 9.03m. On that basis, our 51 model seems almost modest, at 8.11m long, although the gawps and stares that its 3.12m height, sextet of black alloy wheels and Silverline exterior (£3,755 extra) received on site said quite the opposite…

No doubt about it, then, this is a big motorhome with a 5,500kg gross weight to boot (5,000kg is standard). It has a bold new look for 2025, incorporating a new front featuring a grille emblazoned with a chromed Carthago ‘C’ and merged with the LED headlights on either side. The A-pillars are now grey, the wheelarches take on Lamborghini-esque shapes and the graphics have been updated. It’s a handsome beast, although the bronze tint to the skirts seemed at odds with the rest of the colour scheme.

The E-line remains instantly recognisable as a Carthago and inherits the brand’s usual strengths, including lightning protection, enhanced side impact safety, a hail-resistant GRP roof and a radiused join where sides meet the top for better aerodynamics. Like all motorhomes from Aulendorf, it also has a double floor – not just for services but a deep basement (up to 70cm deep and 22cm high where it stretches right across the vehicle, under the lounge, with external access on either side). It’s easy, too, to reach into this space from inside, via a large floor hatch just inside the entrance, or by lifting either of the lounge seat bases.

The double floor also houses the water tanks, which are in proportion with the E-line’s physique – 235 litres fresh, 185 litres waste. And with a payload (as tested) of over 1.2 tonnes, for once you should be able to drive with plenty of fresh H2O without any real fear of being illegally overloaded.

Then, at the rear, the E-line is ready for your e-bikes with a garage measuring 1.23m wide and 1.12m high. You can load up to 450kg in here but you might want to donate some of that allowance to a spare wheel – surprisingly, there isn’t one as standard. What you do get is an external shower, straps to hold your deckchairs to the wall, 230V and 12V sockets and access to all of the habitation electrics. The chequerplate floor is a £160 option.

You can also upgrade the standard 150Ah lithium battery to a trio of batteries totalling 300Ah with the Electric Power Package Unlimited. Solar panels will also be on most buyers’ wish list to add, while our test vehicle already featured an electric 5.5m Thule awning with full-length LED lighting (£2,950). The habitation door has an electric step but an automatic step for the cab door is a must-have extra, priced at £510.

‘Our’ E-line also had the Luxury habitation door package (£975), with soft-closing, coming home function, additional lighting and an RFID chip for keyless entry. Remote central locking is standard and includes not just the two entrance doors but the garage doors and hatches into the double floor.

Heavy chassis

You’ll need a C1 licence for this motorhome, even if we eventually follow the EU’s lead with a uniform 4,250kg limit, but driving it is not difficult, anything but. Its sheer mass means that take-off is not as spritely as in a smaller Mercedes motorhome but this 170hp motor (part of the £7,980 Chassis Plus Package, along with the nine-speed automatic transmission) has the torque required to never feel underpowered. The panoramic view forwards and the twin-lens bus mirrors put you at ease, too. In fact, here again, Carthago’s A-class expertise comes to the fore with the steeply sloping dashboard greatly assisting road positioning (and driver confidence) and the wipers covering most of the vast glass.

Again, there are extras, some of them part of the £14,025 Super Package that no E-line will ever miss out on. Then there’s the Driver’s Assistance Package (£720), which adds the lane departure system and adaptive cruise control. Hill descent control, hill holder, ASR, EBV, ESP, Active Brake Assist and Active Attention Assist are all standard.

I would also have liked the reversing camera to be shown on the central MBUX screen (rather than a separate display) and the remote switch for the step to be on the driver’s side. Most of all, I’d have liked fewer rattles on the road.

Luxury and leather in the lounge

Step through the door into the E-line and you’ll be in no doubt that you’ve ‘arrived’. The designers have clearly gone to town, giving the model yacht-like features (even a set of ship’s clocks over the windscreen) and premium touches, such as plentiful chrome. You can choose from Chiara ‘world of style’ or this Nobile interior (£610 extra) with more wood, less glossy cream. There are nine choices for the upholstery, this Sand leather costing £3,230.

However you spec your E-line it will look and feel luxurious. The sofas are well shaped and the swivelling Aguti captain’s chairs adjust every which way. The round table (with solid wood edging) not only looks attractive but works well in the space. Lighting is plentiful and dimmable, with the large Heki sunroof adding daylight. For an even more spacious feel you could choose the Sky Dream Comfort option with a second Heki and cupboards in place of the standard drop-down cab bed. You’ll certainly want the 32in TV that pops up (manually) from behind the offside sofa – you guessed it, it costs extra (£1,740).

Standard features include the typical Carthago pull-out shoe rack under the settee and generous 2.10m headroom, while a huge windscreen gives you great views from the lounge. It comes with an electric blind that doubles as a sun visor and can also be lowered partway at the top for daylight with privacy.

Importantly, the heating (and hot water) comes from Alde’s ‘wet’ central heating system with radiators throughout the vehicle, giving a comfortable spread of heat throughout. There’s even a Truma Multivent to boost heating in the cab, as well as a heat exchanger to use engine heat.

Kitchen with coffee machine

The kitchen continues the designer flair of the lounge with curves aplenty and a particularly swish cabinet for the Carthago-branded glasses. But it’s not just about the looks. The Corian-style worktop has a lip to catch spillages. The sink’s lid becomes an extra shelf, or chopping board. The tap has a pull-out hose. There’s an extractor fan in the roof vent above. There’s a slide-out unit that increases worktop space while also revealing a bin and holder for two bottles. And, best of all, there’s push-button central locking not only for the generous kitchen drawers but also the top lockers, slide-out unit and even the glasses cabinet.

Cooking is on a three-burner Master Gourmet hob, while the optional (£930) Duplex oven/grill is mounted under the sink, giving the Carthago a big plus over rivals that put it above the fridge. The cooler is a two-door, automatic energy selection unit with 153-litre capacity, a separate 29-litre freezer and doors that open from either side. Alongside the fridge is an eye-level pull-out pantry unit for non-perishable foods.

The finishing touch is the Nespresso machine that pulls down from the left-hand top locker for use. It’s very neatly installed but, yes, it’s extra, although the £1,915 price tag does include a rack for your coffee pods and a 1.8kW inverter so that espressos can be delivered sans electric hook-up.

En suite facilities

You step up into the bedroom area, where the ablutions follow the expected pattern of loo on one side, shower on t’other. The shower is especially impressive – a really good size with twin drains and both a handheld/riser bar showerhead and a rain shower directly overhead. There’s a shampoo shelf and the step in the tray is so slight that it doesn’t really matter. There are wall hooks for wet clothes or towels, too.

Opposite, the toilet room doesn’t seem quite so generous and the use of just a typical Thetford cassette loo without provision for a spare cassette will limit time spent off-grid. There’s plenty of shoulder room on the throne (with ceramic bowl) but less space in front of the basin. Storage is plentiful, though, in cupboards behind the illuminated mirrors complete with fiddle rails. A towel rail, soap dispenser, toothbrush mugs, robe hooks and even a toilet brush are provided, plus there’s a laundry basket under the washbasin. Most unusual, though, is the toilet door. This can do the usual trick of closing off the back of the motorhome but then a second door (clipped to the first) can still keep the loo area completely private.

Or you can create a dressing room with a three-part partition that slides across at the foot of the bed. Sadly, this appeared to have succumbed to force at the NEC show, but it looks as if it should work well, albeit leaving little space on the bedroom side. When closed, the middle panel touches the end of the mattress but it does also put the bedroom TV (£1,360) bang in the centre for watching blockbusters in bed.

You can do so in luxury, too, because the island bed incorporates his and hers tip-up sections for chaise longue-style reclining. Fold these back down and you’re virtually guaranteed a good night’s sleep – with its 1.97m by 1.45m mattress not suffering too much cut-off in the corners and sitting on Carawinx springs. I’m pleased to report this was the most comfortable motorhome bed I’ve slept on in a very, very long time.

Reading lights, USBs, a mains socket and pigeonholes alongside the bed head are the practical touches in this superlative bedroom. Then there’s the bling, too, with a glossy ceiling panel around the roof vent that sweeps into the stylishly shaped, glossy and handleless overhead cupboards. There’s a leather-trimmed headboard, too, with a mirror above.

Only a single step is required on each side of the bed to ease you onto the mattress, while the twin bedside wardrobes have hanging rails that pull out towards you when you open the door. Then, under the foot of the bed are shelved corner cupboards and two large drawers.

Of course, there’s the drop-down double bed in the cab, too. This is manually operated and makes do with having its large mattress on wooden staves, rather than the Carawinx system. It has a roof vent and, on the nearside, a small shelf with two spotlights built in.

Carthago calls it its ‘crown jewel of the liner class’, so, with a £210k price tag, the latest E-line has a lot to live up to. It certainly looks and feels suitably luxurious, although you may want to upgrade further for off-grid touring. It has the payload, storage, water capacity and on-board comfort for long-term touring. If only it would do something about the rattles…