Chausson C514 First Line Motorhome

Compact but with room for five!

Overcab coachbuilt motorhomes are a relatively rare sight these days, as most customers have flocked towards the smoother, lower, sleeker shape of a low-profile. You don’t even have to have the luton pod for extra sleeping these days, as most low-profiles come with the option of a drop-down bed.

However, the overcab still has its advantages for family use as kids can climb the ladder to their upstairs den, leaving the lounge below undisturbed (unlike a low-profile’s drop-down berth). It’s a good-sized luton on this French motorhome, too, with a 2.01m by 1.53m double bed, complete with a window at the foot, a roof vent above and two spotlights and USB-A and C sockets at the head end. 

Of course, headroom is a bit restricted – a maximum of 61cm here – but kids won’t mind and they might not notice the solid base under their mattress.

Parents will be more interested in the fact that Chausson introduced a new body construction on its 2026-season overcab range (which also includes two larger, Fiat-based models), before a planned roll out to the rest of the range in 2027. 

The new IRP+ construction is wood-free, has 100% GRP finish inside and out on the floor, walls and roof, and features Styrofoam insulation.

Compact and petite

This petite motorhome may be tall (over 3m!) but it’s compact, at just under six metres overall and, with five berths, five travel seats, and a sub-£60k starting price, it could be an ideal starter motorhome for families.
It’s based on the Ford Transit with 130hp motor and manual gearbox, with the automatic option adding £3,000. 

It comes with automatic air-conditioning, automatic lights and wipers, an electric handbrake and stop/start but, if you want the 16in black alloys seen here, they’re £1,000 extra. You can also add the Drive Pack (£2,500) of adaptive cruise control, sat-nav, collision warning and blind spot sensors, while the Safety Pack of driver assistance systems is priced at £1,500.

Butterfly bed

The layout of this C514 First Line is a continental classic – in fact, you’ll find basically the same floorplan in the low-profile S514 model. It has a half-dinette lounge, a rear transverse double bed over the garage and a centre kitchen and washroom.

The novelty here (also seen in the S514) is the ‘butterfly bed’. That means that the bed is split down the middle, across the width of the motorhome, with each half hinged and rising with the assistance of gas struts. 

Inside, you can raise the forward half of the bed to increase floor space, while in the garage the butterfly bed can increase headroom from 1.20m to the full height of the vehicle. The garage also has fixed lashing points, 12V and 230V sockets and access from the living area.

Up front, you have a half-dinette, swivel cab seats and an additional single seat forward of the habitation door – that faces inwards on site but can become an occasional extra travel seat facing rearwards with a lap belt. The base of the overcab bed also rises so that you can walk through to the front without stooping.

Galley and washroom

In a motorhome this short there have to be compromises and the galley is the zone that gets squeezed. There’s a two-burner hob, sink and 87-litre three-way under-counter fridge, here. Not a lot of worktop but a folding flap by the entrance addresses that issue. Chausson also adds a small oven/grill for the UK but it’s location in a high-level locker above the dinette seems odd, to say the least!

Much better is the washroom, which incorporates a swing wall to turn the toilet area into a shower room. There’s a roof vent above with drying rail for wet gear and the plasticky basin is forgivable considering the price tag.
 

Overcabs may be out of fashion but this compact Chausson could suit a family looking for a keenly priced new motorhome.