Full review

IN an industry seemingly dominated by fixed beds (there’s also a new Cotswold model sporting a French bed layout), finding a newcomer conforming to that most quaint of layouts – the full-width end washroom – could be construed as being a rather retrograde step.

Not least at a time when major rivals are busy binning their own end washroom layouts (think Gleneagle, Mohican) in the wake of dwindling sales.

Then again, maybe therein lies the inspiration – if you think about it, the Cotswold EB isn’t that dissimilar in layout to the fixed single bed coachbuilts we tested in a recent Which Motorcaravan magazine issue, just with the convenience of a double bed option thrown into the mix, and the single beds making arguably better use of valuable floor-space by doubling as lounge settees.

Either way, we felt a closer look-see was called for, and so it was with an open mind that I sallied forth to Auto-Sleepers HQ in – aptly enough – the Cotswolds to see what’s what.

First things first, it seems appropriate to point out that the Cotswold EB isn’t the first end washroom coachbuilt to feature in the Auto-Sleepers range: regular readers will doubtless remember the (now obsolete) VW T5-underpinned Sandhurst we tested a few months back, which conforms to pretty much the same floorplan as the EB.

The Cotswold is much bigger, however, stretching the tape measure to a full 23ft 6in stem to stern, and with Broadway-alike side and frontal styling and optional alloy wheels, it’s quite a handsome machine.

One or two unfinished surfaces are evident when you lift the settee bases, but elsewhere every catch, every button and every control feels engineered, not merely screwed together. This is a £50,000 motorhome that actually feels like a £50,000 motorhome.

It’s a pity the same level of quality doesn’t extend to some of the exterior services, though – the grey water drain in particular is both plasticky and too narrow in bore, and the conversion door is inexplicably excluded from the remote plipper’s central locking loop.

Climb aboard, however, and I suspect most potential buyers will forgive the Cotswold EB just about anything. In a world where some motorhomes increasingly feel hemmed in by a variety of intrusive bulkheads and seem to be all bedroom and no lounge, the EB’s single-room lounge and kitchen area feels as spacious and welcoming as Blenheim Palace.

It really is a great place to be, with Marquis County-alike cabinetry (allied, for once, to consistently ‘handed’ positive catches), abundant direct and hidden ambient lighting (much of it using low-power-draw LEDs) and play-it-safe, but attractive and supremely comfortable settees that can each swallow up to three adults with ease.

It feels tall in here, too, while the usual dark cave over the cab is replaced by an enormous open shelf flanked by two good-sized storage pods and topped off by a huge clear-pane (but sadly non-opening) panoramic window and a couple of warm-looking bulkhead lights.

It’s not as practical a set-up as a doored locker, but the substantial lip on the forward edge of the shelf should be man enough to prevent most items from spilling out onto the floor and the whole set-up makes the front part of the lounge feel as spacious and airy as the rest of the vehicle.

We understand that an overcab bed option is likely to be offered in the not too distant future, too, although whether this will bring with it suitable rear travel seat provision has yet to be confirmed.

Storage is exceptional, with the usual space-sapping gas locker and boiler being replaced by a refillable gas tank and the very latest Webasto DualTop diesel-fired combined heater/boiler, both of which live beneath the chassis.

To wit, both bedding lockers are practically empty – factor in the enormous wardrobe, neighbouring trio of large drawers and a bewildering array of eye-level lockers dotted throughout the main body of the motorhome, and the standard 606kg payload (556kg on the 160HDi model) suddenly begins to look like more of a necessity than a luxury.

The kitchen is similarly blessed with abundant storage – including a pair of generously proportioned two-shelf low cupboards – although worktop is only average, and rendered practically non-existent with the removable drainer deployed.

You can’t argue with the equipment level, though, which includes a microwave, domestic-style dual-fuel cooker, Thetford’s jumbo 150-litre SES fridge/freezer and even a Maxview satellite TV system.

As for the beds, the twin singles are non-uniform, but even the shorter nearside one is just shy of six feet long, with its offside counterpart three inches longer.

As it stands, too, the double measures nearly 6ft 11in by 4ft 3in, although it could have been so much bigger had Auto-Sleepers not taken the decision to exclude the rearmost portion of the settees from the bed make-up in order to open up a couple of seats for when one occupant is an earlier riser than the other.

Given that this would appear to answer a question no-one to my knowledge has ever asked, this seems like an incongruous design quirk.

So what of the EB’s trademark end washroom, then? Well, if you’re a fan of end washrooms (and I certainly count myself as one such), then you’ll absolutely love the EB’s example.

Various Marquis County design flourishes are obvious herein, including the funky blue pin-lights sunk into the mirror, the salad-bowl-on-a-table clear plastic washbasin and the pleasingly ‘woody’ ambience, but it’s the amount of sheer space on offer that strikes you the most.

Most of a five-a-side football team could get changed in here with room to spare, and the gigantic wardrobe ensconced in the corner would certainly swallow all their kit.

The separate shower is absolutely massive, too, and garners extra points for its plentiful bottle storage, extractor fan that whirrs into life automatically with the lazy cord-operated light, and twin shower tray drains (if not the rather oppressive black tiles).

The presence of a bench-type toilet is perhaps surprising, but it’s banished discreetly out of direct sight through the main door, tucked away as it is around the corner to the left as you enter.

Verdict

You’ve got to admire Auto-Sleepers for bucking the current market trend and introducing a new layout that just about everybody else is busy consigning to the history books. And what they’ve come up with is a genuinely upmarket motorhome that, for two people, must rate as the welcome spiritual successor to the late lamented Autocruise Gleneagle.

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