Full review

THE newest addition to the Auto-Trail mid-range line-up has a distinctly three-room layout with doors closing each room off from the next.

There’s a lounge/diner and kitchen up front, a bedroom in the middle and an end washroom across the tail of the motorhome.

It is based on a standard height Fiat Ducato chassis and the vehicle is neat with bold graphics, stylish rear light units, a recessed awning (as part of the SE Pack) and grey skirts that visually reduce its bulk.

However, the Lo-Line overcab (with cupboards instead of a bed) is far from being a low-profile and the Cheyenne is not as sleek as many of its opponents. There are detail changes for 2008, though, that affect the whole range.

These include a new door with opening window and improved locking system. Also new are the duo-tone locker doors, the worktops with deeper hardwood edging and the LED lighting.

The ambience is certainly luxurious and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the price. The 740S certainly doesn’t look like a sub-£40,000 motorhome.

But the real news is the lighting. There’s mood lighting above the high-level lockers, strip lighting under the lockers catering for the main illumination and swivel reading lights in the lounge and bedroom – all by LED.

Auto-Trail claim that this reduces power consumption to a third of that of the previous fittings – and it has fitted a better leisure battery too, with room to install a second one if required.

With both fresh and waste water tanks underneath the Cheyenne may be precluded from that skiing trip, but inside there is cupboard space everywhere you look – including a massive overcab locker and lots of room under seats and beds.

As a two-berth, the ease of make-up of the front bed is almost an irrelevance, but who cares when the single beds through the first of the Cheyenne’s internal doors are this good?

With six-inch thick mattresses and bases that tip up on a ratchet mechanism for the head end, plus speakers for the radio, you’ll probably never want to get up at all.

In the kitchen area, the Thetford fridge boasts a simply enormous 180-litre capacity and the cooker comes complete with oven, grill, three gas rings and an electric hotplate. There’s even a new stainless steel sink and drainer – in response to customer demand – and a useful bin on the inside of the habitation door.

Only the lack of fittings to hold cutlery in the single drawer and the potential safety worries of having no positive locking on the upper cupboard doors mar the central galley a mite.

Similarly, the end washroom has everything you could want – from a big illuminated wardrobe to a large separate shower with bi-fold doors. The generous washbasin is a new design while the chromed fittings (towel rail, hooks etc) look suitably upmarket.

Generally, the specification is comprehensive, with concertina blinds, cab blinds, the Combi EH gas/mains heating system, cruise control and a passenger airbag – all as standard.

And to complete the package, as ever, all Auto-Trail customers are certain to tick the box marked ‘SE Pack’. For just £849 it adds cab air-conditioning, a radio/CD/MP3/DVD-player, multi-channel TV receiver, recessed awning, reversing camera with flip-down screen (on which you can also watch TV) and an Auto-Trail umbrella. That little lot is great value as it would normally retail for around £2,500.

A full version of this review first appeared in the November 2007 issue of Which Motorcaravan. To order a reprint ring 01778 391187. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.