DETAILED REVIEW

THE remarkable new Wentworth is one of four distinctly golf-themed range-toppers (the others being the Gleneagle, Augusta and Sunningdale) that, to mix sporting metaphors for a moment, appears to pull no punches when it comes to providing power, luxury and comfort for two financially well-endowed owners.

Which Motorcaravan in 2007 named the model as having the Best Motorhome Kitchen and the burning question remains - is the rest of the vehicle as good as its kitchen?

Well, it certainly is from the outside. There are three exterior-accessible storage lockers (one of which opens into a sunken wet locker in the floor of the wardrobe) for a start.

I couldn’t quite get my head around the rear elevation (the gigantic vertical light pods give the 7ft 6in-wide motorhome a rather ‘pinched’ look, to my eye – and I much prefer the smaller, simpler and less ostentatious vertical lights fitted to lesser Autocruise models).

And the only part-painted bumper and trimless steel wheels seem just a little mean on such an expensive motorhome, but the rest of the vehicle is pleasingly cohesive, with a low-profile silhouette that works better than most.

Indeed, so well-integrated is this new model that the uninitiated would be hard-pressed to tell where the conversion begins and the base vehicle ends.

Ah yes, the base vehicle. Given the Wentworth’s somewhat eye-watering £48,000 asking price, you’d imagine that Autocruise wouldn’t have stinted on its underpinnings, and you’d be right.

The staid, old Peugeot Boxer of old has, of course, now been replaced by the bug-eyed new model. And you can have any model you like, so long as it’s the 4-tonne 3-litre 157bhp flagship chassis-cab.

It is, in short, as big and as powerful as any Boxer-based motorhome currently gets, and it translates into a vehicle whose on-road performance is, shall we say, on the startling side of adequate. It handles well, too.

It’s inside, though, where you realise just how unusual this Wentworth really is.

Given the windowless rear panel, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another permanent end bedroom model, but in actual fact the rear wall is taken up in the main by the 150-litre AES stack fridge/freezer and the wardrobe, with the offside corner washroom filling the remaining space.

All too often, modern motorhomes that appear enormous from the outside can feel surprisingly small inside thanks to the presence of interior bulkheads, space-stealing swollen washroom/wardrobe walls and doorways galore leading here and there.

The Wentworth, however, is one of those increasingly rare beasts: a motorhome that effectively comprises just the one room. And on a motorhome that stretches the tape measure to over 7m in length, that’s a mighty big room, making for a vehicle that feels uncommonly spacious.

Certainly, the lounge, with its 6ft 2in settees, feels every inch the luxurious drawing room, with its quartet of (typically – for an Autocruise – rather dim) reading lights and (rather 1970s-looking) wall lights. In fact, you half expect the swivel cab seats to be of the deep-buttoned, wing-back leather variety.

And all that space comes into its own at mealtimes. Obviously, two people can dine therein in spacious splendour, but if ever there was a motorhome designed for entertaining guests on a regular basis, this is it.

Getting six place settings onto the standard-sized table might be a bit of a squeeze, but it’s just about possible.

In daytime or transit mode, its L-shaped kitchen no different to that fitted to a Starspirit, but releasing a snap-bolt catch causes the entire left section to swing out smoothly on a discreet gas ram, revealing a deep Ergo-Master metal bin and a couple of open shelves.

More importantly, however, this mechanism opens up unprecedented amounts of worktop space.

Moving into the corner washroom, those not in the know might find their face dropping in disappointment at being presented by what appears to be an old-fashioned (if quite spacious) all-in-one affair.

However, it turns out that the kitchen isn’t the only part of this motorhome that sports a swing-out surprise: tug gently on the washbasin pedestal, and the entire unit swings out to reveal an effective ‘separate’ shower beyond.

Simply clip the door extension into place, and you’ve got an entirely self-contained showering area that’s spacious and well-lit.

Some entirely subjective exterior aesthetic issues aside, you will almost certainly struggle as much as I did to find fault with this remarkable new version of the Wentworth. Over £48,000 is rather a lot of money to ask for the privilege, though.

•    A full version of this review appeared in the July 2007 issue of Which Motorcaravan. To order a road test reprint contact Tina Beaumont on 01778 391187.

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