Full review

FOUR berths, two dining areas, one lounge – the E695 manages to cram a lot into a mere seven metres of motorhome. And the driver gets a through-view of the road behind…

Swivel the cab seats around to face the table that’s opposite the kitchen and you have a true dining kitchen. Or a breakfast room. Or a children’s activity area. Or a table surface to use as an adjunct to the kitchen when you’re making meals.

And then look back along the motorhome to its lovely spacious U-shaped lounge that’s the feature which makes it look so much more spacious than its dimensions would suggest.

First impressions of Bessacarr’s E695 are that it’s versatile.

And the more you look at this layout, the more you realise just how well it would suit a variety of family requirements.

The spacious U-shaped lounge gives you ample relaxing space – and an excellent family dining area, too. You can seat any number up to five – and more if some of the party is of small stature and small years.

Night-time accommodation comes in the form of an over-cab double bed – but the real bedtime luxury is at the back, where you have three sleeping options.

You can make up two singles or pull out the bases of the settees to make a gigantic double. These bases come out from the side of the motorhome, enabling you to make two wider single beds if you wish – that’s your third option.

Our test sojourn started well; a journey from Lincolnshire to Kent established this unit as an easy-drive machine. One major factor in that ease is the through-view afforded by the lounge window. Another has got to be the free-revving 2.3-litre Fiat Ducato engine.

Within minutes of arrival at Broadhembury Holiday Park at Kingsnorth, Ashford, mains power was plugged in and the Truma Combi heating system was whirring quietly in the background to let us know it was doing its stuff.

Kitchen facilities are up there in the luxury class, as you’d expect. The microwave sits in a curved cabinet that gives you a good-sized cupboard and two central shelves. The gas hob has three burners plus a mains hotplate, plus  oven and grill. A grey Thetford fridge is fitted.

There’s a small amount of work surface to the left of the sink – we found there was just enough space here to make dinners for two but, with four portions to serve, you’d make use of the dining table, too. Upper kitchen storage is fine; lower storage is limited to a central, slim, pull-out unit containing two wire baskets.

Showering arrangements in a mid-sized motorhome are never the most luxurious you’ll find in space terms – but the little room in the E695 hits the luxury spot with its level of refinements and ingenuity in creating a usable shower in a small space.

Top of the luxury list has to be an outlet for the blown air system, so it’s always toasty in here. More important, there is a constant supply of warm air in which to dry your towels. The two hooks aren’t adequate to support towels for four – but if you open the doors of the top wall cabinet you get two more places over which to hang towels to dry.

The shower is roughly circular, and with a removable wooden board over the base. That enables you to use the shower base as flooring, thereby maximising on space. Three spotlights ensure there’s plenty of light for grooming in here.

Verdict:

It’s short enough to be an easy drive in town traffic as well as on the open road, yet this motorhome is big enough to offer comfortable living space for four.

The Bessacarr E695 answers a lot of motorhome needs. Its price puts it just into the luxury class – and it looks and feels the part.

On the road the through-view gives it a car-like ease of vision and, on site, that triple-window, wrap-around rear lounge gives you a living space that’s light and airy and makes you feel you’re in a larger motorhome than you are.