Full review

The layout here is nothing new, so let’s start by talking about the price. After all, Elddis has long been a leader in the value for money stakes. The new Autoquest van conversions come in two forms and even though this CV40 is the more expensive model, it still has a list price of just £38,377. Add in the essential Lux Pack (air-conditioning, passenger airbag and cruise control) and the total is £39,595. Psychologically, that’s important as it means you can drive away a realistically specified campervan for under £40k.

Those figures are even more important when you compare the Elddis with key competitors. An Auto-Trail Tribute 670 with Drivers Pack is £43,468, while a Swift Select 144 (again, with the necessary pack of cab kit) is £48,250. More prestigious Auto-Sleeper and Auto-Trail V-Line models are the wrong side of £50k and it’s not hard to find pre-owned van conversions marked up at prices well in excess of the new Elddis.

Of course, this isn’t the highest-spec camper, or the most luxurious. It comes with Fiat’s entry-level 115bhp engine as standard – but that’s adequate for most and you can upgrade to 130bhp if you really want to (for £900, but we wouldn’t bother). You can also add alloy wheels (£650), a fitted microwave (£195), cab blinds (£450) and a reversing camera (£450) but we’d advise to keep it simple and spend what you save on bigger, better adventures.

After all, the Autoquest CV40 comes with all the stuff you really need – and even a few bits and bobs that you wouldn’t expect. Grade III insulation, 4kW gas/electric heating, an electric step, LED lighting, an oven/grill and a 25-litre underslung gas tank are all standard.

Inside, the CV40 shares much of its design with the two-berth CV20, but here there’s the possibility of carrying rear passengers, thanks to the inclusion of a half-dinette with two three-point seatbelts. The bench is rather upright but at least has some shape to the cushions, while the wall-mounted table has a swing-out extension leaf.

You’ll probably choose to dine up front, but it’s at the back where you’ll chill out. The rear settees are 1.35m long on the nearside, 1.30m on the offside (shorter because of the table’s locker) and the sofas convert easily into a 1.84m-long transverse double bed. A TV bracket and 12V/230V sockets are mounted on the rear wall of the washroom, while drop fronts provide easy access into the under-seat spaces and storage is good because the water tanks, heater and gas are all underneath.

There is the usual rather narrow aisle between galley and bathroom that you always find with this type of floorplan – at its tightest it’s 350mm – but the angled front of the kitchen unit and angled bathroom door open out the space fore and aft. More importantly, perhaps, the kitchen is surprisingly good, with a three-burner hob above a combined oven and grill and a tall 90-litre fridge opposite. There’s a worktop flap at the forward end of the galley, where you’ll also find a bank of small drawers.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in What Motorhome magazine. You can get a digital version of this latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.