Full review

Westfalia – a company whose name has been synonymous with high-quality campervans for decades – has launched this retro-style four-berth camper not as a special edition but as a standard production model. It joins the existing Kepler One and Kepler Six, as well as the Club Joker, in the company’s 2019 range of VWs.

The distinctive bi-colour red and white paintwork of this VW camper hark back to a bygone era. Its interior design is nothing really new either, as the layout is the same as in the Kepler Six, although that model’s individual rear seats are replaced here by a more conventional bench.

This new Sixty, which is based on the 5.3m long-wheelbase T6, is not actually built in Germany but rather at the Rapido-owned Fleurette factory in France where the other Westfalia Kepler models and the Mercedes Jules Verne are manufactured (Rapido owns both Westfalia and Fleurette).

The Sixty has now just gone on sale in the UK in right-hand drive and is available only in this distinctive paintjob, which is matched to Westfalia’s pop-top roof with coordinated red canvas. This is itself matched to a new retro-designed ‘cap’ that sits across the front of the roof when it is down. Other exterior touches include the widespread use of chrome (handles, indicator surrounds, etc) and special one-off retro graphics and badges.

There are special order 18in alloy wheels with white centres and extensive use of chrome, but standard are 16in alloys or steel wheels. It is expected that most buyers will opt for the bigger alloys even with the cost of these wheels expected to exceed £2,500.

On the interior, the cabinets are finished in matching colours and the upholstery is also finished a in red and white faux leather with embroidered Westfalia logos. As expected in this typical campervan side-kitchen layout, there is a two-person rear bench seat that converts into a double bed (2.00m by 1.20m).

The bench seat is on rails, so it can be moved back and forth depending on loading needs and passenger comfort. Because it’s on rails, it can also be removed, while additional seating can also be added. This flexibility in seating means up to two more travel seats can be added, making the Kepler Sixty into a six-person people-carrier.

There is a second shorter (1.90m x 1.20m) double bed in the pop-top roof, so this Westfalia is a four-berth as standard. The cab has most of the equipment you’d expect – air-conditioning, electric heated mirrors, twin swivel seats with armrests, driver and passenger airbags, cruise control and a host of driving safety features.

The Sixty also gets some extra kit that its siblings don’t get, such as diesel-fired Webasto blown-air heating and VW’s 148bhp engine as standard. Prices start at £54,500 but budget for closer to £60,000 if you like your toys and want the popular DSG automatic gearbox, which is a extra £2,470 on its own.

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