Full review

Chausson is well known for its outside-the-box thinking: the Flash 10 layout, for example, has been adopted by many other manufacturers. Fast forward to 2016, and the French firm may have done it again with a new layout.

The 620 is a blend of two previous models (the 610 introduced last year and the Suite), and includes something we haven’t seen before: a drop-down island bed.

Stepping inside, you can see something is different. The first real clue is in the lounge, with a centrally mounted, forward-facing bench plus two small inward-facing seats.

The latter are more like dining perches. The good thing about the forward-facing seat, though, is that it can recline.

The large electrically adjustable table is big enough for four, and there might be room enough for six. It drops too - to allow the roof bed to lower all the way down to seat height, and to make a second, lower berth with infill cushions.

Further back in the motorhome is the relatively compact kitchen, with a hob and sink on the left side of the vehicle and a large fridge opposite.

Right at the back you’ll find the same washroom as you find in the award-winning 610, the current Motorhome of the Year. The ample size of the wardrobe in it divides opinion, but it provides Chausson with the opportunity to offer a garage below that’s big enough for at least two bikes and has three exterior access doors.

To lower the bed, you first have to make sure the cab seats are swivelled. They also need to be pushed backwards towards the dash as far as they will go. This is easier on the Ducato than it is on the Transit, as the latter’s sliding mechanism doesn’t rotate with the seat. You then need to drop the table to its lowest point and then recline the backrest for the travel seat to horizontal, before you lower the bed electrically.

If you lower the bed until it will go no further, you can then slide the whole mattress and base towards the cab, creating full access on both sides – essentially an island bed.

Despite what you might think, this doesn’t take very long at all and you’ll soon have the routine finely tuned. Neatly, the bed will not rise until you’ve pulled it back towards the kitchen.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the October 2015 issue of What Motorhome.