Full review

I PICKED up the Rio at Danbury’s company offices near Bristol on a sunny Monday morning, with a ferry to catch at Pembroke in the afternoon.

The Rio VW Type 2 – as the name might suggest to you – is manufactured in Brazil, with Danbury importing them to a UK market.

The ‘new’ Rio Type 2 sports modern Calvin Klein underpants beneath its 60s’ Caftan exterior in the guise of a fuel-injected, water-cooled modern engine, electronic ignition and an exhaust system that features a catalytic converter. Far out, man.

For me, driving a modern motorhome – with power steering, air conditioning, blah, blah – whilst comfortable, means that there’s no real work involved.

However, it took me less than two minutes, three right hand corners and a close shave with a lay-by burger van to realise that forearm-powered steering is far more entertaining.

Despite a modern engine, a maximum 60mph is the best you’re going to get out of it, and if you are unlucky enough (like me) to be travelling across the Severn Bridge in gale force winds, you might want to keep a check on your speed – or risk being propelled into oncoming traffic whenever a crosswind hits you.

Now to the mystic properties of gear changing – or more to the point: your daily aerobic workout.

Changing gear is, needless to say, a necessity. What’s also a necessity in changing gear in a Type 2 is good shoulder strength – particularly when opting to use the reverse gear.

The technique I honed was to jab the gear stick down towards the floor (much the same action, I suspect, as trying to unblock a Glastonbury festival Portaloo with a rubber plunger) and wrestle it into position with all the steely determination and violence of Steve Irwin trying to catch a crocodile.

Once I’d mastered the dark art of steering and changing gear, everything became second nature – after about a week.

After docking in the Irish port of Rosslare – and after a rather lurchy sea crossing – I found a campsite near to the harbour and hunkered down for the night.

The Rio comes with a kitchen and plenty of nifty storage drawers on the nearside (with the kitchen comprising of a self-lighting, stainless steel hob and grill) and a metal-framed ‘rock and roll’ rear seat that converts into a surprisingly comfortable double bed.

I had the model with the optional elevating roof, which provides a bit of extra headroom. The Rio also comes with a removable, free-standing, centre-mounted table with detachable leg, an independent blown-air petrol heating system, a fitted optional 40-litre chest fridge and -– back to the front end for a minute – FANTASTICALLY comfy front seats, which only lack the, err, romantic possibilities offered by the rather more basic bench seats of the more primitive original models. 

The night spent in the Rio was comfortable, with plenty of storage to stow your gear away and an interior that is light and roomy. Surprisingly roomy, in fact.

CONCLUSION

Don’t think for a minute I didn’t like this van. It is because of all the things I’ve said above that I LOVE this van. True, you need to adopt a Zen-like attitude to driving and ultimately at what precise time you want to reach your destination.

Destinations are rendered utterly irrelevant –it’s the here and now that concentrates the mind. The constant, minute, readjusting of the steering wheel to keep the boxer’s nose of this van in a straight line, the ‘unknown quantity’ of the gears, and the overall ‘seat of your pants’ driving experience makes the Rio one of the most fun vehicles I’ve ever had the pleasure to drive.

FACT FILE:

Danbury Rio Camper

Price: £21,499 (standard specification)
Base vehicle: Volkswagen T2 panel van 1.6 litre petrol)
Berths: 2  Belted seats: 4
Length/Width/Height: 4.39m/1.80m/2.06m
MTPLM: n/a  Payload: 850kg

Furniture: kitchen units are finished in marine grade, moisture resistant traditional light wood finish. Black rolled-edged work tops are also fitted as standard.

Upholstery: front and rear seats come as standard in ‘wipe clean’ grey vinyl or as an option these can be upholstered in either Danbury modern hard wearing fabric or the choice of a large range of optional leather interior finishes to suit all tastes. Silver screens are supplied for the front of the car and quality lined curtains are also fitted to the sides and rear.

Flooring: wood effect vinyl flooring is fitted as standard. Customers ordering the optional middle row bench seat have black rubber flooring as standard.