Full review
FIRST things first: this is an unquestionably pretty motorhome and the Hymer genes are obvious.
The octet of round tail-lights imparts a more youthful air than the more severe tail end treatment you tend to get on Hymers. However, the white-capped cab and roof break up what might otherwise be something approaching silver overload.
On a practical level, the Eriba’s exterior continues to please. Its usefully low-set gas locker (in the lower skirting just behind the driver’s cab door) is further enhanced by the simple but effective addition of a plastic flap that folds downwards to further facilitate the loading and unloading of heavyweight gas cylinders.
The large locker door to the rear of the offside wall, meanwhile, affords access to the under-bed void, where the handy provision of a light makes the location and extraction of items a breeze.
If you’re wondering whether the legendary Hymer build-quality been lost in translation over to Eriba, then worry not.
Inside, you’ll find that the 653, like each of its Emotion branded siblings, sports a fixed bed layout, specifically a near-mirror image of that sported by the littlest model in the range, the 553.
To wit, there’s a longitudinally mounted double bed in the offside rear corner, with a washroom slung alongside, a kitchen (blessed with a full-size domestic-standard fridge-freezer) amidships and a nearside half-dinette/offside settee lounge up front. In short, it’s Europe’s best-selling motorhome layout.
Staying with the lounge, the faintly 1970s Nairobi beige trim is inoffensive enough (there’s a more vivid red-themed Rio option if you prefer) and works well with the modern-looking lino floor covering and noticeably Hymer-esque (if slightly paler in hue) curved cabinetry and built-to-last push-me-pull-you catches.
The 12V lighting is classy in appearance and generous in provision, but even the large central panoramic rooflight can’t mask entirely Eriba’s perhaps rather surprising missed trick of failing to install a window behind the offside settee, something that makes the lounge feel darker than it perhaps should do.
Come meal times, simply pulling on a knurled wheel beneath the table causes a hitherto hidden lower table-top to swivel outwards and lock firmly into place, allowing one of the settee occupants and both cab seat occupants to reach their meals with ease.
The same table sports a folding leg that allows it to clip onto a lower wall attachment and create the base for the occasional single bed, too.
Moving back into the kitchen, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’d inadvertently stepped into a B-Class Hymer. The bulging roof locker unit (from beneath which the hidden TV station appears), colourful strip lights (albeit a vivid red to the Hymer’s cooler blue) and high equipment specification are all very Hymer.
And kit includes a 150-litre AES true fridge/freezer (above which sits a huge cupboard), a three-burner hob and a Smev Combi oven/grill, these latter two equipped with spark ignition.
The L-shaped galley unit opens up a decent amount of worktop space, something that’s extendable still further by the employment of the lift-out sink cover. Swinging open the large curved door beneath the sink reveals a pair of generously-proportioned slide-out wire baskets and two fixed wire shelves attached to the door itself.
The myriad doors sunk into the floor-to-ceiling unit by the main entrance door, incidentally, open to reveal, respectively, a pair of small stacked wardrobes and half a dozen vertically stacked storage shelves. This should be ample space for two people’s attire, but having a third person on board would, I suspect, stretch the 653’s ultimate clothes-carrying ability a touch too far.
In the bedroom, the bad news is that the old bug-bear of having a chopped-off corner to the mattress continues unabated. Elsewhere it’s mostly good news, with a superabundance of 12V lighting, no rear window (making sitting up in bed a viable proposition) and a pair of handy fabric flaps that would be ideal for storing books, spectacles or jewellery. Five roof lockers, four of which sport fixed inner shelves) seems particularly generous, too.
The washroom area offers little in the way of dressing space, but more than adequate locker and surface space, together with a large mirror, good-sized locker and a couple of cheerful lights.
Having the separate shower cubicle beyond the swivel toilet is a sensible use of space and the room itself is well served by a dedicated light, long towel rail and a pair of flannel hooks. On the downside, however, the shower area isn’t exactly over-large.
Verdict
The Eriba Car Emotion may look quite pricey for a Ford-based vehicle but this is not a budget-spec ’van like many Transits. It’s a high quality and well equipped product that feels every inch the Hymer wannabee inside. With its striking looks and forthcoming higher-powered Ford engine, the Eriba is an interesting alternative choice in a busy sector.
A full version of this review first appeared in the February 2008 issue of Which Motorcaravan magazine. To order a full road test reprint ring 01778 01778 391187. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.Content continues after advertisements
Luxury Transit-based low-profile is comfortable and well equipped, but has a chopped-off corner to the fixed rear bed