Full review

THIS motorhome has just been named as Motorhome of the Year and Low Profile of the Year in the MMM Awards 2009.

It’s a bit of a looker – and not just because of those gold sides which seem to change colour with the way the light hits them.

It has a simple, elegant, flowing shape that’s not been cluttered with unnecessary graphics. And at the rear there’s the company’s trademark half-height boot panel for access to a generous storage space.

Step inside and the chocolate brown leather, spacious interior and upmarket air are perhaps what you’d expect from IH – only more so.

What you won’t expect is a £54K price tag, but tell Mr Ian Hartley that he’s under-priced his new baby and he simply shrugs. This isn’t an introductory offer, it’s just that coachbuilts are actually easier to build once you’ve invested in the moulds for the overcab pod etc.

Easier, maybe, but the effort that has gone into this one is obvious wherever you look.

It’s not just the familiar IH interior flavour (turned up a notch or three) that makes the J500 stand out from more mass-produced rivals.

For a start you won’t be seeing one on every Caravan Club site – production is planned at just two a month.

And more importantly, no two J500s may ever be quite the same. There are the usual engine options and cab spec details before you choose the external colour – a light metallic green sounds appealing, while one customer is thinking pale blue. Anything’s possible, even boring all-white!

That ‘anything’s possible’ approach continues with options like gas tanks and stereo upgrades, but more unusually there’s flexibility to tailor the interior.

Want a bigger fridge? No problem – it’ll just reduce the wardrobe space above. Want to lose the swivel tub chair? No problem – why not have a TV locker there instead?


IH can even adapt the bathroom to include a separate shower; when we mentioned that some buyers might be put off by the current all-in-one washroom layout, Ian was straight in there with his tape measure and yes, it can be done.

If you’re after a pure two-berth with a fixed bed, the J500 is probably pretty close to your ideal already.

For a vehicle of seven metres in length, the J500 feels open and spacious, and even when you erect one or both tables there’s still that same impression.

The kitchen – with its stylish, contrasting darker wood worktop – measures a whopping 1.76m (not far off six feet) from stem to stern – and that’s before you deploy the extra worktop which hinges up across the door.

And it’s not as if the kitchen is just the usual amalgam of caravan industry components. The Smev four-burner hob with combined oven and grill may look familiar but the two identical stainless steel sinks look deep enough to bathe twins.

And where other ’vans would have cupboards, the IH has five giant-sized drawers.

Opposite the galley is the fridge – rather small at the moment but, as we’ve said, it can be changed – and a double wardrobe sits above it and juts out over the bed. The show model has one shelved wardrobe and one with a hanging rail but, guess what? You can have whatever you want in this department too.
There’ll be no need to change things out back where the J500 has the classic French bed arrangement with the bathroom alongside, but even here there are subtle differences – ever seen a leather headboard and window pelmet in a motorhome?

Just as in the lounge there are corner shelves for a drink or two and king-sized cushions for you to prop yourself up to enjoy your morning brew or late night tipple.

The mattress is of memory foam and the only omission is individual reading lights, though the halogen tube light does swivel.

Underneath the bed the forward half is a utilities area – Combi boiler, fresh water tank (a generous 136 litres), water pump, auxiliary battery and charging system, while the deeper rear part is accessed from outside.

Lift the boot and you’ll find toilet servicing on the nearside while the rest of the space – 750mm deep, 1230mm wide and 650mm (maximum) high is devoted to storage for everything from wellies to barbecues.

It’s a pity that it’s carpet-lined but IH have already thought of that and will be changing it on future production – unless you really want carpets in there, of course!

Finally, we come to the bathroom – and two things strike you instantly: firstly, there’s the eye-catching blue-lit cabinet at the back; and secondly there’s a distractingly noisy extractor fan that cuts in automatically when you turn the main light on.

Press that switch in the hours of darkness and you might just end up spending the rest of the night sleeping on the sofa!

At present, this is an all-in-one shower-cum-toilet space but there’s plenty of room to use all the facilities and the ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ showerhead will certainly give your friends something to talk about.

The stainless steel handbasin is another unusual touch, even more so as it comes with a matching – and equally shiny – soap dispenser. Strangely, though, the only step inside the vehicle goes down into the bathroom – elsewhere a double floor (with heating ducting within and, possibly, in the future a recess for shoes) has allowed a flat walk-through to the cab.

Still, if you’re tall, you’ll be able to stand bolt upright in the shower. You won’t be so keen if you’re prone to tripping over steps, though.

Everywhere you look there are neat details, things done differently. We could go on about the three deep, carpeted lockers under the sofa, the concealed flatscreen TV or little touches like the magazine rack over the door, or the bin mounted on it, but we’ve enthused enough about IH’s handywork and should conclude by telling you about the Fiat bit.

The chassis is to motorhome spec, so it has the low frame and wide rear track. To say it handles with as much ‘Superglue on Tarmacadam’ sensation as you’ll ever get from a vehicle nearly three metres tall is pretty much taken as read, therefore.

And the 130 Multijet engine and six-speed manual gearbox give you all the performance you’ll need, while at the same time making you think you might as well spend a bit more for the 3-litre engine. In short, our 30-mile drive was enough to leave us wanting to head for the sun.

Verdict
IH have carved themselves an enviable niche in the high-top camper market, but this is not a company that sits on its laurels. The J500 has what it takes to steal sales from a whole host of rivals, being at once beautifully made, sumptuously appointed and surprisingly well priced. If you want a fixed bed two-berth you need to see this – before the waiting list gets too long!
       
A full version of this reviews is published in the February issue of Which Motorcaravan. Read about the magazine.