Full review

I'D just picked up the Oregon RL from IH’s West Yorkshire base and the first tune on Radio 2 was Crowded House’s “Always take the weather with you.”

Not this weather, thank you. It’s grey and drizzly and the BBC’s website forecast has forced a change of plan from a few days in the Dales to a desperate dash south in search of somewhere that isn’t going to be soggier than a well used nappy.

But a change of plans and a spur of the moment decision is surely what motorhoming is all about.

With the full-height door slid right back the IH’s interior feels even bigger – not that you’re short of daylight with the door closed, thanks to plenty of windows and a Heki sunroof. Oddly, though, it’s a push-up Heki fitted here, not the posher wind-up type which would seem more in line with the Oregon’s upmarket image.

The Oregon’s long L-settee is big enough for three to sit on for a natter, while two more can be accommodated by the cab’s armchairs, but isn’t it more likely that ‘her indoors’ will bag the settee for a bit of shoes-off, feet-up time with her latest romantic novel?

Not in my case, as it’s me and the dog this time – and Dino is not allowed to put his paws on that swanky half-leather trim. So, I have the choice – cab seat for reading (no reading lights, though), settee for either sprawling or following the F1 on the flatscreen.

How neatly the 15-inch Avtex TV pops up from its hidey-hole just aft of the sliding door – it’s quicker to do its ‘jack in the box’ trick than the electric disappearing TVs we’ve seen in £100k-plus German A-classes and just as sure to impress your friends.

It’s also an option, but like the metallic paint, cab air-con, alloy wheels and cab blinds fitted to this demo model, it’s an option that’s sure to prove as essential for most buyers as a steering wheel and tyres.

The free-standing table slides out from its slot close to the TV and proves just the right size for dinner for one or two. It’s big enough, but doesn’t dominate the vehicle, leaving plenty of room to get by to go to the galley or the bathroom.

You’d have to sit one forward-facing and one side-facing on the settee, though, for meals – the cab seats are at a higher level and the higher cab floor has been continued aft so that feet don’t dangle.

As a welcome corollary of that you get a little underfloor storage area that’s ideal for shoes and slippers.

I discovered that (a) the bed is ABC simple to make and (b) that putting my duvet under the long part of the sofa makes it awkward to reach.

In the morning I remember that IH have promised to improve access to this storage area (where the caravan fuses and battery charger also live) by fitting gas struts to the lid and find that my duvet fits just as snugly into the space under the forward-facing part of the sofa, which is much easier to reach. My pillows go into the overcab cupboard with space to spare.

And the bed? It’s as comfy as it is a doddle to get ready. The bed base simply slides out and you sleep head to the cab end, as the 6ft 1in double tapers towards the kitchen.

In the morning I have no reason to regret my choice of a site with no showers and just a single WC – the RL’s facilities are positively palatial for a van conversion and should embarrass the designers of a few coachbuilts.

Of course, the extra space back here is the main gain over the standard 365mm (13in) shorter and £2000 cheaper Oregon R. The use of the extra-long Ducato panel van, rather than the much more commonly used for motorhomes and sub-six-metre long-wheelbase, means that IH have found space for a proper washroom and changing room right across the back of the ’van. And it’s a cracker.

This Oregon may be longer than most van conversions but it is still usefully narrower than a coachbuilt – and when you use Britain’s smallest roads that’s what counts.

Rural roads (with Britain’s desperately decaying tarmac) serve to emphasise how hard the Fiat’s ride is, though.

IH are unique amongst panel van convertors in replacing the original Fiat ‘barn doors’ at the back with a full-width panel, a single central window and a top-hinged opening boot.

Inside that hatch is servicing access for the loo and gas locker, plus space for outdoor stuff such as tables and chairs, mains lead, levelling wedges and so on.

You won’t get those classic beach chairs in (the space is nothing like as big as in the rear lounge Tio RL) but the type of seat that folds into a long thin tube-like bag goes in just fine.

I found the IH surprisingly easy to park, even without the reversing camera that I would have if I were ordering one.

The IH’s kitchen is well equipped with a four-burner hob and a combined oven and grill. In fact, this all-in-one Smev unit seems to make perfectly sensible use of space, leaving plenty of room for storage too.

Opposite the galley is the fridge, mounted over the wheelarch, which seems to seriously eat into its capacity – 70 litres is pretty much the norm in a high-top but this is one of the very few areas where most coachbuilts are rather better endowed than the RL.

Also on the nearside (in an eye-level locker) is the fitted crockery set, while a flip-up worktop opposite the end of settee provides a useful resting place for your Coke and Kettle Chips. We’d like something similar, or perhaps a little coffee table, up front too, for when you don’t want to get the table out.

The Oregon RL attracted positive comments wherever we went and few seemed surprised by its £50k price tag. Yes, you can buy more space for less cash (as tested the Oregon is even knocking on the door of the cost of IH’s own award-winning J500 coachbuilt) but bigger isn’t necessarily better.

Some will prefer the narrower body of a van, the all-steel construction or the more automotive looks, but when you’re inside you really do have to keep reminding yourself that you’re not in a coachbuilt.

It has all the kitchen you could need, it has a lounge that is simply superb and the bathroom is the best we’ve ever tested in a van conversion. Only the small capacities of the fridge and the water tanks (especially the waste) count against it in comparison with coachbuilts.

Verdict:

IH are best known for their rear lounge high-tops, including the Tio RL which is also based on the extra-long Fiat van. The Tio is another pure two-berth with no rear travel seats, but moving the lounge from front to back makes for a totally different feel inside the vehicle.

Up front, the cab is a secondary (very separate) seating area, while the relatively narrow gangway between the kitchen and bathroom makes the Tio feel smaller. Its bathroom is much more compact and more basic (with a fold-down basin), but the Tio has a larger fridge than the Oregon and a drainer (production Oregon RLs will get a different sink with integral drainer).

The rear lounge, of course, has two settees (in the Oregon only one of you can sprawl on the sofa at any time) and those two settees can be used as two single beds – an option that’s not possible in the Oregon.

Finally, the Tio has a much larger boot area for your outdoor gear. So, as ever, you pay your money... but the Oregon would be our choice.

A full version of this review was first published in the October 2009 issue of Which Motorcaravan magazine.