Full review

IH’s award-winning Oregon RL layout transfers onto a longer Mercedes Sprinter base...

Customers don’t visit IH at Knottingley to buy a budget motorhome, or a family ’van. IH’s highprice, high-spec van conversions are in a class of their own as far as finish is concerned.

This Oregon M is IH’s latest creation – a front lounge van conversion based on the Mercedes Sprinter long-wheelbase, with a rear washroom and mid-kitchen. The decision to build on the Mercedes goes very much with IH’s brand image of quality and comfort.

The Sprinter may be accused of wallowing more on-the-road than its Fiat counterpart, but with its softer suspension there are absolutely no rattles on board. And the seamless automatic gearchanges encourage a more relaxed driving style. The 160bhp engine is plenty pokey enough, and isn’t at all noisy – as long as you use a gentle right foot. The three-pointed star helps this motorhome look the part, combined with alloy wheels, colour-coded awning, and dark and light grey graphics and paintwork.

Inside, the two swivelling front seats turn to face an inward-facing straight settee (unlike the Fiat-based Oregon which has an L-settee). The sofa turns into the double bed at the twist of a lever. There are plenty of loose cushions, which you’ll need as the settee squab is very wide. You’ll want a cushion or two behind you to sit upright, though this settee is actually most suited to those who like to put their feet up.

There’s lots of legroom, and with the driver’s seat swivelled, there’s enough room for two to relax in this way – which would be especially pleasant in the summer with the huge sliding door open to let in fresh air. The 16-inch Avtex TV faces towards the cab seats so that all the lounge occupants can see.

Below this is a table storage cupboard for a large free-standing table and a smaller island leg table (more suitable for coffee time). In the lounge, high-level cupboards stretch along the Oregon’s offside, and there are two storage cupboards above and below the TV.

Upholstery is IH’s usual half-leather finish, with their logo emblazoned onto each of the scatter cushions and the cab seat headrests. Meanwhile the removable carpet is cream and the carpeted side walls and ceiling are a mix of cream and grey. An elasticated magazine rack is just behind the side door, and padded roof sections (where there are extra ceiling lights and the rear speakers) are positioned on each side of the large Heki rooflight.

Another smaller rooflight is above the kitchen while the rear washroom is lit and ventilated by an opening rear window. The kitchen has a silver theme running through it, with a silver-coloured Thetford Duplex oven and grill unit on the nearside, above the 85-litre silver-fronted Dometic fridge. On the offside are a stainless-steel sink (with drainer) and a three-burner hob that also features a single electric hotplate and an extractor fan.

The only thing this kitchen is missing is worktop space, although you have that small area beneath the television and you could always use the free-standing table. You may also be disappointed by the lack of plate and cup racks in the upper cupboards but these often waste space, and there’s plenty of storage here. There are two drawers below the cooker, including a shallow one for cutlery.

There are two more large cupboards just forward of the washroom door, and inside the washroom there’s acres of clothes storage. There’s a narrow cupboard on the offside with two short hanging rails side-by-side. The offside also has a variety of cupboards, and there’s a mirror-fronted unit on the rear wall. Lighting is via an attractive circular arrangement of striplights, along with some ambient uplighting (a stylish theme which is carried throughout the motorhome).

The washroom itself is a slightly unusual shape, as below the circular stainless-steel washbasin is a large squared-off area that creates the external ‘boot’ storage, which is accessible from outside. This space is large enough for all your outdoor equipment. And the shape of the washroom gives lots of upper body room for showering, and plenty of worktop for toiletries.

At night, the bed is very simply made by pulling forward the bed base mechanism (which on production models will be hidden during the day by a wooden panel). The cushions then fall into place, but you’ll have to put a fitted sheet on to keep them there during the night. There are two spotlights over the lounge, especially useful for bedtime readers, and the control panel, along with the heating controls, is just above here, too.

The Oregon M has massive appeal, although we’d expect no less from IH. The ambience throughout is warm and
welcoming, the build-quality is superb,and the washroom and external storage are unrivalled in the van conversion market.

To read the full motorhome review in PDF format exactly as it appeared in the July 2011 issue of Which Motorhome, click here.

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