Full review

Dressed in metallic sliver paint, the exterior of this new high-top campervan is home to a solar panel, wind-out awning and TV aerial, all finished off with alloy wheels. In the cab there’s a passenger airbag, air-conditioning, cruise control, sliver-trimmed gauges and steering wheel-mounted controls for the radio and hands-free phone system.

There are just two berths, but the ability to transport a maximum of four increases versatility. Family man and Editor, Vaughan, pointed out that a bunk can be sourced that fits across the Ducato cab, so a grandchild might be able to go on holiday, too. There is even a double version, so you might take a couple of your little darlings. Priced from around 160 quid, the idea seems like a no-brainer if you want to go ‘gramping’ and don’t want to bother with a tent or awning.

With cab seats swivelled, there’s quite comfy seating for a quartet of campers. The dinette is created using the table, which plugs into the floor socket between cab seats and rear travel seat. And this is the only table – though, of course, there’s another socket for it in the rear lounge.

The kitchen is well-equipped, as you might expect of an Auto-Trail. A slot-in stove with three burners and grill/oven is partnered with a rather swish stainless-steel microwave. The square sink is of generous dimensions and the tap is made strongly in metal, not the flimsy plastic sometimes found elsewhere. One omission is a drainer, but the front end of the unit houses a substantial flip-up work surface that should take a draining tray no problem.

Below this, there are two mains sockets and a trio of drawers. Below the cooker lurks a large cupboard, but it’s rather cluttered with plumbing and gas pipes, making it less generous than it might be.  Thankfully, the two overhead lockers opposite come to the rescue and this is where I stashed my store cupboard items, plus cups, plates and glasses. Aft of the cooker, the wardrobe – fine in use – sits on top of the fridge. Finally, lies the rub. At just 350mm wide, the aisle through the kitchen is narrow – those nice rear travel seats are one culprit as they steal 100mm of the aisle’s width.

It’s all almost standard stuff in the ablutions department, as an integral shower meets Thetford swivel-bowl loo in a bright, white, wipe-clean room. The toilet is mounted rather high for comfort. It’s fitted with a niff-removing exhaust fan. The room’s forward wall houses the latest in drop-down basins, which is shallow but plenty good enough for washing, shaving and teeth cleaning. Above, a two-door mirrored cabinet sees storage needs sorted in fine style.

Six for drinks and nibbles will be very convivial in the rear lounge, while the six-foot-ish sofas provide plenty of feet-up space for both residents. On the offside there are the requisite sockets for a telly and there’s plenty of wall space to mount it where it should be perfect for viewing. Four opening windows and a big Heki rooflight provide plenty of ventilation and natural light. The table is adequate, so, once installed, there’s plenty of room to move around. The table also has its own stowage locker – conveniently located at the forward end of the offside sofa. It serves to make this side’s single bed shorter than its opposite number, but not too much. The double bed is nice and big. Big enough to sleep lengthways or transversely in comfort. I tried both and can report some good kipping all week.

No less than 22 lights provide shadow-chasing excellence come sundown, five of them in the cab area, three lamps inside the sliding door, three more in the bathroom and a dozen in the lounge. A strip awning lamp, tube lamp in the kitchen and four reading lamps in the rear complete a scheme that I found near perfect. Above the side sliding door, the control panel is a simple affair, with push-buttons and LEDs to control and indicate functions and levels. In the offside sofa base a hatch gives convenient access to the electrical distribution box. There are five mains sockets, but only one 12V outlet. The Truma heating system is dual-fuel and its control panel is iNet ready, which means a box of electronics can be added that facilitates smartphone remote control.

Water and waste is via underslung tanks, which share their home with a gas tank. Bulk LPG is always noticeably cheaper than cylinder refills and your back will be very pleased. Storage is pretty good. The six high-level lockers in the lounge will most likely take all your folding clothes and other small items. There’s enough space for a duvet or two sleeping bags, with pillows, in the space above the cab. The rear travel seat base’s cavity is easy to get at. In the lounge it’s the nearside seat base that provides for your long stuff, plus the likes of hook-up lead and hose.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read the full version and more in the February 2017 issue of What Motorhome magazine.

You can get a digital version of this latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.