Full review

Here’s a motorhome that’s familiar and yet not quite what you might expect at the very same time. If the styling rings a bell, then it’s because this is a Groupe Pilote vehicle, sharing much of its design with a Galaxy A-class from the parent company. But this is not a Pilote, it’s a Bavaria, the less well-known brand from the same factory in western France.

Adding to the intrigue, this is an SE model, which adds extra spec worth £5,895. The pack includes factory-fitted Scorpion alloy wheels and a Garmin 6.1 GPS tablet-based sat-nav, as well as a Cobra alarm system installed in the UK. The most noticeable aspect, though, is the full colour body wrap (covering front, sides and rear panel), which is carried out over here. Shown in Champagne, there are four exterior colours to choose from. It’s not the first – or only – non-white A-class, but it does make it stand out from the crowd. And the pack can be added to any Bavaria I740 model, with a starting price of £82,995.

It’s the I740FC that we’re focusing on here, with the new side sofa lounge – the fashionable floorplan of 2019 – mated to an island bed at the rear. Of course, the settees can also be converted into a pair of face-forward belted seats for passenger carrying, using the same neat system as in other Groupe Pilote models.

It’s a Fiat Ducato camping-car chassis with the 130bhp motor as standard, along with a 3,500kg gross weight. The 150bhp engine is well worth considering and, if you want to overcome all worries of overloading, there’s a 4,400kg chassis upgrade, too. The body features Styrofoam insulation, a 15cm-deep double floor and flush-fitting aluminium-framed windows. There’s a 130-litre fresh water tank and 95 litres for grey waste.

Inside, the first thing that you’ll spot in the open-plan forward living area is the cupboards over the windscreen, rather than the usual drop-down bed, although the latter is also available. The lockers, surprisingly, make the cab area feel even more spacious, while the fold-in-half table is an increasingly popular feature that is seen again here.

In the centre of the ’van the kitchen has a low-level oven alongside the usual drawers and the two-burner hob is set well back in the counter to create some prep’ space in this compact galley. There’s hidden lighting under the edge of the worktop, a spice rack on the wall and a large auto’ energy selection fridge/freezer.

In the rear bedroom the bed claims dimensions of 1.90m by 1.40m and there’s a framed headboard behind with corner speakers for the stereo. Bedside wardrobes are fitted on both sides of the mattress and there are USB ports and net curtains. At the foot of the bed are a mirror and TV bracket. The en suite washroom is the usual split arrangement, with the toilet room door able to shut off the back of the motorhome.

Heating is from the powerful 6kW Truma Combi, upgraded to electric and gas operation as part of the GB Pack, which also includes lounge area carpet, a bed cover, scatter cushions and the oven.

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