Full review

Some might call it a British layout. Chausson calls it a ‘Smart Lounge’. However you describe it, the combination of side-facing settees and a table that, while it doesn’t disappear completely, does at least fold in half, makes for an open-plan feel up front that UK buyers will simply love.

Here, there’s a longer seat on the UK nearside, with the offside offering just a single seat with armrests. Where the Chausson design lives up to the ‘smart’ bit of its name, however, is the way it converts into a pair of individual forward-facing chairs to make this into a practical four-berth.

On site and in settee mode the seats are firm-ish and on the high side relative to the floor. A big overcab sunroof means there’s no shortage of daylight here, though, and there’s a selection of artificial illumination set into the base of the drop-down bed above (a £700 option).

Overall, the whole area feels light and open. There are practical touches, too, like the hatch into the seat base adjacent to the doorway (good for shoes) and the tall mirror (with trendy black illuminated surround) and coat hooks here.

The kitchen, on the nearside, isn’t huge and it isn’t the usual L-shape, but it has a little worktop even before you deploy the flip-up flap for extra preparation space. It’s a three-burner hob you see in our photos of an early French spec model but we’re expecting a better cooker in the UK models which should be landing on British forecourts by the time you read this.

Opposite, the tall, slim, black Thetford fridge with Smart Energy Selection and 142 litres of capacity will stay the same.

Beyond the galley there’s a step up into the washroom and a Velcro strap holds the sliding washroom door open while you travel. In this area the 748EB adopts the less common format of a full-width washroom with central basin mounted on the reverse of a wall at the foot of the bed. The circular washbasin and boutique hotel-style wall-mounted tap look great but there’s a dearth of surfaces on which to put make-up and toiletries.

What you do get is a pair of square cupholders, a tall mirror, two towel rails and good lighting. Then there are sliding doors on either side to make this whole area private from the bedroom and another tambour door can enclose the loo, isolating this from the rest of the bathroom.

Opposite the toilet, the shower is a good size and comes with dark tinted doors and a duckboard.

In the bedroom, cleverly shaped wardrobes allow a wider bed – 1.90m by 1.60m. A winding handle also enables you to raise the bed manually, increasing the height inside the garage below from 0.80m to 1.10m.

Like most Chaussons, you can choose between Ford or Fiat cabs, Flash or Welcome spec.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read more in the December 2017/January 2018 issue of What Motorhome magazine.

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