Full review

Words and photos: Peter Vaughan

The Ecowagon Expo+

Seen one side kitchen VW campervan and you’ve seen them all? Err, no. More than in any other part of the market, perhaps, spec, design details and, especially, build quality vary enormously.

So, you can buy the campervan equivalent of a supermarket own-brand sliced white loaf, or you can get the organic seven-seeded sourdough from a master baker. In terms of Volkswagen T6.1 conversions you can still – just – order a brand-new one for £50k but, like the sourdough, this Ecowagon Expo+ costs a lot more.

For a start, the long-wheelbase Highline panel van, on which this demo was based, boasts a 201bhp (204PS) engine, DSG automatic gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive, so, with a few extras added (power-latching sliding door, LED headlights, Park Assist, sat-nav, reversing camera and factory swivel seats), it’s £54,600 as a base van, before Ecowagon adds any campervan components at all.

Here, not only has it added its full top-of-the-range Expo+ conversion, but all manner of tasty treats on top – and yes, this Cornish company really does sell VWs with price tags well beyond £100k. This one is its most expensive yet, at £131,233. So, let’s see what you get for so much cash…

What’s included

Unlike the regular motorhome market, the VW scene places considerable emphasis on looks. After all, if your camper costs as much as a Range Rover, you don’t want it to look like Bob the Builder’s work tool. So, the transformation often begins with special wheels, which here are a set of Radi8 19in forged alloys custom-made in America. They’ll set you back a whopping £7,270 (including the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres) – needless to say, there are cheaper options.

Then, there’s a Leighton Vans bodykit, which certainly adds more than a little extra aggression to the front of the T6.1. In fact, it replaces the front and rear bumpers – at a cost of £5,508 – and, colour-coded in Ravenna Blue, it makes quite a statement.

Side bars are another popular add-on for Transporters but here, instead, Ecowagon has gone for Pegasus electric side steps that run the full length between the wheels and pop out as soon as you open a door, then slide away as the door closes.

Despite being only 120mm across, they do make for slightly easier entry/egress – albeit for an immodest £1,695.

Now, before you switch off and decide that the Expo+ is not for you – or your bank balance – it’s worth pointing out that you can have a standard model, without any of the bling, from a competitive £76,268 (for a short-wheelbase), or £82,078 for a long-wheelbase. And the standard Expo+ isn’t short of spec as it comes with a colour-coded Reimo roof, Thule wind-out awning, handcrafted and edge-banded cabinets, a 150W solar panel, Eberspächer diesel heating, an external shower and a whole lot more.

Air suspension

The second-most-expensive extra fitted here was the one I’d like most on my own campervan – VB air suspension. Operated by a simple control panel next to the driver’s seat, this £6,650 option has so many benefits.

For a start, in its normal mode it provides a much better ride than you’d expect in combination with such wide, low-profile (275/40) tyres. Then, when the road surface is smooth – and maybe you want to make the most of your 201 horsepower – there’s a sport mode to lower and stiffen the suspension. Great for those long motorway drives to the CÔte d’Azur.

On the autoroutes, Ecowagon reports another unexpected benefit as you can lower the campervan down to 1.80m in ‘car park mode’ and slip under the height barriers in car lanes, saving you many euro in tolls. And, of course, that ability to do the campervan limbo could be just as useful when seeking out somewhere to park.

It’s not just about ‘how low do you go’ because you can also raise the VW up to cross rough ground, perhaps on a rally field or farm site. Then, when you pitch up, another single push of a button allows you to level the camper completely – no more sloping beds or faffing about with levelling wedges.

The cab

It’s not exactly standard campervan fare when you jump into the cab, either. The Expo+ comes with full leather trim as standard and you can choose the colour and stitching.

Needless to say, the fit and finish is exceptional, but Ecowagon goes further and actually improves the comfort of the seats, too. They are genuine Volkswagen seats on factory-fitted swivels (not cheaper aftermarket alternatives), but the deeper side bolsters seem to hug you in place as you go round the corners. They have three-stage heating, too.

As I drove, enjoying the extra comfort and support, I was surprised to see VW’s fully digital display ahead.

It has configurable instrumentation, as you’d expect in an Audi, and it’s not normally available in a camper (except the California Ocean). Ecowagon’s Kenny Green confirms that they’ve retrofitted it and it’s a pricey thing to do, at £1,770. Unless you’re the sort of person who queues to have the latest iPhone, I wouldn’t bother.

The second bit of tech on the dashboard, the 8in touchscreen, is worth having, though, even if you’ll be forever wiping off the fingerprints. It includes Bluetooth, DAB radio, a reversing camera (parking sensors are fitted, too) and even a luddite like me can link their phone and use Google Maps via Android Auto.

The roof bed

Unfortunately, a delayed delivery stopped this Expo+ receiving the first of the new long-wheelbase electric roofs from Reimo (now a £1,500 option). So, instead, it’s the manual Easy Fit pop-top from the renowned German brand. There are cheaper roofs out there, but Ecowagon only uses top-quality components.

Here, the old-fashioned straps are gone and, in their place, a couple of simple catches secure the lid quickly and simply for travel. But, while Ecowagon turns to the experts for a thoroughly engineered roof, it mates this to its own roof bed, which comes with a neat sliding panel to create a smart, flat headlining above the cab (which is also said to reduce noise while travelling).

Once the roof has been raised, two flexible wand reading lights cater for either the cab chairs or the occupants of the upstairs bed. And the bed is huge, with a length of 2.24m! Not only that, but the mattress sits on plastic Froli springs for greatly increased comfort. However, a slightly shorter bed would allow easier access (for lifting the top, too) – currently, the gap is only 360mm across.

The interior

Down below, it’s not hard to see the wisdom of using Volkswagen’s own California seat system, which Ecowagon fits exactly as in VW’s own camper, except for one crucial change. Here, the sliding door is on the UK side, so the seat is on the nearside.

All the benefits of the Cali bench are retained – the comfortable seat height, the reclining backrest (so welcome when relaxing), the large drawer underneath and, most important of all, the ability to slide it to any position on its rails (which are covered, so as not to fill with dirt). If you’re travelling with young children, you can bring them close to the cab and, if you’re doing an Ikea run, you can have a boot area over 2m long.

The seat is trimmed in the same luxurious leather as the cab and, here, the seat base and back had even been painted for a smarter look (a £795 option). Then, at night, it’s the same super-easy system to slide the seat forward and flatten it to make the double bed.

Ecowagon provides a Duvalay mattress topper as the bed, although flat, is otherwise quite firm. That makes a big difference, while another huge plus of the Expo+ is the Swell Shades blinds, which not only provide excellent blackout, but have a double layer for insulation and are in a league of their own for quality.

Gas-free

When I awoke, the Eberspächer diesel heating had done a great job of keeping me toasty but, even better, was putting bare feet onto a warm floor (the electric underfloor heating option is worth the £895 in my book).

That’s not the only electric fitting because the Expo+ (which has a gas cooker as standard) can now be ordered in this gasless version. So, the hob is a two-ring induction unit.

Don’t think that you’ll have to rely on campsite hook-ups when you want a brew or a bowl of soup, though, because the Ecowagon can also be upgraded for off-grid touring. That means an upgrade to a 350W solar panel (£795), two 230Ah lithium batteries (£3,600) and a 3,000W Victron inverter (£1,850). So, you can use the hob – as well as the mains sockets – wherever you are.

You can also use the electric hot water system, which simply warms the H2O as it arrives at the sink (the exterior shower is cold only).

And you can keep a close eye on your 12V power consumption, including a display of how long you have left at existing usage levels and what benefit you’re getting from the sun, via the Simarine control panel. As the name suggests, this superior system is from the marine industry and is very straightforward to use.

Another improvement since I last tried an Expo+, less than a year ago, is the interior lighting. Now operated by a remote control that sticks to the wall magnetically, this Häfele system has four zones (right, left, rear and floor-level), each of which can be switched on/off or dimmed separately.

The fit and finish

What hasn’t changed is the superb quality of finish throughout this camper. That’s witnessed by the choice of top-notch components, the fit and finish and the lack of rattles.

The kitchen unit comes in a wide choice of colours and, whatever you choose, the cabinets are edge banded and have a stylish curve at the forward end. Everything feels made to last, not least the drawers (four of them, two deep enough for pans, etc), which glide closed and click as they secure themselves for travel.

In long-wheelbase form, the extra 400mm of length not only gives you extra floor space (great when the bed’s made up and extra-useful if you have dogs), but also allows more worktop and more storage space than we could fill for a couple of nights away. It’s just a shame that the rearmost kitchen cupboard is partially blocked by the seat when you have the rear mattress section unfolded for a bigger boot.

The storage

Not that you’ll be short of storage in the Expo+. The kitchen is well endowed, with the added benefit of surprisingly useful top lockers above. Then there’s the double wardrobe (both halves shelved, one accessed from the boot, the other alongside the seat) and more cupboard space above the back seat as a continuation of the galley’s top lockers. The boot space is generous, too, with plenty of room to keep a Porta Potti. There’s even a home for the awning’s winding handle.

Table storage is neat, too – on the inside of the sliding door – and it can be used inside (attached anywhere along the rail on the front of the galley) or outside (using all four, rather than just two legs).

Motorhome supplied by Ecowagon Ltd, Cornwall
Tel: 01209 843654
ecowagon.co.uk
 

Insurance: £419.07
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo

To see an in-depth review of the Ecowagon Expo+ gas version of this campervan, click here.