Full review

How to have an island bed and save overall length? The answer might be to mount the bed transversely and leave access space at the foot and down both sides. That’s what Elddis has done in the Encore 254 and, as a result, it has very little direct competition. Only a pair of Auto-Trails offer a similar floorplan in 2018.

The Encore range is the bee’s knees of Elddis’ menu of motorhomes and is described a luxury ’van. The price is more mid-range, so great value for money is the boast. In a price versus kit head-to-head, the 254 has few direct competitors.

The list is impressive, with the cab offering cruise control, air-con, DAB radio with steering wheel controls and ASR traction control. Underneath, the low-line chassis is powered by Peugeot’s new 2-litre, 130-horsepower motor.

The conversion includes features such as external barbecue and TV aerial input sockets, but the undoubted star of the show has got to be the Alde boiler. Superior to a blown-air system, this feeds concealed wet radiators for near-silent operation with an even spread of heat.

External styling is unremarkable for a low-profile coachbuilt, the highlight being 2018’s new Champagne gold colouring to the alloy-clad flanks.

Internal décor is unremarkable, too, but typical for the type: neutral all over, in shades of cream, beige and brown.

Once swivelled, the cab seats face a cosy twin-sofa lounge – the test ’van being enhanced with £1,650’s worth of leather. Expensive, yes, but beautifully done in automotive style.

Very British is the twin-sofa arrangement and I was pleased to see another typical touch: functioning, fully lined curtains to both lounge windows. They just seem right and add to the cosiness.

There’s space in here for six to socialise, while the lounge does duty as a diner, too, thanks to a free-standing table. The table has its own dedicated locker in the forward end of the kitchen unit, so there’s no rummaging through coats, jackets and ballgowns in the wardrobe where tables are sometimes stowed. Think good eating space for the four people that the 254 is designed to house and, of course, the table can be shifted outside for a spot of al fresco dining.

Berths three/four are in a double that’s quick to make, using the time-honoured method of sliding sofa bases together and turning the (sculpted) base cushions over to the flat side and dropping them in to create a long bed that’s sensibly wide enough for two. A concertina screen encloses the lounge bed to give occupants privacy.

Situated on the nearside, the kitchen is as British as the lounge and that means fully kitted out. There’s a full cooker – a Thetford with three gas burners, one mains hotplate and a separate grill and oven. The fridge is big, too, with a 134-litre capacity, auto energy selection and a removable freezer compartment. Finally, there’s that darling of ready-meal lovers, an 800W Daewoo microwave.

You get plenty of stowage for pots and pans, utensils and store cupboard stuff, starting with my favourite feature, drawers. There are three of them, all adequate rather than huge.

The washroom is adequate, rather than palatial, offering an integral shower with the dreaded, cling-to-your-soapy-body nylon shower curtain. Thetford provides the swivel-bowl loo and there’s a decent-sized, high-level cupboard that should swallow all your cosmetics containers and washroom bits and bobs.

The star in here is the basin area. There’s a neat little counter that provides a mounting for the shower mixer valve and offers just enough space to take tubes and bottles in use. The basin is a smart, designer-style, surface-mount model fed by an equally smart tap.

Most of the ‘rising head’ beds I’ve tried have been hard to operate, as getting the mechanism to work has required more than a good shove. The Elddis system brings much the same results, but it’s simpler mechanically, so easier to operate and, frankly, more elegant as a result.

A stack of narrow drawers extends from mattress level down to the floor on each side of the bed, with equally narrow wardrobes above. In the middle, little surfaces emerge, sliding out to provide night tables. They are very small, but better than nothing and a reasonably good way to provide a place for a glass of water, alarm clock and specs.

I was pleased to discover that there’s plenty of room to get sat up in bed and that the headboard is trimmed in the same luxurious leather that graces the lounge.

Do bear in mind that the bed is six feet long and it’s a squeeze to get around the foot and along the rearmost side.

An easy pull sees the whole bed base lift on gas struts to reveal a locker that can also be accessed via a smallish external hatch. The boiler lives in here, too, so this is far from a garage-style, throw-everything-in space.

The tanks are underslung but insulated and heated, while there’s room for two leisure batteries and the Alde heating system runs on either gas or mains, or a combination of the two for fast warm up.

Aside from the high-level plinth-mounted lamps, there are no ceiling lights. Central ceiling lamps would be a welcome addition.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read the full version and more in the January 2018 issue of MMM magazine.

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