Full review

Few would argue that the most convivial layout for a motorhome lounge is to have a couple of long side-facing settees facing each other. Loads of people can relax on them and chat facing each other. Plus, if you need to head to the kitchen, everyone has equal access to the central walkway. If there’s just two of you, you can have a sofa each and put your feet up.

The downside to having a twin side settee layout was usually that you’d only have two travel seats. Alternatively, the common half-dinette layout allows you to have two more belted seats, but they tend to be rather upright and result in a less sociable lounge.

If only someone could invent a travel seat system that didn’t compromise those comfy side settees... Well, several companies have, of course, including Elddis with its Autoquest 194, from which this Majestic dealer special is derived.

Comfy lounge with twin side settees? Tick. Rear twin fixed beds? Tick. Four travel seats? Tick. Modern low-profile body style? Tick.

Crammed with a host of extras

As a dealer special for Marquis Leisure, the Majestic comes crammed with a host of extras for a £6,046 premium over the equivalent standard Autoquest. These aren’t just detail differences, but real tangible stuff.

For starters, the Peugeot Boxer’s Euro VI engine gets upgraded from the 130bhp engine to the flagship 160bhp engine, which makes it far more relaxing to drive without making any major impact on economy. According to Peugeot’s price list this is worth about £1,100 and it isn’t even listed as an option for the Autoquest.

Then there’s cab air-conditioning, cruise control and a passenger airbag (£1,218 from Elddis) and it’s worth noting that the air-conditioning here isn’t the manual on/off system but the more sophisticated automatic version that allows you to set a desired temperature.

The cab also gets built-in blinds as part of the Marquis upgrade (worth £450), together with a mirror-mounted screen for the rear view camera (usually £365), which can be left permanently on to give a handy rear view on the road.

Best of all, you also get a built-in TomTom sat-nav as well as Bluetooth integration for your mobile phone and a DAB radio.

So far, we’ve totted up £3,133 of goodies and not even mentioned the built-in alarm, standard-fit GPS Tracker, the solar panel, massive overcab rooflight, kitchen ceiling fan and the external barbecue point. Not to mention the silver paintwork to the cab. But you get the point. With all the extra kit, the screen price of £50,995 seems reasonable for a fully loaded 7.34m low-profile.

A spacious rear garage

Loading the ’van proved easy, thanks to the spacious rear garage that’s been fitted with large doors on either side. On the road the 7.34m length didn’t prove to be much of an issue and, with the elephant’s ear-sized mirrors and the rear view camera, it was easy to position on the road, even around narrow streets.

There’s little to complain about in the cab. Except for the steering wheel and gearknob, which are the basic plastic items rather than the much more tactile leather-clad versions that would seem more in keeping with the aspirations of this motorhome.

Lots of light in the lounge

To keep it on the same level as the cab, the lounge floor here is raised and there’s a small step down to the central kitchen/washroom area.

You could probably seat eight people in the lounge, or six with bags of room, so it’s a great social space. A free-standing table fits between the sofas at dining time and is large enough for four.

With two large side windows, a wind-up sunroof over the cab and a large Heki rooflight overhead, there’s plenty of light flowing into the lounge.

However, it’s underneath the side settees that you get two pleasant surprises. Nestled under each settee is a fold-up Aguti travel seat, complete with a beefy steel frame and a built-in three-point seatbelt.

For seats that may only get used occasionally it’s a great solution and gives you a completely uncompromised side settee lounge.

Impressive cooking facilities

Keen chefs will be impressed by the level of standard kit in the kitchen.

As well as a three-burner gas hob with piezo ignition, there’s also a handy 800W mains hotplate to help you conserve gas when hooked up. A fold-down glass cover adds extra worktop space when the hob isn’t in use and also features a built-in shut-off valve for extra safety.

Also finished in a matching black enamel is an inset sink with a smoked glass cover, and there’s a reasonable amount of worktop space surrounding the hob and sink, plus an additional flip-up worktop section in front of the Hartal entrance door.

Underneath the counter is a Thetford grill and oven, together with a three-way fridge that has a useful removable freezer box if you’d rather have more cooling space. At 85 litres, it’s quite small for a four-berth, though, especially compared with the tall fridge/freezers seen in most continental ’vans.

An 800W microwave is built into a locker above the hob. Pots and pans can be stored beneath the oven, while a quartet of small drawers can consume your cutlery and other chef’s implements.

Opposite the galley is the washroom, which is accessed via a rather flimsy door with an equally flimsy lock mechanism. The basin sits on an L-shaped worktop to make good use of the space.

The basin itself is an attractive standalone bowl, fed by a decent-quality Caraflo swan-neck tap, and there’s plenty of worktop for your toiletries. There’s a double-door locker and a couple of towel hooks.

A Thetford swivel bowl toilet sits alongside the shower tray. A shower curtain slides across the loo area to keep the spray off it.

The shower has a separate tap and there is 2.00m of height between the shower tray and the overhead steam vent. It also has an Ecocamel shower head to help conserve water from the 100-litre underslung tank.

Hot water is supplied from a Whale system that holds eight litres and can be heated by either gas or via a mains hook-up.

The front bed: a decent double and easy to make

When it’s time to retire, the cab is sealed off with Remis blinds. The front bed is a decent double and is intuitive to make up as you simply lift up the two settee bases and pull them together to meet in the middle. The backrests then fill the central hole, forming a generously long (2.07m) transverse bed.

The fixed rear beds will be the first choice, though, and these longitudinal twin berths are accessed via a couple of steps. The beds themselves are 1.81m and 1.79m long. Thankfully, there are no roof lockers above, so you can sit up in bed.

Under the beds are his and her wardrobes, with a third wardrobe sandwiched between the bed and washroom.

If you found this motorhome review useful, you can read the full version and other similar reviews in the April 2019 issue of MMM magazine. You can get a digital version of this latest issue of MMM magazine here.