Model Year | 2019 |
Class | A-Class |
Base Vehicle | Fiat Ducato |
Price From (£) | 89,195 |
Engine Size | 2.3TD |
Maximum Weight (kg) | 3,850 |
Berths | 2 |
Main Layout | Front Lounge |
At just 6.98m-long, this is a compact A-class by Frankia’s standards. However, it has a layout that should appeal to British buyers because it was designed and launched at the behest of the company’s sole UK dealer.
This new F-Line’s layout is basically the same as the already popular (but shorter) I 640 SD. However, following feedback from buyers, dealer, SMC Motorhomes, requested that Frankia build a slightly longer version to make room for an all-important garage. The result is the I 680 SG – the ‘G’ denoting the garage.
The newcomer features a drop-down bed above the cab, in typical A-class style. This is available with Frankia’s Duo Bed system, which means the bed can be extended to a size of 1.95m by 1.93m, allowing you to sleep lengthways for easier access.
Once the bed is stored, the cab’s twin swivel captain’s chairs become part of the large front lounge. The rest of the seating is made up of two side-facing sofas (longer on the nearside), which convert into a pair of forward-facing seats for travel. In the centre of the lounge is a large fixed, but infinitely moveable table, which can be expanded when needed to provide a suitable dining surface for up to six people.
As this is an A-class, natural light floods in, thanks to the huge windscreen, the two side windows in the lounge, plus windows in the Hartal habitation door, above the kitchen work surface and in the rear. In addition, there are three large skylights.
The well-equipped kitchen is unchanged from the 640 SD, although it does get Frankia’s Coffee Corner system as standard. The kitchen’s layout sees a 160-litre fridge/freezer alongside a full-length wardrobe and shorter side cabinet on one side, while a full oven, grill and three-burner hob (with electric hotplate) and sink with drawer storage below are on the opposing side.
But it’s at the rear where the real changes can be seen, with a much larger washroom running right across the motorhome. This features a full shower cubicle with sliding partition door on one side and swivel Thetford ceramic loo (with twin cassettes) and washbasin with storage beneath on the other. Users can close off this entire area from the front lounge and kitchen to create a large and private bathroom and changing room, if desired.
Behind this is to be found the huge storage area, which is divided into two higher-level lockers either side of the rear window (an unusual but welcome fitment adding daylight to the area) and a cabinet below the window.
The garage has twin 1.24m-high side doors – large enough to easily load bicycles – as well as a rear exterior hatch and access from the interior. It is fitted with a rail system with lashing eyes for securing cargo. For all this storage you need payload and, on a 3,850kg chassis, it has a half-tonne payload as standard. An option to upgrade to a 4.5-tonne chassis means you’ll have over a tonne of capacity, but do bear in mind the weight of optional extras.
Frankias sold here have lots of equipment added as standard because, as Frankia puts it, British buyers have ‘unique demands and expectations’. As such, it adapts its motorhomes to meet these desires through a standard UK Equipment Pack.
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You can also read a more in-depth review of this model here. And you can see a more recent review, of a 2022 model, here.
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