Full review

The I 72 GD provides the expected appointments of L-shaped lounge, followed by kitchen and en suite washroom, with the inevitable beds above a garage. External looks are more homely than radical and rakish – just a good, solid-looking motorhome that appears conservative and capable. The habitation door is a top-notch Hartal item and begins a story of high-quality fittings throughout. The décor is Noce and Bianco joinery, partnered with plain and tweedy grey named Aquamarine. There are eight other fabrics, partnered with two furniture finishes as set pieces and, for a little over £400, you can customise, mixing more than 70 décor choices to your personal tastes.

Standard fittings in the Fiat cab include a centrally locked driver’s door, ESP, Traction+ with Hill Holder and captain’s seats with built-in belts. Externally, there are front foglights, while the rear clusters are LEDs. You’ll need to add the Chassis Pack (fitted here and weighing 56kg) to acquire such items as air-con, cruise control and a passenger airbag.

Road manners proved excellent – the motorhome felt solid on the road, the bus-style mirrors gave a good view and the front-end design provided the panoramic view that’s a good reason to buy an A-class. The only negative was that I found the driver’s seat rather too hard and unsupportive. Shame, as the SKA seats really are top-quality items.

Omitting the drop-down bed not only makes the ’van lighter, it also makes the lounge lighter in terms of daylight. Without the bed above, there’s a real feeling of an airy space that takes even better advantage of the full body width up front.

As expected in a continental lounge, the emphasis is on using the table, so seating is rather upright and the best seats are the cab pews used as reclining armchairs. Delve into the detail, however, and this one does quite well. Where the inward-facing section of the sofa is sometimes a bit of a narrow perch, here it’s wide enough to be used in comfort. And, rather than provide another ‘perch’ on the offside, Frankia has installed a handy shelf unit, which, protruding far less than a seat, makes this lounge feel more spacious.

Departing from the norm, which usually sees the kitchen L-shaped and located behind the forward-facing lounge seat, here it’s a straight run of cabinets, mounted on the offside. There’s no space for big cupboards, but, even so, this galley does quite well with four large drawers and a brace of shelved lockers above. Of course, the presence of an (optional) oven grabs some stowage space, but it increases culinary versatility and there should be enough lockers left to serve two people in reasonable fashion. Opposite, the fridge is capacious, and it includes a deep, super-convenient chilled drawer in its base.

Back across the aisle there’s a smart, gas-on-glass, three-burner hob and a sink, which has a drop-in worktop lid – thankfully, as there’s precious little working surface. The sink is different from the norm as it comes with a tiny drainer and second bowl. I guess washed espresso cups might fit, but it’s probably designed for use while peeling – catching debris and liquid. Commendably, the worktop splashback extends high above on the right, to full height at the back, and there’s also a generous glass splashguard on the left.

The washroom almost has it all. The things lacking are countertop around the basin and somewhere to dump a flannel and gel in the shower. Aside from that, these ablutions achieve best practise in all areas. Two doors mean both the main living area and bedroom can be closed off, giving complete privacy and lots of floor space into the bargain.

The washbasin is large, there’s plenty of storage – above and below – and more than enough mirrors. Above, no less than three rooflights make for excellent ventilation and the toilet is set low for comfy sitting. There’s weight-saving here, too, as the previously glass shower doors are now made from acrylic plastic.

There’s little to say about the bedroom that isn’t good. Long, comfy beds are easily reached via the usual stairs, and each is served by pigeonhole shelves. There are lockers above the bedheads, but they loom less low than many, so propping yourself up to read should be OK.

The undoubted star of the storage show is the wardrobe design. The location is standard for single bed layouts – one beneath the foot of each bed. However, if you like to hang clothes neatly, you’ll be pleased to see generous doors, with hanging rails attached, that slide out and make access supremely easy.

Outside, the garage is large and, again, access is great thanks to a large ‘boot lid’ in addition to side doors. The introduction of low-energy LEDs has allowed designers to go a bit mad with lighting schemes. Put simply, there’s plenty. The TV locker is quite clever as the mount slides out and down to a more neck-friendly level. All looks simple on the electrics front, but under the skin a new digital system should improve both reliability and the accuracy of measurement of volts, amps and levels – giving all-important information about the remaining contents of the leisure battery.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read the full version and more in the April 2017 issue of MMM magazine.

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