Full review

Lounge-based motorhomes are always welcome over this side of the Channel as, global warming or not, we Brits will always require somewhere comfy that protects us from wind, rain and snow at pretty much any time of the year.

Enter Geist and its rear lounge A-class, the Explorer Comfort 655 G. Built by German firm, LMC, the (UK market only) Geist brand has kind of ebbed and flowed over the years. Now, however, it’s back with a bang as a go-ahead, Lincoln-based dealer has grabbed exclusive rights to the brand. Camper UK has kicked off with a range of three Geist models that sit squarely in the mid-range of the A-class market.

This Fiat’s standard specification is pretty impressive. A cab door (on the nearside), complete with electric window, kicks things off. Then, like all of its European A-class cousins, this Geist has its habitation door on our offside.

A pair of captain’s seats, with twin armrests and built-in seatbelts, face a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a fascia stocked with cruise control, ASR with hill-start assist and hill descent control, including Traction+. The wheel has controls that connect to the double-height radio that includes sat-nav and reversing camera. It’s not the usual basic air-con, either, but the full automatic climate control.

Staying at the sharp end, the nose is equipped with LED daytime running lights. The final advantage comes from the Camper chassis, which is lower for better handling, but also serves the living area as it does away with the need for an external step.

The cab – despite swivelling seats – playing no real part in lounging or dining facilities. Above, and ready for action in a couple of ticks, is the drop-down double bed that helps make the 655 G a four-berth. The action is good, nay, great, and the bed scores highly, too, as it’s big: 2m long and 1.4m wide, which means it exceeds domestic double dimensions. You do need a ladder to get in and out, though, as there’s no seating nearby to use as a step.

The interior feels very open, although the mostly brown décor detracts a bit. The lounge sports a big U-shaped sofa with a serious acreage of table. Five, maybe six people might dine from the big adjustable table, but the top, on its pedestal leg, is offset. That means it really is a squeeze to get behind it on the offside, and the leg is an unwelcome presence, too.

Come bedtime, the table is easy to lower. Thanks to the offset, the offside edge lines up with the adjacent seat. It’s now just a case of rearranging cushions and adding a slim infill to create a very large bed that sees two people sleeping heads to the rear.

To make the 655 a credible four-berth, rear travel seats are needed and this is solved by rear-facing lap belts at either side of the lounge. Legroom is then created by removing the respective base cushions, lifting flaps and folding seat box fronts inwards. However, there is no provision for head restraints. At best, then, this is an occasional four-person ’van.

Pop outside and you’ll find a pair of garage-sized doors that open to reveal a big through-locker, the upper regions of which are occupied by the across-the-rear section of the sofa. Now for the surprise: operate a switch beneath its base and the seat rises, leaving a garage-sized space behind. In modern motorhomes it’s usually the beds that go up and down, so this twist is welcome (although it’s not the first time it’s been done).

This kitchen includes an oven. It is rather small and has no grill, but it is mounted in a safe position, low down. Unlike many, it doesn’t seriously impact on storage space as this galley has plenty – in both cupboards and drawers. Up top there’s a new unit from Thetford, a three-burner hob/sink combo. It’s actually pretty good as its three burners are in a line, making any pan easy to get at when cooking, while one of them is a wok-friendly, high-speed job. Across the aisle, the fridge is one of Thetford’s newer models and very good, boasting 141 litres of volume and a separate drawer in its base that’s deep enough for tall containers and bottles.

The washroom is, for the most part, sensibly designed and equipped. There is oodles of storage space above and below a superbly practical vanity basin unit, which also includes plenty of countertop space for potions and the like. The toilet is set at a sensible height, too, so sitting should be fine even for the short of leg. A semi-separate shower is provided in this all-in-one bathroom, enclosed by rigid screens. Full marks, then, for the lack of one of those clingy nylon shower curtains, but the screens proved difficult to use; I couldn’t get them to marry up to create a convincing shower stall.

Given that the wardrobe is really very big, it seems a shame that it could not be made smaller, thus allowing for the inclusion of an entirely separate shower in what is an otherwise good washroom. Meanwhile, the existing showering kit could probably just do with some tweaks.

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