Full review

Words and photos: Peter Vaughan

The Globecar Summit Shine 540

If you’re after a Fiat/Peugeot van conversion with a fixed bed, there’s a huge amount of choice. Most of the major European motorhome brands (including Bürstner, Chausson, Hobby, Hymer, Knaus, Laika, Pilote and Rapido) will have a selection of models in their portfolio – and that’s before you include campervan specialists like Dreamer, Westfalia and, of course, Globecar. 

Then there’s everything from entry-level models to all-singing premium campervans, so it’s best to take a look at a few before you decide. 

In the UK, Globecar already has its Elegance and Summit Prime ranges, with the Summit Shine further increasing choice. The line-up includes medium-wheelbase, long and extra-long Ducatos. 

We’re testing the baby of the range, the 5.41m-long 540 – partly because it’s the first to arrive at importer, SMC, in Newark, and partly because the MWB version has fewer direct rivals than the longer 600 and 640 (although there’s also an interesting 600L, which combines the front of the 540 layout with the rear of the 640 to accommodate single beds in the six-metre van).

The spec

This Summit Shine 540 will save you £3,000 compared with its Summit Prime equivalent, which is pretty useful in these days of high cost of living. It also swaps the Samba interior décor for exotic-sounding Grigio Lucente, but there’s more to the newcomer than that.

What you won’t see here is the feature that’s, perhaps, the Summit Shine’s most unusual aspect – a single rear passenger seat. Instead, SMC has played safe and ordered its stock models with the conventional two-seater bench that’s optional on the Continent. 

If you’d appreciate the extra floorspace for a four-legged friend, you can still order a three-seater, while another possibility is a removable fifth passenger seat that slots into the side of the half-dinette and fills the aisle. Isofix is also offered as an option.

That’s not the only spec difference, because British buyers like all the toys. So, while the UK Comfort Package is listed as a £1,995 option, it’s effectively how SMC equips its vehicles, adding cruise control, Traction+, a black grille and matching headlight surrounds, leather steering wheel, painted front bumper and radio preparation, as well as upgraded heating (Truma’s 6kW Combi with gas and mains operation). 

You’ll already know that the Summit Shine is not competing at the ‘value’ end of the market, thanks to the fully framed habitation windows, while the optional 16in alloys (£825) and Campovolo Grey paint (£595) complete the aesthetics here. There are graphics, but they’re not OTT. 

Less obvious is the fact that this is a 3,500kg van (not the 3,300kg model sometimes used to save money), while the sliding door (still on the continental side) has a soft-closing function that’s almost never seen on rivals. There’s a wide electric step here, too, complete with automatic retraction on starting the engine.

The layout

Inside, as we’ve discussed, the Summit Shine’s biggest difference is relegated to a factory order option. So, the layout holds no surprises – there are swivel cab seats to make up the four-seater lounge, a galley that runs along the offside and partway across the sliding door entrance, then a washroom opposite and a fixed double bed running transversely in the stern.

Décor is not quite 50 but certainly several shades of grey, with white stripes on the upholstery and Mocha wood along the base of the top lockers’ doors adding visual interest. That dark woodwork is repeated on the floor (carpets are a £320 option), while the interior really comes to life with the lights on, LED strips running through those upper cupboard doors.

So, what’s the Shine’s USP? Well, it’s simple but neat – a shelf above the cab. Yes, that’s how all Ducato-based campervans used to come, but this is not the original factory item, it’s Globecar’s MultiRoof. It has a security net to keep its contents in place and, when you don’t need the storage space, it simply hinges out of the way to ease walking through to the cab. You can even unclip the shelf altogether and leave it at home. 

Another novelty is the Easy Move table, although this has been seen on previous Globecars and comes only on the 540 and 600L models of Summit Shine. This lifts and folds flat against the wall, greatly increasing the  feeling of space in the dinette. And that’s not its only party piece, as it then has a flap that makes a small coffee table.

In the usual style, there’s a raised floor in front of the rear bench seat, under which you’ll find a small storage compartment. There’s not much locker space below the seat, however, as this is home to the Combi boiler. The bench doesn’t recline but it is comfortably proportioned.

Alongside, the gloss black window surround is backlit and there’s a small spotlight and double USB socket, both on a sliding rail. Two further USBs, plus 12V and 230V power points are fitted below the top cupboard here (presumably with the idea of mounting a TV on the wall).

Globecar hasn’t forgotten that the cab chairs are the best seats in the house, so touch-operated reading lights are mounted on each A-pillar. 

And, while the MultiRoof precludes an overcab sunroof (you’ll have to go for a Summit Prime if that’s on your wish list), the Shine does have a large wind-up Heki rooflight overhead.

The kitchen

The kitchen might be exactly where you expect it and include the usual kit list of two rings on the hob and a sink fed by hot and cold water (from the inboard 85-litre tank), but there’s more to the story than that. For a start, the Dometic stainless-steel cooker and sink combination unit used here frees up a surprising amount of worktop (roughly 50cm by 40cm) at the forward end of the galley. 

So, you might not need a folding flap. However, Globecar has fitted one anyway, except that it’s not in the usual place at the end of the kitchen, but, instead, to the side.

Once raised, it does rather trap the chef in his/her workplace and stop anyone else getting to the loo (unless they are exceedingly thin), but it’ll be useful for more adventurous cooking and is so Teutonically sturdy that you imagine you could stand on it!

Of course, this being a German campervan (and a compact one at that), there’s no oven, but I rustled up a jacket potato lunch on the Remoska that recently arrived for test, so that wasn’t an issue. Some, though, may wish for more than one 230V socket in the galley area.

What you won’t be able to fault is the storage in three soft-close drawers. The top one is a commodious cutlery and utensil holder, while the one below was deep enough for my Tassimo coffee machine.

Then there’s the compressor fridge, which not only has a generous 98-litre capacity and a welcome quiet mode, but comes with its switches and display conveniently above the door (alongside the Truma heating and main 12V control panels). And it’s one of those funky fridges that opens from either side – perfect for grabbing a cold drink from outside.

The top lockers, which run above the kitchen and right around the bedroom, also feature open shelves with fiddle rails along the offside. You’ll need to restrict these to lightweight items, but the cupboards themselves also have retaining rails, which is a huge plus. 

The washroom

It’s perhaps disappointing then to find that there’s virtually no storage in the washroom. With its white walls, backlit mirror and clear roof vent, this is a light, bright space that feels bigger than it is.

There’s plenty of room on and around the loo, which is the superior Dometic cassette, but its height suits those with reasonably long legs. The deep oval basin looks good but it’s nigh-on impossible to get your face down over it because of the proximity of the mirror.

The best feature here, then, is the swing-wall washroom. Not a new idea, of course, but one that makes good use of space to create a shower without a clingy curtain. And it scores bonus points for its shelf for shampoo and its two drain outlets.

The beds

When the moon replaces the sun, another small detail strikes a chord; the fixed step that aids access to the rear bed. This being a Fiat, there’s also more-than-adequate bed length without needing pods on the outside.

It should be said, though, that Globecar has made maximum use of the Ducato’s dimensions to give you a mattress that’s genuinely 1.93m long (not all its rivals are as optimised). But, this being a medium-wheelbase Fiat, the bed is noticeably narrower than in a six-metre campervan (including the Summit Shine 600). 

At the head (offside), it’s 1.40m wide, but that reduces to 1.16m at the foot and, despite the welcome reading lights on adjustable rails, you can’t sit up here because of the overhead cupboards.

Note, too, that there’s no roof vent, although the windows in the back doors do open. There’s also the option of adding a third berth (or the much pricier possibility of a pop-top, at £6,995). For the occasional grandchild overnighting on board, the £395-extra cab bed makes more sense.

Its mattress will rob you of garage space but it simply unfurls across the cab seats and is supported by a strap at one end. You’ll almost certainly need to erect this berth through an open driver’s door, though, so perhaps it’s not ideal in midwinter.

Storage

In summer you’ll want to make good use of the under-bed space (1.04m wide, 1.09m deep and 71cm high) for your barbecue and outdoor chairs. To the right, you’ll also find the gas locker here, while the fresh water tank is built in on the left. More unusually, there’s also a wardrobe hidden under the mattress; just lift a small section of the bed to reach it from the living area.

If you want to carry taller loads, that’s possible, too. You simply lift off the centre portions of the mattress and the two frames that make up the slatted middle of the bed base. These can then be left behind or stowed in the garage but it’s not quite as neat a system as some, where the centre of the bed simply hinges up to one side.

The options

The 540 isn’t offered with the 180bhp engine that’s a £3,250 option on the 600 and 640 versions of the Summit Shine but the 140bhp motor is more than adequate for such a modestly sized model. In fact, its length (not much greater than a long-wheelbase Ford Transit Custom or VW T6.1) is a big part of the appeal, especially if you like to venture into towns.

Our test campervan also had the highly desirable nine-speed automatic gearbox, which adds a dollop of sophistication to what’s now quite an ageing base vehicle. That’s a costly item (£3,750), but standard spec includes the larger (90-litre) fuel tank, ESP, ASR and hill holder, a height-adjustable passenger seat, cab air-con and radio/phone controls on the wheel. 

However, you’ll need to budget for something to play the tunes and a camera to aid reversing (there aren’t even sensors to stop you crunching the rear). You might want to get your dealer to fit a solar panel, too.

Motorhome supplied by SMC Motorhomes
Tel: 01636 670760
smcmotorhomes.co.uk

Insurance: £566.89
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo