Full review

The Avanti H is the latest addition to the line-up from this German manufacturer of upmarket van conversions. It was developed to replace the (Mercedes-based) Regent L, primarily to appeal to the British and French markets.

But, you’ll not see anything like the Avanti H from any UK brand. Yes, there are end washroom layouts in other van conversions (such as the Auto-Sleeper Kemerton XL) but, here, storage capacity is quite beyond any rival we can think of. Oh, and the main bed is a drop-down double in the roof.

So, the bed first. It is manual but requires no great effort. La Strada claims dimensions of 2.00m by 1.30m and you sleep lengthways, with Froli plastic springs under the cold foam mattress ensuring a very comfortable night. Headroom is adequate and you’ll need a ladder to get up there. It’s a better bed than any made up from seats, but access may be challenging.

If the bed looks OK, read on, for the amount of cupboard and locker space in this motorhome has to be seen to be believed, in only a six-metre panel van.

It starts at the back doors: there’s no access into the vehicle this way but there is a shelved area, plus hooks and rails onto which to hang your outdoor furniture.

Inside, the kitchen sits between the lounge and the bathroom and there are lockers of every shape and size. Directly behind the rear travel seat are four drawers; there’s a tall, slim fridge (130 litres) with a shelved cupboard alongside and a wide drawer below.

Opposite, to the rear of the main galley area there’s more full-height locker space in a mix of cupboards and drawers. It’s a hoarder’s delight. And that’s before you include the compartments in the double floor…

The bathroom is pretty impressive. It has a Dometic cassette toilet, a basin set into a large worktop area and a generous semi-separate shower.

Up front, the half-dinette seating has been improved for 2018 and the size of the head restraints has been increased, while Isofix for one child seat is standard. The wall-mounted table has a large extension, while the double floor means there are no steps to trip you.

Like every La Strada, there’s a huge range of personalisation options. That starts with 10 furniture colours (and seven door colours), 11 exterior paints, five leather options (plus 30 more to order) or six standard fabrics (plus 70 more special trims). And that’s before you start looking at the many options – you can ‘build’ your perfect La Strada on the company’s online configurator.

We dreamed up our ideal Avanti H online, which soon took us way beyond £80-grand, but a more realistic level was, perhaps, represented by the NEC show model. With 150bhp engine, metallic paint, automatic gearbox, 16in wheels, Drivers Packs 1 and 3, front foglights, radio controls on the steering wheel, Concrete Grey woodwork with white mirror-finish doors, the Comfort Pack and Truma gas/electric heating, it still snuck just under the £70k mark.

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