Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Murvi Pimento XL SB

Murvi’s Morello has been around since the late 1980s, garnering praise and winning awards decade after decade. Its base vehicle has moved from Talbot Express through various generations of Fiat Ducato and is today joined by Ford’s Transit, but the concept of a long sofa facing the side door, a rear L-shaped galley and, opposite, an offside corner washroom remains the same.

Murvi design does not stay still, though. The company is constantly tweaking and evolving its models. The Pimento joined the line-up for those wanting a more compact campervan, while the Morocco arrived as an answer to those who prefer single beds.

The Pimento XL, however, uses the same six-metre van as a Morello (rather than the 5.41m Fiat or 5.53m Ford). So, it has the more compact lounge with overhanging wardrobe, but gains space in the kitchen and, crucially, a rear garage. Now, comes this SB version, which it won’t take a genius wordsmith to work out adds single beds to the mix. Developed originally on the Transit (where the lower cab seats allow them to be incorporated into the beds), the Pimento XL SB is now also offered on the Ducato, as seen here. Company Director, Rex Kneebone, was keen to show me this latest Murvi at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show back in February and, thinking this could be the best all-rounder in the range, it was quickly added to MMM’s road test hit list.

The specification

The demonstrator is based on a LWB Ducato Maxi in on-trend Expedition Grey – one of the very limited colour choices now offered by Fiat. The Maxi version gains 16in wheels and uprated suspension, to which this example also added just cab air-conditioning and a rear view camera. Spec here, then, is rather pared down to the essentials and Murvi says its customers tend to opt for something like this or go all out, ticking nearly every options box.

Personally, I would want to add cruise control (£276) and a leather steering wheel (£204) – the plastic rim is not a very nice thing to hold! However, you could go much further. The only engine upgrade now available is the ‘full fat’ 180bhp at a pricey £2,820, while the automatic gearbox (on either engine) is £3,840 (but this figure includes the air-con).

Alloy wheels are £672 and a painted front bumper costs £408. The key thing is that, with a Murvi, you only pay for the items you want or need.

While the outside looks a tad plain (nice and stealthy for wild camping), it benefits from the framed Seitz S4 windows all round and there’s a wide electric step at the sliding door. Murvi

eschews gaudy graphics (a big plus in my book) but offers practical additions such as the external shower and barbecue points fitted here (each a £180 option). A 150Ah lithium battery bodes well for camping off-grid and that’s backed up here by a 175W solar panel (£660 extra).

The key feature of the Pimento XL, however, is hinted at by the windowless rear offside door. Open this and you discover a real USP – floor-to-ceiling storage for all your outdoor gear in a space up to 640mm deep and 890mm wide. Two sturdy adjustable/removable shelves are fitted, along with grippy rubber flooring and even a hanging rail.

There’s plenty of room for the biggest outdoor chairs, a barbecue and more or, perhaps, folding bikes.

In the cab, the Ducato is subjected to an extensive retrim, with reupholstered seats and full carpeting, including separate mats in the footwells and trimming of seat bases (the passenger’s side also including a built-in safe). On the road, the new 2.2-litre engines are quieter but Murvi seems to have moved the game on still further, this being the most refined Series 8 Ducato we’ve yet driven. It’s also the first we’ve seen with the entry-level 5in Uconnect screen (not a touchscreen), although it does still feature Bluetooth and DAB – and Murvi adds high-quality Kenwood speakers in the rear.

The interior

On site, the driver’s seat turns through 90 degrees and the passenger’s rotates fully. In the Fiat, the cab floor is around 180mm higher than the living area; this is solved – and dangly leg syndrome avoided – with a fold-down flap for your feet. That’s typical of Murvi attention to detail in a lounge that has long been a key selling point.

You only have to spend a few minutes relaxing here to realise why this Devon company has developed such a strong following – and won so many awards. If there’s a more comfortable front lounge in a campervan, I have yet to sit in it.

For once, the sofa is at a comfortable height, like your settee at home, and its backrest is tall and nicely raked. Even better – better than in your bricks and mortar – is that it faces the sliding door, so, on a nice day, you can enjoy a widescreen view of the outside world from the comfort of your campervan.

Large, pillow-like, scatter cushions are provided and, above, is a Heki 3 sunroof – the wind-up type, not the simple push-up one so often seen.

Don’t fret if the colour scheme here is not to your taste as Murvi says its choice of fabrics is almost limitless. And the bespoke nature of each campervan extends to a range of colours for the cupboard doors, a selection of worktop designs and either carpet or vinyl for the habitation flooring.

The walls and ceiling are trimmed in a practical leatherette material that gives off a much more upmarket impression than the carpet still seen in some campers, while Murvi has even padded the overcab shelf and over-settee cupboard to protect against bashed bonces.

That space above the cab is home to two tables. A small coffee table (585mm by 395mm) sits on a cranked leg between the cab seats and is perfect for breakfasting. For more comprehensive dining, a larger (870mm by 460mm), free-standing table uses a tripod base. It’s wobble-free and also a comfortable height in relation to the sofa. The table legs both store in the wardrobe, seen here in ‘reduced depth’ form. The standard design sees the wardrobe extending out as far as the washroom, but this smaller hanging space is still sufficient for half a dozen garments and enhances the spacious feel of the Pimento. You’ll also find a first aid kit, fire blanket and spare set of vehicle bulbs in here!

When it comes to interior illumination, don’t expect any fancy concealed ambient lighting but you won’t be disappointed with the selection of lights fitted. Large LEDs are fitted under all the top cupboards and in the ceiling, while downlighters in the cab and above the sliding door and reading lights serve the swivel passenger seat and the forward end of the sofa.

The kitchen

Options in the kitchen go way beyond merely choosing the décor. All models come with a three-burner hob, under which this Pimento had a generous 115-litre compressor fridge. At no extra cost, this can be swapped for a 60-litre three-way model or an 85-litre compressor or, for an extra £600, you can have a 93-litre AES fridge – each of these options gaining a drawer above. If you want more culinary permutations, an oven and grill can be fitted above any of the reduced-capacity fridges as a £660 option. Or you can have the oven fitted in the top locker above the hob. Or you can even have a microwave in that upper cupboard, for £264.

So, the Pimento kitchen should suit every campervanning cook’s preferences, especially as the rest is so well thought out. For a start, there’s masses of worktop, especially once the flap next to the sink has been deployed. There are three mains sockets here, too, with the ones near the cooker well placed for a toaster.

It’s rarer than rare these days to see a sink with a proper draining board but Murvi gives you one of those as well. It even provides a set of melamine crockery, plus a set of four glass beakers – all in rattle-proof holders. The slide-out cutlery tray comes with a set of knives, forks and spoons, and a chopping board and bin bag holder are also provided. There’s plenty of storage at both high and low level and everything is finished to Murvi’s usual exemplary standards.

Three opening windows cater for ventilation, while a MaxxAir fan in the roof can suck or blow and even comes with a remote control.

The washroom

Adjacent to the galley, the corner washroom is entered via a folding door that makes for easy access, even if you haven’t yet lost that extra Christmas ‘payload’. Inside, there’s the superior Dometic cassette toilet, a fixed basin with soap dispenser and more storage than you should ever need for toiletries. There’s also a hatch through to the garage area – useful for hanging wet coats.

When it comes to showering, the sight of a curtain usually has me reaching for the journo’s thesaurus of acerbic criticism, but here it pulls across the back wall and press studs to the underside of the top lockers, staying well out of the way of my soon-to-be-soapy skin. The tap pulls out to become the showerhead and there’s more than enough space for a comfortable shower.

The beds

The standard Pimento XL offers only a lengthways double bed. However, by employing some of the Morocco’s design, this new SB version offers a choice of bedtime permutations. What’s impressive, though, is how easy the beds are to make.

Firstly, a catch is released and around two thirds of the base of the settee just glides across, effortlessly, to meet the sliding door opposite. A panel at the end of the kitchen folds down to complete the bed’s 1.94m length with an infill cushion that stands upright during the day (mattress width is 690mm, reducing to 630mm at the foot).

The offside bed is even quicker as the sofa backrest simply folds down from the wall, with the mattress following behind. This berth is marginally shorter but super-generous in width, at 850mm, and you need have no fears about the overhanging wardrobe as there’s 435mm of height for your feet to waggle about in. I tried a night in each bed and found them both completely flat and extremely comfortable, with no noticeable joins.

The large locker under the settee is big enough to hold two pillows and a pair of single duvets, while the scatter cushions can double up as pillows, too. Then, adding further to this Pimento’s possible permutations, you can also make a double bed. Simply slide the nearside single’s base to meet the offside one and use a pull-out panel at the foot instead of the folding bed extension. The only additional cushion sits as a corner backrest under the wardrobe and, while access through to the kitchen and washroom is not as easy as with the twin beds, it’s still possible. Not only that, but the double bed is extra wide at 1.55m (1.23m at the foot).

Keeping you toasty as you kip is a Webasto Thermo Top diesel-fired heating system (with 2kW mains electric element) that operated exceptionally quietly. So quietly, in fact, that I overslept…

Motorhome supplied by Murvi Motorcaravans
Tel: 01752 892200
murvi.co.uk
 

Insurance: £515.73
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo