Full review

Don't be confused by the Citroën badge, this is another Sevel van, built in the same factory as the Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer.

It shares its engine – 2.2-litre, Euro 6d, 140bhp – with the latter.

Much more important than the logo is the length. You’ll see more Sevel-based campers measuring 5.99m long than any other size, but the 6.36m extra-long version is increasingly popular and 5.41m models exist in reasonable number for those with limited parking, too.

What you’ll struggle to find in campervan brochures is a short-wheelbase Fiat, Peugeot or Citroën, the five-metre model, but here is such a beast. As such it’s barely longer than vans from the next size down – VW T6, Ford Transit Custom – though its additional height makes a pop-top version a bit nonsensical. WildAx’s Pulsar, therefore, comes with a high-top for full standing room and insulation (to Grade III standard).

Heated and insulated water tanks further the argument that this diminutive camper can be used all year round, while the squarer, wider body of the Relay van (compared with, say, a T6) means that it’s surprisingly spacious inside.

That interior space has been put to good use to include four travel seats and a fully equipped galley as well as, crucially, a proper walk-in washroom - all in a five-metre-long campervan!

Behind a tambour door, you’ll find a practical space with the superior Dometic loo and – in the latest Pulsar – a teardrop-shaped fixed basin as WildAx has been eradicating old-fashioned tip-up washbasins from its range. There’s even a separate tap and showerhead.

If the washroom impresses by its very existence in a camper of this size, the kitchen strikes you most with its generous area of worktop. And that’s not because the spec has been pared to the bone – there’s a three-burner hob and a Thetford Duplex oven/grill.

Only the 60-litre three-way fridge (with simple push-button ignition for its gas function) is inferior to that found in larger rivals.

Up front, sliding doors on both sides are another surprise – great when you’re carrying passengers as they can always alight on the pavement side, and equally appealing in warmer weather when you want a breeze through the camper.

The doors open onto the living area with twin forward-facing rear travel seats and, of course, a pair of swivel cab seats.

The back seats seem comfortable enough despite being flat for bed-making, thanks to raked backrests and scatter cushions, but they are noticeably lower than the cab seats. Perhaps this is the Pulsar’s biggest compromise.

Under the rear seats you’ll find the Truma Combi 4E gas/mains boiler on the nearside and the leisure battery (plus a small amount of storage) on the offside.

Your bedding can probably be squeezed into the overcab locker and, when you consider all the upper cupboards (with positive locking catches), you shouldn’t be short of room for two people’s clothes and clobber.

Standard spec is good, too, with sat-nav, cab air-con, reversing camera, alloy wheels and metallic paint.

The WildAx lowdown

In 2017, WildAx was acquired by the French Rapido Group, where the British brand joins a portfolio of specialist campervan marques including Dreamer, Stylevan and Westfalia.

Unlike many of its rivals, who sell only from their own factory premises, WildAx retails its motorhomes through a nationwide network of dealers as well as from its own site in Elland, near Huddersfield.

It builds a range of van conversions based primarily on Fiat Ducato and its sister light commercial, the Citroën Relay, but also the Renault Master, Mercedes Sprinter and the more compact Ford Transit Custom (in SWB and LWB form).

All of its vehicles have European Whole Vehicle Type Approval as well as National Caravan Council approval.

In addition to new and used campervan sales, WildAx offers hire, so you can try before you buy. Also, unusually, it offers family-friendly bunk bed layout campers.

WildAx dealers number eight in England, plus Kelly Mobility in Dublin. You’ll see its campervans at ES Hartley (Cumbria and Ellesmere Port), Maple Garage (Hull), Becks (Norfolk), Nick Whale (Worcestershire), Wiltshire Motorhomes, Southern Motorhome Centre (Reading) and Highbridge (Devon).