Full review

NIESMANN'S Arto A-class has a new look, a new importer and a clever new layout, but can it be worth nearly £90k?

Travelworld are the new UK importer for the German-built Niesmann + Bischoff brand which boasts an innovative and quality-orientated range of A-class motorhomes. None is more innovative than the Arto 64 GL tested here.

Arto sits below Flair in a two-range, 21-model line-up. The Arto was cosmetically updated for 2010, but this 64 GL also sports a completely new layout – that works superbly.

Despite being a large A-class with a rear bed, huge garage, double floor, a class-leading size of shower cubicle and a very spacious and comfortable lounge, this Arto sits on a 3.5-tonne chassis.

Crucially, the Arto still has a 400kg payload – enough for two, as long as you don’t get too carried away with options or loading a big motorbike in the garage.

That huge garage, with its dual-access doors, can take anything from bicycles downwards, size-wise. There’s even a light inside so you can see what you’re grabbing.

There’s lots of storage inside too – you can even opt for an extra row of cupboards above the windscreen instead of the A-class drop-down bed.

But as it comes, with this large drop-down double, this is a very competent motorhome for four people – not only because of the dual sleeping quarters but because of the pair of rear travel seats that emerge ingeniously, making this motorhome stand out from the crowd.

In the Arto proper captain’s chairs simply unfold from beneath the inward-facing seats’ wooden bases. Consequently, these travel seats are both ultra-safe and comfortable.

A Kenwood entertainment system acts as a sat-nav, radio, and rear-view camera, DVD-player and TV.
Another optional extra fitted to our test ’van was the satellite dish on the roof.

All UK-bound Artos will have the steering wheel in the ‘correct’ position, and the sat-nav won’t shout ‘links’ and ‘rechts’ at you constantly! These are the only changes that need to be made as there aren’t any cab doors to worry about – the only entrance door is the main caravan door (which, of course, stays on our offside).

And you’re sure to travel long distances in this Arto – it’s made for it. The on-road experience is fabulous; you feel like a king (or queen in my case) with the elevated-view and all-round vision. The steering wheel is leather-bound, the dash has a subtle wood and silver trim, even the six-speed automatic gearbox insists you to eat up the miles.

The double-glazed cab side windows are covered with concertina blinds, but the front slatted metal blind is lifted and dropped by pushing a button. And it certainly insulates the cab.

The Alde radiators built into the Arto’s side-panels, floor and bed base supply constant warmth, and the gas and mains controls are very simple to use.

In everyday use, the cab’s twin captain’s chairs swivel to face the two inward-facing seats – all of which sport a half-leather finish with hard-wearing fabric inserts. A movable table in a duo-tone wood finish is permanently sited between them, which is great for two at dinner time.

Behind the lounge, and opposite the caravan door, is the kitchen and this is where the bad news starts – and finishes. The galley’s storage provision is once again more than adequate. The Dometic fridge is spacious enough at 97 litres, and the sink is a good size – despite lacking a draining board. But the only cooking facility here is a three-burner hob; sadly this 64 GL layout cannot be specified with an oven or grill.

So let’s quickly move on from this negative, and head rearwards to the washroom, which is faultless. On the offside is the washbasin, while on the opposite side of the corridor are the toilet and shower cubicle. But not all is as it seems here.

Shuffle around the toilet cubicle’s huge door, pull it round as far as it will go and you’ll find it stops in front of the generous wardrobe, effectively cutting the vehicle in two and creating a large and private washing/changing room. But there’s more. The swivel cassette toilet twists into the garage area, completely out of the way, leaving a showering area that would rival any domestic cubicle in capacity.

The washbasin unit isn’t without its own party trick – the step leading to the transverse rear bed’s high-level mattress unfolds from the basin’s low-level cupboard. The step, with false lid, provides a secret cubbyhole, and enables an easy climb into bed. There are shelves in the corner, and eye-level lockers on three sides, as well as a pair of reading lights at the head end.

Design touches are everywhere, from the padded finish and tall mirror on the back of the washroom door to the ambient lighting above the cupboards. And from the neat Venetian blinds, with their decorative golden curtain panels, to the intricately moulded caravan door with its cubbyholes and coat hook.

A ’van like this doesn’t come cheap – nearly £90,000 as tested at current exchange rates – but Niesmann seem to have set out to prove that you get what you pay for.


A longer version of this review was published in the April 2010 issue of Which Motorhome magazine.