Full review

Pilote’s Foxy Van V540G takes the same transverse rear bed you find in its 5.99m-long sister ’van, the V600G, and squeezes it down to just 5.41m- only half a metre longer than a Volvo estate.

We found it a zippy little number with a drive that was so smooth it was hard to believe we were only travelling with the standard 2.3-litre, 130bhp Multijet engine, albeit carried along on captain’s seats with armrests on both sides.

Our test vehicle also came with a stereo system costing over a grand and a reversing camera. With this ’van you do get good views where there can be blindspots, not just via the side mirrors but also because there are large windows both sides of the lounge.

There is no worry about being too cramped, as the transverse bed is large. It is also comfortable, thanks to slats, a 130mm-thick Bultex mattress and a heating vent being positioned right beneath here. You get two reading lights next to a proper headboard, and there is no danger of banging your head on one of the three overhead lockers. There is a net for holding magazines and books on the headboard itself.

A cantilevered wardrobe slides out over the front half of the bed. Complete with an internal shelf, it is adequate for two people’s clothes.

The bed also splits in half (and the offside half can be strapped up) to reveal a heated storage space underneath. Pilote has sought to make this large area more usable by including a false floor here with two compartments underneath. But we found these are hard to manoeuvre

We would also like to have seen stronger support at the front of this section to stop items sliding forward suddenly if you brake.

In front of this two tambour doors slide out and come together to close off what is actually a shower tray coming out into the centre of the ‘van. Pilote is not the first to offer this type of design and you may fear it leaves you with a tiny washroom. But there’s a good bit of space inside and the room is well equipped with shelves, a drop-down basin with a tap that doubles up as the shower, and good lighting. Like the space beneath the bed, the washroom has its own blown-air heating vent, which makes it extra cosy.

The kitchen is directly next to the washroom, but with the tambour doors drawn back the aisle space is no narrower than in any other van conversion with a similar layout. But taller people might find stooping down to reach into the 65-litre compressor fridge a challenge.

On top there’s a two-burner hob, a good-sized sink and a mains socket. There is no oven or grill – it’s not even listed as an option.

Overhead there are two lockers, although these are only medium-sized, so if you have stocked up well, you may find yourself having to use one of the two lockers above the front lounge as well.

The lounge is often where space is compromised when designers try to ‘squish’ a conventional layout, but this doesn’t seem to be an issue here.

You need to be careful swivelling the front passenger seat as the arms can get stuck under the table, but there is plenty of space on the table itself, partly because it extends to provide eating space for four. As there is a step down in front of the table, whoever sits in the swivelled driver’s seat may find their legs dangling.

During the day the lighting is more than adequate, thanks to a large rooflight. But come the night, the only lighting available is one central LED light and an ambient strip over the window. The cab has no light source at all, so the front seats are plunged into semi-darkness. At least those in the cab seats have prime TV viewing, if you fit one on the bracket that comes with the Comfort Pack.

There are also only two heating vents in the front, one of which is in the step facing towards the door and away from the lounge. The other one, hidden at the inner side of the rear travel seat, wasn’t enough to warm toes on a frosty January night. Under the table you will find a useful cubbyhole for storing walking boots and the like.

The warm wood of the furniture adds to the sense of comfort, as does the imitation leather upholstery. But given that all the rest of the white in this interior is off-white, the brilliant white finish to the edges of the lockers looks cheap.

No complaints about the fine LED lighting all along the side of the sliding door, however. This really flooded the outside area.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the April 2016 issue of What Motorhome.