Full review

BY most standards the R40 is a small motorhome, but compared with the rest of the Romahome range it is really quite big.

Whether it’s viewed as grand or petite in stature, however, this all-new model is huge news for the Isle of Wight company.

The R40 may continue with Romahome traditions such as a diesel-engined Citroen base vehicle and a monocoque GRP body with its door at the rear but this ‘van will appeal to a whole new client base, as well as existing Romahome buyers looking to trade up.

It has four berths, six travel seats and all the facilities of a full-sized coachbuilt – all new areas for the brand.

And with dare-to-be-different Espresso trim it could just be the vehicle to attract a younger audience, not just to Romahome but to motorhoming in general.

The more you drive the R40, the more you realise that it has its own character. Smooth and relaxed on the motorway (though not immune to crosswinds), the Citroën’s slightly lethargic initial acceleration suggests a gentler pace on country roads.

The interior layout is not so much a revolution as an evolution of its smaller Romahome cousins. We’ve seen the pullman dinettes – one each side – in the Berlingos before now, but here there’s more space and full (6ft 7½in) standing room.

The side kitchen (at the nearside rear) is conventional in its fittings – although no Romahome before has had so much chef-appeal – and the bathroom (rear offside) is a one-piece GRP moulding (again totally leakproof) like the one in the Dimension high-top (now the R30).

But while nothing else on the market shares quite this layout, it’s the monochrome décor that really catches the eye. It’s one of three options and is already popular with customers.

Romahome has also worked closely with Amperor on the R40’s innovative integrated electrical systems. These include the touch-screen control panel (with remote control) over the offside lounge window and the battery-to-battery charging system.

The control panel is easy to use once it has been demonstrated, but having central control of the lights here in just two zones makes no sense. You cannot turn the touch-sensitive bathroom lights on without the kitchen lights being on and the single light for the overcab bed will not come on if the lounge lights have first been extinguished (as they would be, normally).

The charging system sounds impressive, though. It thinks for itself in normal use but can charge a flat vehicle battery from mains hook-up and charges the leisure battery up to five times faster than a standard alternator.

Less high-tech and more down to simple neat design is the seating area, which can provide a giant (almost 6ft square) double bed, two comfy singles, four travel seats (two with three-point belts, two with lap restraints), a pair of two-seater dinettes, two settees, a pair of chaise longues or a mix and match combination of any of the above permutations.

The default position is the two dinettes, which cater for four adults to eat comfortably at two tables.

The Romahome’s kitchen – with its black and white décor, chunky metallic cupboard handles, wipe-clean splashback, self-closing drawers and doors and a smart metal-lined cutlery tray, feels like a domestic kitchen not a caravan galley.

It gets a good-sized 97-litre fridge, the domestic-style Spinflo slot-in cooker and the generous amount of worktop area.

And with six high-level lockers (all with wipe-clean GRP interiors), the R40 is not short on cupboard space.

The piece de résistance as far as storage is concerned comes with the wardrobes – yes, wardrobes plural. These are sandwiched between the lounge and bathroom on the offside and are slide-out units, one above the other.

The beauty of the shower is that it is manufactured as a one-piece GRP unit so there are no joints to be resealed, and no sealant to age and crack.

Verdict
With Romahome’s reputation for building long-lasting and high-quality, award-winning motorhomes, the brand’s move into a more mainstream size of vehicle should have rival makers properly worried.

But do they have much to fear from the R40? Most definitely, for this really is a potential star of the compact coachbuilt class.

Certainly, there’s already much to get excited about: the GRP monocoque body, the clever and versatile seating arrangements, the travel seats for six and berths for four; and the generous kitchen.

Specification:

Price: From £37,995 on the road
Length: 5.90m (19ft 4in)
Height: 2.70m (8ft 10in)
Internal height: 2.02m (6ft 7.5in)
Gross weight: 2963kg
Payload: 368kg
Travel seats: 6 (lap belts only on two rearward-facing).
Berths: 4

A full version of this review first appeared in the May 2008 issue of Which Motorcaravan. To order a road test reprint ring 01778 391187. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.