Auto-Trail V-Line Sport 610

Berths: 2 Travel seats: 2 Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Gross weight: 3,500kg Payload: 410kg

When Auto-Trail returned to the van conversion market in 2014 it made quite a splash. The V-Line – now called V-Line Sport – came with a moulded GRP section on top of the original Fiat roof, allowing a flat floor throughout and services to be hidden in the false floor. An awning was also integrated into the new roofline.

It had flush-fitting double-glazed side windows all along both flanks and – on two out of three models – a big overcab sunroof (just like on Auto-Trail’s luxury coachbuilts). And the 610 and 620 layouts, which followed the 600 debutante, featured a fixed rear panel with opening boot section in place of the original Fiat barn doors – not a true innovation but a first for a mainstream manufacturer.

All these features remain V-Line Sport strengths, though it’s fair to say that these prestige models have been a little overshadowed by the less innovative but lower priced V-Line SE range, which arrived two years later. Now seems like a good time, then, to remind ourselves of the undoubted appeal of the Sport models and, in particular, the 610 featured here. This is a motorhome that combines the unique mix of features listed above – bar the Skyline rooflight – with a classic rear lounge layout. It’s a pure two-berth measuring under six metres long that has more than a dose of contemporary design.

That rear seating area comes in the form of a U-shape with large top-hinged windows on three sides, a removable, island leg table and, if you order the Media Pack, a TV mounted on the side of the wardrobe at the forward end of the lounge. The £999 pack also adds a 5in colour touchscreen DAB radio with sat-nav, Bluetooth and reversing camera, as well as an omni-directional TV aerial.

The end lounge is also large enough to convert into either two single beds or a lengthways double.

Forward on the nearside, adjacent to the sliding door, the 610 Sport has a neat galley that conceals its workings when not in use to portray the appearance of a stylish piece of furniture. Lift the split lids and a two-burner gas-on-glass hob and recessed sink are revealed. The fridge, meanwhile, is another V-Line innovation – it’s a drawer-style unit fitted under the wardrobe on the opposite side of the vehicle.

Opposite the galley, there’s a fully moulded washroom area which comes with a swivel cassette toilet, chrome taps, large mirror, tip-up basin, shower curtain and practical basket-type holders for shower gels and toiletries. In the ceiling there’s a fold-down hanger for wet clothes or towels.

Standard spec includes LED daytime running lights, ESC, Traction Plus, cruise control, spare wheel, silver metallic paint and alloy wheels. The 115bhp Euro VI engine is standard, with 130, 150 and 177-horsepower options available. As ever with this layout (where the bathroom is behind the pilot’s seat), check the driving position has sufficient legroom if you’re tall.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read the full version and more in the July 2017 issue of What Motorhome magazine.

You can get a digital version of this latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.