Bürstner Habiton concept campervan
Description
Could a small, car-sized camping vehicle like this make vanlife more affordable?
Key Features
Full Review
Words: Peter Vaughan, photos courtesy of Bürstner
The Bürstner Habiton
Don’t rush down to your Bürstner dealer to order a Habiton, nor even your local Renault agent. Not yet. For now, this is just a concept but it’s tantalising to see that a company the size of Bürstner is dabbling with the idea of a campervan so small.
After all, this Erwin Hymer Group brand also builds the nine-metre-long Elegance A-class, costing from £164,790…
OK, so there are smaller, cheaper Bürstners – even a pop-top campervan in the 2024 range – but, surely, it’s the ever-rising cost of entering the world of leisure vehicles that has pushed the company from Kehl, by the Franco-German border, into testing the water with this micro camper, which made its debut at last September’s Caravan Salon Düsseldorf.
The Renault Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo, on which the Bürstner Habiton is based, was launched in its latest form last year and comes as both a small van and a five-door car, much in the style of rivals such as the Citroën Berlingo, Peugeot Partner and Volkswagen Caddy.
At under four and a half metres long, it is usefully more compact than even vehicles like the Ford Transit Custom (now over five metres in its latest guise). The 2024 Kangoo also comes in petrol, diesel and fully electric versions.
It’s not just the city-friendly size of the Habiton that will appeal but the fact that it has five belted seats, too – in that aspect, it’s still a standard Renault hatchback. Bürstner has shown two versions of the Habiton and both should fit into a domestic garage or a multi-storey car park. The L1 has a roof tent, while the L2 is perhaps more conventional with its front-hinged pop-top.
The beds
Whichever version you prefer, the seats fold down and an inflatable mattress topper unfolds to create a 2.05m by 1.36m double bed that virtually fills the body of the car. More unusual is the L1 version’s additional accommodation on top of the little Renault.
Open the roof shell and all you can see is a pile of tent material but this soon rises to a full-sized bedroom, just like an inflatable awning or tent but above eye level.
It’s a really large bed up there – measuring 2.07m by 1.48m – that’s reached by an external ladder, and there’s a window, opening flyscreened vents and a pair of battery-powered lamps.
With internal headroom of 1.08m, you can sit up in the rooftop space and the tent could, perhaps, sleep three kids, making this possibly the smallest-ever five-berth!
So, the L1 version has more accommodation and its roof tent is removable (although it sits as snugly on top of the Kangoo as the pop-top), but the L2 has standing room inside and internal access to its upper berths, neither of which are possible in the L1.
The kitchen
Both models can be equipped with a specially developed awning at the rear of the vehicle to greatly increase living space.
That’s doubly important because that’s where all the camping facilities are. In the style of a number of other campers of this size, the Habiton has a kitchen where the car’s boot would usually be.
So, you need to open the tailgate to start cooking, but the fittings are more comprehensive than many and definitely designed to appeal to a youthful audience.
On the left is a pull-out unit containing a sink and an induction hob, rather than the usual basic gas stove. On the right is a slide-out electric coolbox. Then, in between, are some trendy felt storage boxes.
Summary
Other features include dimmable LED spotlights and blackout covers for the windows, but what we really want to know is will Bürstner go into production with the Habiton and, if so, what will it cost? Watch this space…
Where to buy
This German brand is well-established in the UK and currently has a network of 18 dealers. These include Perthshire Caravans in Scotland and Newport Caravans in Wales.
In England, the northernmost dealer is Leisure World Tyneside, while Chelston Motorhomes is the furthest southwest and Simpsons Motorhomes is the furthest east.
