Full review

Words and photos: Peter Vaughan

The CMC HemBil Escape-SL

It’s almost impossible to know how many campervan conversion companies there are in the UK, but it runs into hundreds, many of them focusing on the VW Transporter. Each of them has to compete not just with one another, but also with VW’s own California Ocean (from £72,980), which is a best-seller and the standard by which others must be judged.

Concept Multi-Car was established in 1988, coincidentally the year that the first California debuted (built by Westfalia on the rear-engined T25). CMC immediately distanced itself from its (then far fewer) rivals by bringing top-quality Reimo roofs, seats and other components from Germany to the UK for the first time.

More recently, that USP had been lost as other converters began offering Reimo conversions, so CMC introduced its HemBil range, still with German componentry, but designed in the UK by Sam Shortland, son of the company’s founding couple. Whilst side kitchen designs (and VW base vehicles) still dominate, the HemBil campers offer a surprising amount of choice. All of its conversions have full Type Approval and the company is working towards joining VW’s own Motorhome Qualification Scheme.

The one we’re testing here is a development of CMC’s popular Escape model, but with a wider rear seat/bed.

The options

While fashions in the VW camper world seem to have moved towards less and less practical designs, based on big wheels and bling, this Escape-SL has a pleasingly OEM look about it. The 17in Davenport alloy wheels are VW factory originals and   fill the arches sufficiently without going OTT in terms of ultra-low-profile tyres. They’re standard on this T32 Highline version of the Transporter.

The stunning Ravenna Blue Metallic paint is the only immediately obvious extra cost option here but, including the colour-coding of the Reimo roof, it’s a pricey one at £1,890. If you’re on a budget, the Escape-SL starts at a very reasonable £53,500 for what CMC calls its Smart Line range. That’s based on a Transporter Startline with the 108bhp (110PS) engine and five-speed manual gearbox, in T30 form (not the T28 used by some companies, which compromises payload).

Move up to CMC’s Comfort range and the base van is upgraded to a Highline and the entry price rises to £62,750. That’s quite a jump but it adds spec to the conversion as well as the base vehicle. If you want more power (and you probably do), the 148bhp (150PS) engine is the next step up and now you can choose between six manual gears, or seven ratios with the DSG automatic (as tested here).

That’s another £2,394 for the oomph and £2,442 for the self-shifter, so now we’re up to £67,586.

All these figures are for the short-wheelbase version of the Escape-SL, but our test campervan is the LWB, which adds £2,000 for its extra 400mm. What you can’t see is that it’s also a T32 (3,200kg) model – add another £1,164 for the extra payload, which could be vital if you’re planning to use the camper for family trips. We’ve topped £70k now but that’s still less than a California Ocean, which cannot be specified in long-wheelbase form.

The exterior

Of course, like other UK-built conversions, the Escape-SL also has its sliding door on our nearside, but where it scores over many rivals is having the VW windows with flush-fitting and fully opening sections (rather than the small sliding panels that are inset and can cause wind noise, as well as looking less ‘factory’).

With its discreet Escape logos, mains hook-up hidden under the rear bumper and colour-coded bumpers and mirrors, this campervan could be mistaken for an upmarket MPV.

The painted bumpers are part of the Highline spec, which also adds a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, front seat armrests, automatic lights and wipers, cab carpet, power folding mirrors, a heated windscreen and more. In fact, my favourite additional features are the front fog lamps with their cornering function and the adaptive cruise control, which took the stress out of a busy schlep down the A1, always maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

The cab

In the cab, the seats are as still a VW strongpoint – comfortable and supportive for a long haul. I didn’t try the optional bum warmers (£396) as our test coincided with record-breaking 40-degree heat, but I was super-grateful for the effectiveness of the Climatic air-conditioning.

The 6.5in touchscreen is better integrated than Ford’s more ‘stuck-on afterwards’ display and includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as the view from the reversing camera and I prefer the clarity of these traditional dials to the all-digital display of the California. It’s a shame, though, that the left foot rest was lost when T6 became T6.1 – why is the console under the gearstick so bulky?

The DSG transmission is still super-desirable, though, and the VW has a feeling of superior quality (paint, plastics and the way the doors close) to other vans in its class. And, of course, the Transporter is iconic (enthusiastic owners wave to each other, too), but, if you’re not a Volkswagen fan, you can save yourself money by having your Escape-SL on a Ford Transit Custom (SWB only) or Renault Trafic (short or long).

The interior

You might not immediately clock the extra length of this camper – look at the larger gap between the back of the sliding door and the rear wheelarch to spot a LWB – but you’ll know straight away when you open the door. With the rear seat in its normal camping position, there’s 1.53m between it and the cab seats – extra space that will be especially welcome if you travel with furry friends.

The offside furniture gains from the extra length, too, with an additional tall unit (400mm wide) alongside the rear bench. This space looks as if it should have a hanging rail but, actually, would be more useful with the addition of a couple of shelves.

It’s not just the use of the longer T6.1 that makes a difference, though. CMC already offered a standard Escape when it launched the SL version – you can now choose between the two, at the same price. In the newer model, the galley unit is 80mm slimmer, which again allows for more floorspace but also, importantly, a wider rear seat.

It’s still a Reimo Variotech 3000, but this one is 1.15m wide. You’ll need to be slim to get three bodies on it but there are three seatbelts and three height-adjustable head restraints, as well as two Isofix points (an even wider seat is used in CMC’s Urban).

The bench’s backrest has a fixed rake but the seat is comfortably shaped and not as high as the commonly used RIB unit (on which feet are often left dangling). Where it really scores, though, is that it slides (with minimal effort) along floor rails to multiple positions. Bring it forward to place the kids closer to mum and dad in the cab, or to create a van-like load bay in the back – up to 1.94m long (or even more if you remove the seat completely, for which you’ll need two strong folk).

Of course, the Variotech seat meets all the European safety standards and you can even turn your Escape-SL into a seven-seater with the addition of two single seats (£1,500 each) attached to the floor rails, creating a third row.

As standard, both cab seats swivel and here you can see another benefit of the skinnier kitchen, as the rotated driver’s chair is much more usable.

Note, too, that the galley is set far enough away from the seat that even the tallest of drivers will be able to get completely comfortable (not always the case with this type of layout). Another feature is the table, with its leg slotting into a bracket attached to the front of the bench. You can slide the seat forward if you want the table reachable from the cab seats, too, while the tabletop’s stowage on the inside of the sliding door is neat.

The kitchen

Unlike the Escape, the Escape-SL cannot be fitted with a Smev minigrill, so cooking is restricted to the Dometic two-burner hob. Fridge size is also reduced a little by the narrower galley but the SL retains a choice of cooler – here, in the LWB campervan, you can have a 39-litre Dometic model with conventional front opening (as on the test campervan) or a top-loading 36-litre Webasto unit alongside the hob – both are compressor types that you simply switch on and forget.

My preference would be for the top-loader (which I have liked in my own campers), but it must be said that the fridge here coped effectively with the extraordinary temperatures experienced on our road test.

With the fridge up front, there’s a deep, top-access cupboard towards the rear of the kitchen, so you still have the issue of moving stuff off the worktop when you’ve forgotten something. That could be the kettle or toaster as there’s a 230V socket here (and another under the seat).

Storage includes two drawers, neither with a cutlery holder, but the lower, larger one is useful for plates, bowls, etc. Below that is a cupboard for a Porta Potti – a surprise in such a compact galley. There’s also a long open shelf above the galley, which I have found surprisingly useful for small, lightweight items in my campervan.

More storage

There’s plenty more storage in the tall unit to the rear of the camper, with the tambour-doored locker being a practical feature (always accessible irrespective of the seat position). At floor level, you’ll also find the two 12-litre fresh water carriers – when one runs out, simply swap to the other, but you may have to rearrange the boot area first if you’re fully loaded up.

That space inside the tailgate is a vital part of campers of this ilk and here you can have the rear section of the bed raised (for tall loads) or flat (ready for bed-making). In the latter position, you can keep all your bedding on the top level, while mucky stuff (everything from outdoor chairs and mains lead to wellies and more) can go beneath. The Escape-SL offers a class-leading amount of room here for your gear; in some rivals you’ll wonder where to put everything!

The beds

In a few VWs you might hesitate to call the bed a double, but the Escape-SL’s wider seat translates into a wider bed. While we’ve seen some campers with mattresses barely more than a metre wide, the width here is a much more tolerable 1.22m (or 1.27m if you measure from wall to furniture). It’s a super-easy bed to make, too, and one that’s completely flat. Simply flip over the bench’s base cushion and fold the backrest down and you have a double bed that’s almost 2m long.

Even longer is the (optional) berth in the roof. In the stifling heat, that’s where I slept, enjoying a breeze through the flyscreened panels on either side and the superior comfort of the sprung base. The wider access up to the bed is another plus of having a LWB but, once up there, you still need to have heads to the front as there is limited headroom at the rear.

As you’d expect, the Reimo roof is very easy to use, but I’d be tempted to upgrade to the Quick Release fasteners (a £395 option) in place of the straps. There’s also an electric pop-top option, but only for SWB campervans.

Motorhome supplied by: Concept Multi-Car
Tel: 01303 261062
cmccampers.co.uk

Insurance: £414.24
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo