East Neuk Fifer Touring L

East Neuk Fifer Touring L 2011

East Neuk Fifer Touring L on 2.2-litre Citroën Relay

A small Scottish camper converter that fewer folks have heard of has been winning awards, almost with monotonous regularity.

Firstly, with a quirky and characterful short wheelbase high top. Then, maybe for a bit of variety, with a medium wheelbase version.

Now East Neuk Campervans has ventured into the long wheelbase market with the Citroën Relay van, and the one thing you can be sure of is that these guys are likely to have made a more than decent fist of the conversion. Only time will tell if ENC has done it again, but the early signs are good.

The new venture has been pursued with the same single-minded dedication to good quality and well-thought through design. The as-standard cab is groaning with every extra known to man, the interior has a wow factor as soon as you climb inside, and it drives and manoeuvres very well indeed.

The Fifer Touring L also comes in at a very reasonable price, with the potential to knock others in the same area of the market into a cocked hat.

For those who know their Fifers, ENC’s progress has come more from evolutionary development of a winning formula, than any revolutionary rethink: The Touring L simply slides the very successful rear lounge design of the medium wheelbase model backwards.

The lateral sink and cooker unit are ‘twizzled’ to lie more conventionally along the nearside. The two feet of extra space is used to construct a brilliant front coffee lounge, enhanced by a whole new set of shelves and storage cupboards.

The secret of the firm’s success? Listening carefully to feedback from customers - not just going through the motions.

WHO IS IT FOR?

This new Fifer caters for two distinct sectors that overlap in the under six-metre market. Firstly, older owners downsizing (it happens to almost everybody) and unhappy motorcaravanners who have come to ENC, having bought into their dream of a fixed or island bed-equipped motorhome, then found themselves hating driving/parking their new ‘bungalow’ on wheels. These guys want reasonable space inside, while getting a much easier ‘van to drive. And if you look through the list, there isn’t much in the way of low profile coachbuilts under six metres long.

Secondly, the Fifer Touring L is tailor-made for younger owners working their way up the market from small campervans, such as Volkswagens. These guys are full of enthusiasm for their new hobby, love their panel vans, but want one which offers a little more space and storage - and maybe a separate washroom.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Standing at 5.99 metres (19ft 8in) long, the new model offers a comfortable rear lounge, amidships kitchen and washroom, and (with both cab seats swivelled) a neat little onthe- road lounge for coffee or a snack lunch. Brilliant use of space - every Neuk and cranny (sorry) shows evidence of careful thought.

Externally, ENC follows the trend of getting away from the ‘big white beast:’ the test ‘van had a dark grey pearl metallic finish, which oozed class. All windows are slightly tinted mto remove glare, but without blocking the sunshine.

The coffee and cream interior is bright with hardwearing fabrics and deep cushioned seats and seatbacks.
The knockout punch is the level of spec which comes as standard: windscreen wipers and headlights, which come on automatically via sensors, air-conditioned cab, driver and passenger airbags, cruise control, electricallyfolding mirrors, front fog lamps, mud-flaps, satnav and tracker, rear parking sensors... Deep breath, heated glazed rear doors, rear speakers, insulated screens for rear windows and cab windows - the rest I’ll mention as I remember.

HOW DOES IT DRIVE?

This is the Citroën version of the Sevel-built van with 120bhp engine, six forward gears and enough grunt to haul the camper conversion and its 650kg payload up any hill, or cruise effortlessly all day on a motorway. The combination of power and well-chosen gear ratios, allied to ultra-light steering, clutch, braking and gearchange makes it a joy to handle. Even on narrow, twisty country roads in Fife, this camper was a pleasure rather than a chore to drive.

And, like its Fiat and Peugeot brethren, it’s as miserly as an Aberdonian on holiday in its use of diesel, 30 - 33mpg is possible.

HOW IS IT FOR COMFORT?

The cab seats, and neat mini front lounge are excellent, while the main, rear-located lounge is a home-from-home. Two (4ft 4in) settees give ample room for the leggiest motorhomers to get their feet up and relax - the backrests at the perfect height for draping an arm over and watching caravanners getting soaked while putting up their mandatory awning.

A small pedestal table sits neatly at the far end of the lounge, and it’s ample for two normal humans. A larger table can be supplied on request, but the standard item is designed to stow neatly in a cupboard beneath the sink, while the pedestal fits into the back of the small cupboard/pantry in the front lounge. This leaves the wardrobe less cluttered, and better fit to hold what it was really designed for: crates of wine.

For evening reading, there are four adjustable halogen spotlights in the rear and two LED lights in the front. ENC is reluctant to join the ‘lemming-dash’ into LED: while acknowledging their frugal demands on power, ENC points out that halogen gives a far clearer reading light. If you’re not reading, there are a couple of striplights above the lounge and kitchen.

As for ventilation, the side-located Seitz windows are designed to slide open, while the window in the sliding door is top-hinged. Two Heki rooflights give further fresh air. And for warmth, the interior relies on blown-air heating via a combination of diesel-fired Webasto with 230V power: use them both to boost heating initially, then switch onto mains (when hooked up) to hold the temperature. All the while chilling out with Johnny Cash growling, or Pavarotti blasting, out of front and rear speakers.

HOW DOES IT COOK?

In a word, good. An integrated stainless steel top houses two burners and a decent (for campers) kitchen sink. Beneath this there is a Smev combined grill and oven. Two worksurfaces fold out at either end of the sink unit, giving marvellous serving space, and a deep drawer holds pots and pans, or a fair-sized waste bin. There’s a concealed full-sized cutlery drawer above this, while there are adequate lights and sockets within reach.

The pièce de résistance is the apparently small fridge: it’s a 12V compressor type, and seriously deep - holding a surprising 90-litre load.

WHAT’S IN THE LOO?

The Achille’s heel of many campers is their smallest room - in some, even Dracula might get claustrophobic. Not so in the Fifer Touring L. Made of white moulded GRP, there is a Dometic ceramic-bowl toilet, an integrated shower and a tiny nine-inch (230mm) round washbasin - cornered, to let you bend forward in peace.

A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP?

The bed arrangement is one of the neatest bits of the design. A current trend is for single beds, so ENC has designed the Fifer Touring L to let the settees convert into long single beds.

The 4ft 4in settees are stretched using the top of the fridge (and a cushion, stowed in the overcab locker), to provide one bed (6ft 1in long and sliding your feet under the nicely rounded wardrobe bottom).

The second single sees a serving surface folded up to reveal another shelf, which, with a second cushion, gives a lordly 6ft 5in bed. Both are over two feet wide.

If you prefer an old fashioned double - with the wife as a hot water bottle - no problem. Four wooden slats are provided under the nearside seat: clip these into the slots provided on both seat bases, unfold sturdy base sections and - using the cushion backrests - the double bed is made.

In short, I think ENC has done it again, producing an excellent product, which gives customers good value for money. It’s maybe only a matter of time before yet another award is added to the substantial collection, currently sitting on a small table just outside the company loo.

To download the full motorhome review in PDF format, taken from the Summer 2011 isue of MMM magazine, click here.
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Practical and spacious long-wheelbase conversion that works well and offers great value for money. Worth considering instead of a mainstream model.