Ford Nugget rising roof campervan (2024 model)

A long-established best-seller is much improved

Words: Peter Vaughan, photos courtesty of Ford

The Ford Nugget

Based on the Transit and developed by Westfalia, the Nugget is Ford’s own campervan and it has been a popular model since its launch in 1985. However, it only arrived here as an official Ford model, sold through Transit Centres, in 2020. 

Now, following the debut of the all-new Transit Custom, there’s a new Nugget camper and we were very excited to see not just the orange left-hand drive example debuting at Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, but a RHD model too!

The new Nugget is instantly familiar, but also refreshingly feels very new. It retains the multizone layout, which is such a contrast to the many side kitchen models with which it competes, and, in right-hand drive form, there’s the convenience of twin sliding doors.

Of course, the new camper is here because there’s an all-new Transit Custom, replacing the van that’s been such a success (at times Britain’s best-selling vehicle, outstripping any passenger car) since 2012. 

But the new Nugget isn’t just built on the panel van; instead, it uses the plusher Tourneo Custom people-carrier as its basis.

The spec

To start with, it’s only the Titanium spec that will be available, complete with a 2-litre 170PS EcoBlue diesel engine and new eight-speed automatic transmission. The last of the previous-generation Nuggets were priced from £74,787, so the new one is sure to be close to £80k.

For that you now get a vehicle that makes the old Transit Custom look dated. The bold grille of the new model gives the newcomer an instantly recognisable face, while the Nugget is now just over 5m in length and it’s still over 2m in height.

It keeps the front-hinged pop-top but now with a new roof canvas that folds more easily without having to be tucked in manually. A 350W solar panel can now be specified on the top.

The cab

In the cab, it’s a transformation. You can hardly believe that you’re in what’s basically still a van from the blue oval. The instrument panel is now fully digital and the touchscreen seems huge, at 13in. 

Just as importantly, perhaps, the parking brake is now a switch, so there’s nothing to hinder swivelling the seats or walking through to the rear. That squared off steering wheel might take some getting used to, though!

There’s no suggestion of a fully electric drivetrain for the Nugget yet (the new Transit Custom van will come as an EV with a range up to 236 miles), but the plug-in hybrid version that’s promised is sure to be popular with city dwellers. 

Assuming that it adopts the same powertrain as the LCV, it gets a 2.5-litre petrol engine combined with an electric motor for 225PS and a zero emissions range of 35 miles.

That could be up to 12 months away, though, along with the first 4x4 Nugget.

The interior

Open either sliding door and you’ll see the new oak-style flooring and the characteristic three-seater rear bench, which is now heated as well as being easier to slide – one-handed – for bed-making. And a heated seat means a heated bed, too, while new blinds offer simpler blackout. 

The kitchen

The rear L-shaped kitchen looks similar to before at first glance, but a significant change is the drawer-style fridge (replacing a top-loader), thus creating more usable worktop. 

There’s a bigger cutlery drawer and more convenient storage for the gas cylinder and Porta Potti, too.

Summary

Finally, there’s a new touchscreen control panel for the habitation area that can be connected to your phone and, copying a popular feature from the California, the new Nugget gets outdoor chairs stored in a pocket on the tailgate and an outdoor table secreted on the inside of the offside sliding door. 

All in all, a brilliant update of a popular, high-quality campervan.

Where to buy

The Nugget is an official Ford model, so it’s sold at around 100 Transit Centres in the UK. 

We’re waiting to hear when the first deliveries of the new model will be, but a RHD example was on display in Düsseldorf.