Globecar Roadscout Elegance

Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Price from: £50,895 Berths: 3 Travel seats: 4 Length: 5.41m Width: 2.05m Height: 2.58m Gross weight: 3,300kg Payload: 580kg

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The model names – Roadscout, Globescout and Campscout (respectively 5.41m, 5.99m and 6.36m long) – are familiar, but new for 2021 are the Elegance versions.

The Roadscout Elegance is the smallest of the three but, like its bigger brothers, it gets new carbon-effect graphics on the outside and new furniture with duo-tone locker doors on the inside.

There are flush-framed double-glazed windows, too, and a new upholstery, called Oxford. LED lighting is a major feature of the new models, with overhead mood lighting, a backlit wall panel in the lounge and indirect illumination at floor and roof level. Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that the overcab shelf has gone, allowing a full-height walk-through into the cab.

All the new features add a modest £1,895 over the price of a standard Roadscout.

Examining this German-spec, left-hand drive Elegance, the first thing you notice is the extra spaciousness afforded to the lounge area, where a soft-feel trim panel surrounds the large Heki rooflight and sweeps into the cab ceiling.

There are small, open-fronted lockers in the sides of the overcab area but the retaining lips here are too low to keep much in situ while driving. Much better is the way these segue into the handleless top cupboards over the lounge.

The glossy window surround is another stylish feature, while the tweed-style fabric looks classy. The half-dinette arrangement here might look like any other, but the rear travel seat has an improved backrest shape and the table has a swivelling extension leaf so that four can dine.

There’s a rotating LED strip light over the table, as well as a 12V socket and USBs, while the open doorway adjacent can be covered by a flyscreen and coat hooks are fitted in the entrance. You’ll spot a couple of storage compartments in the raised dinette floor, too, while a hatch in the side of the seat base gives access here without removing cushions.

The kitchen has its 98-litre compressor fridge in the best position – at the end, facing forwards, where it can be reached from outside as well as in and, being the new Dometic 10-Series, it has one of those clever doors that opens either way.

Above the fridge there’s a surprising amount of kitchen worktop, doubly so as this is just a medium-wheelbase campervan, and that’s been achieved by using a combined hob and sink unit. Below here are three large drawers for good, practical storage.

Opposite the galley, the washroom is the type that expands into the centre aisle by way of a couple of pull-around tambour doors. These clip together magnetically to avoid any embarrassing gaps.

A wooden cover is provided for the shower tray, which sits in the middle of the motorhome and boasts twin drain outlets. The washbasin is quite small and is of the tip-up backless style, so you’ll have to take care not to use too much H₂O when using it. Better is the amount of legroom available when sat on the toilet.

The sleeping arrangement is a transverse double and makes the most of the Ducato’s internal width. Bed length is 1.95m, while mattress width varies from 1.32m on the offside down to 1.15m on the nearside. A small recess in the panel under the front of the bed provides a step to aid access.

Underneath the bed, in the boot area, you’ll find a gas locker, a Combi boiler and a 100-litre fresh water tank. Then there’s a capacious loadspace measuring 730mm high and fitted with tie-downs.

Here, then, is another high-quality Globecar campervan with a predictably Euro-style interior design. Its décor is more contemporary than Roadscouts of yore but it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Compare it with its (fractionally more expensive) Summit Prime sister model before you decide.

The Globecar lowdown

Globecar is number one in the van conversion market in Germany. It offers a wide range of Fiat and Peugeot-based high-top van conversions in medium-wheelbase, long and extra-long forms. These fit into D-Line (including the new Elegance) and H-Line (Summit and Summit Prime) ranges, the former built by Dethleffs.

For aftersales support when you’re touring, it’s worth noting that Globecar has dealers right across Europe.

You can find Globecar campervans at SMC Motorhomes in Newark (in the Midlands) and both the Devon and Somerset branches of Highbridge. The brand is also represented in Scotland, by Highland Campervans near Inverness.

Contact

Web: globecar.co.uk
Facebook: GlobecarMotorhomesUK