Hillside Doveridge

Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: VW Transporter T30 Highline window van Gross weight: 3,000kg Payload: 918kg

Breaking away from the typical side kitchen layout in a VW campervan is always a risk. Does Hillside’s new Doveridge do anything better?

The spacious lounge offers four places to recline. An advantage over a traditional rock ’n’ roll seat is that you can vary the angle of the rear RIB seats.

Slotted into a central hole, the table can be reached from all four seats, but it’s not really large enough for four to eat.

The rear kitchen is much lighter and airier than usual and, as the pop-top hinges at the front, there’s masses of headroom.

A new storage pod bridges the gap between the two side galley units and houses a handy drawer and tambour-doored cabinet as well as a portable loo that can be accessed from the tailgate – as can the gas bottles.

Next to the storage pod are the wardrobe and an additional worktop, complete with a cutlery tray. As well as a Smev 9222 twin-burner hob and sink, there’s a warming oven/grill and a 50-litre Vitrifrigo compressor fridge. The shelves next to this are clearly just filling a gap.

All of the controls are inset into the centre of the kitchen – not the most convenient place if you’re returning to the ’van at night. But you can switch on the diesel blown-air heating from your bed. Unusually, this campervan benefits from a hot water system.

The rear RIB seats have twin armrests and adjustable headrests, making them great travel seats for the family.

Access to the roof is via the kitchen, so you need to take care when scrambling up, but it does mean the kids can use the loo at night without having to clamber over mum and dad. The bed is large with wooden slats and a well-padded mattress.

The downstairs double is formed by rotating the cab seats and then folding the RIB seats flat. It’s easier to make up the alternative single beds, as the mechanism to slide the bases together is fiddly. The nearside single is slightly longer than the offside bed. Both beds are comfortable, but not totally flat.

The kitchen pod can be removed entirely, but, with it in place, loading has to be through the side door. There’s a wardrobe and lots of lockers in the kitchen, while the rear seats have storage in their bases.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the August 2016 issue of What Motorhome. Buy it now.

The Doveridge makes a lot of sense - if you are looking for single beds and a better kitchen. The removable pod is an innovative touch.