Malibu 600 DB Charming Coupe campervan
Description
Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Price from: £48,950 Berths: 2/3 Travel seats: 4 Length: 5.99m Width: 2.05m Height: 2.59m Gross weight: 3,300kg Payload: 710kg
Key Features
Full Review
Malibu is a sub-brand of Carthago, a name now most often associated with luxury A-class motorhomes but with its roots in campervans. In fact, back in 1979 Carthago produced a VW camper called Malibu…
Today, the range is – predictably enough – all Fiat Ducato-based and there are 11 models to choose from, covering all the main continental fixed bed formats. Here, we’re concentrating on the Charming Coupé because it’s the newest addition to the line-up.
The name might be one of the oddest in the industry but the appeal is easy to see. Unlike a coupé in the car world, here there is no change to the external shape, although Malibu’s distinctive porthole-style bedroom windows give the Charming a look of its own.
It’s inside that the Coupé is different to other Malibu models, with greater headroom in the cab and above the lounge as the usual Fiat overcab shelf is removed. This more open area is completed by continuous overhead lockers extending above the dinette and into the cab.
You don’t get an overcab sunroof (that’s fitted to the more expensive Charming GT) but the simple change does give a greater feeling of space.
As for the Charming part of the title, that refers to the décor with Noble Cherry furniture and overhead cupboards in mother of pearl white. Decorative chrome strips add a classy highlight and there’s indirect ambient lighting.
The 600 DB layout comes with a transverse rear double bed featuring pull-out steps for access and a generous 1.93m by 1.58m size. The kitchen benefits from a selection of soft-close drawers and an exclusive three-way automatic energy selection fridge mounted at waist height.
There’s unusually generous additional storage under the half-dinette bench, too, but the star of the show is the washroom with slide-away toilet and what’s claimed to be the largest shower in its class (all contained by screens, no curtains).
