Moto-Trek Leisure-Treka EB

Berths: 2 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer (Fiat Ducato on test model) Maximum weight: 3,500kg Payload: 420kg

Yorkshire’s Moto-Trek only started making motorhomes three years ago, but its history in motorsport and horse boxes goes back a lot further than that. 2016 will see the company establish a dealer network, with appointments imminent in Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Suffolk in addition to Itchy Feet in Northampton. Initially the three newcomers are to focus on van conversions produced by the company, which says it is on course for NCC approval for its vehicles.

These include the EB (end bathroom) model we have here from the four-model Leisure Treka range.

It is a large customer of Peugeot, so it can command significant discounts on the Boxer base vehicles it prefers to build on. This example, however, is on a Fiat Ducato – because it has the Comfort-Matic semi-automatic transmission option that isn’t available with Peugeot. There is an Iveco-based model on the drawing boards, which is likely to be unveiled before the end of 2016.

Moto-Trek offers two different specification levels for each model – Classic and the more upmarket Elite.

This Classic has a headline-grabbing £39,999 starting price and comes with a lot of standard kit that some rivals would have as optional extras. Floor carpeting throughout is standard, for example.

The model we were testing has been specced up, however, coming with all four pack options – Comfort, Cab, Deluxe and Kitchen – which, between them, bump the price up to over that of the Elite model, although you could easily make the case for including each and every one of them, if your budget permits.

The £1,320 Cab Pack, for instance, adds air-conditioning, cruise control, passenger airbag and front foglights.

Note the more expensive, flush-fitting side and rear windows. And the metallic exterior, completed by colour-matching all external fittings. The back doors have been replaced by a GRP panel, whose lower section houses a full-width hinged door that opens up to allow access to the toilet cassette and just a small section for storage. Moto-Trek admits this is a feature it’s still working on.

Underneath, the base vehicle is left as standard. Front mudflaps and front LED daytime running lights are standard, however, and the cab comes with DAB radio as well as electric, heated door mirrors. The cab seats are standard Ducato seats.

The table on our test model is a pedestal leg model measuring 92.5cm x 51cm – no problem for two at mealtimes. It stores in the slot over the cab, but the demonstrator lacked any method for holding it all in. Alternatives are offered.

A short spin proved all was as quiet as it should be, while the quality of the fittings should ensure it remains this way.

The layout is one not offered by that many converters – UK or abroad. It includes a central galley kitchen and, not forgetting it’s on the 6.36m extra-long Fiat Ducato base, there’s a genuine feeling of space inside.

You will appreciate the L-shaped settee, which means you can have the sliding door flung back for a great view. An arrangement like this also leaves plenty of floor space.

There’s a soft-ish foam for seating/bedding, but perhaps an over-reliance on Velcro to keep the cushions in place, and maybe the backrests could be higher.

Cabinetwork is supplied exclusively to Moto-Trek. If you don’t like the flat locker doors, curved ones with a gloss finish are on the options list. As it is, they may be small, but they have high-quality hinges to hold them parallel to the ceiling when opened.

The double bed is made up easily enough from the settee. The bed may not be the biggest, but there’s plenty of ‘overhang option’ to two sides.

There’s loads of LED lighting, including 14 different downlighters in the main ceiling area, plus two reading lamps.

The main kitchen unit is L-shaped, housing a hob and sink combination as standard. Here, however, the Kitchen Pack brings a more appropriate Dometic cooker with three-ring hob and combined oven and grill. It also means a separate sink, with an ocean of worktop interrupted only by a Powerdock – a clever pull-up unit that features three mains sockets and twin USBs.

A Daewoo microwave oven will also be standard, slotting into the locker over the fridge on the nearside.

There’s splashback protection all around the kitchen worktop. Unfortunately, the Perspex upright beyond the sink leaves a gap under which spills could run. Moto-Trek is aware of this, so there could be design modifications in the future.

Also, at present, you’ll have to add your own drainer, as it’s not yet offered.

Storage is particularly good, with a tambour-door cupboard under the sink and bi-folding door access to a larger cupboard next door, plus slide-out chrome racking to the right of the cooker and a large drawer under the oven, three overhead lockers and a small section of open shelving. What is lacking is a cutlery drawer.

The washroom across the back has a space-saving tambour door for access and, while the pull-down basin and bench toilet arrangement might seem old-fashioned, it works well.

The wardrobe is in the opposite corner, containing a loose hatch for access to further storage below. There’s a window and rooflight for ventilation, a curtain for showering, mirrored vanity unit over the washbasin, plus an open shelf along the back wall.

This is an abridged version of the original review appearing in the January 2016 issue of MMM.

The £39,999 window price catches the eye, as does the fact that it’s a British manufacturer offering some genuine innovation. It just lacks a little refinement - and beware of that payload being eaten into as you add extras.