Stanford Coachworks Monaco Sport

Berths: 4 Travel seats: 5 Base vehicle: VW Transporter T5 LWB Gross vehicle weight: 3,200kg Payload: 750kg

The Volkswagen T5/T6 camper market is overflowing, but one newcomer that would be hard to miss is the Stanford Coachworks Monaco Sport. Its extreme orange exterior drew crowds at The Commercial Vehicle Show this year.

But this isn’t just another VW with a bold paint job. Look past the fabulous colour (other hues are available) and the Monaco is actually standard fare externally. There’s the ubiquitous Reimo manual, front-lifting roof and a 101bhp engine under the bonnet.

The biggest departure from the norm is the long-wheelbase. Only a handful of converters go for this, largely because the extra 40cm length makes the T5 harder to park. But the LWB offers one benefit so great that parking problems quickly evaporate.

That benefit is interior space –in this ‘van, the furniture has been designed to maximise it. Stanford has fitted a slimline offside kitchen with a body colour-coded top that sweeps from the floor up to a long worktop containing a two-burner hob and sink. After a brief spell of clear worktop, the orange top curves upwards and back over to form a ceiling punctuated with three LED spots. Few manufacturers combine fun with functionality like this.

Even before the front seats are turned to face the lounge area, the LWB Monaco feels huge inside.

For dining, a table clips onto a rail in the kitchen with a single fold-out leg. It is stable enough to eat on, but a larger, free-standing, four-legger would be better.

The ebony-effect wooden floor is practical and it blends brilliantly with the understated grey of the kitchen. The floor is only broken by the Reimo 333 bench seat which provides belted travel for three and will slide right forward on its rails to maximise loading space.

The 333 seat becomes a double bed in under a minute. With the bed down, there’s still 70cm of space in front to get changed in. The roof bed is comfy for a couple of kids or smaller adults. It’s 3cm narrower than the lower bed but a touch longer.

Three high-level cupboards are useful for tins, books and socks, and there are three cupboards in the lower kitchen units, but the 25-litre fresh water tank steals space in the largest cupboard. Accessed from the back of the ’van is a three-shelf cupboard.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the November 2015 issue of What Motorhome.

Stanford Coachworks has succeeded in designing an interior for a very traditional layout that looks and feels completely different from anything else.