Tribute 669
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Description
PRICE FROM: £34,995 BERTHS: 2 TRAVEL SEATS: 4
Key Features
Model Year
2013
Product Class
High top
Product Model Base
Fiat Ducato
Price from (£)
£34495
Length (m)
5.99
Berths
2
Belted seats
4
Main Layout
Garage
Full Review
Built in Italy and sold in the UK via Auto-Trail, the 669 is not so much a new layout for this season, as it follows on from the now-defunct 665. But a thorough overhaul sees its successor coming in at a super low price.
Building on a popular floorplan throughout all of Europe, this latest Tribute takes it a stage further – now, there’s not just the option of another double bed (over the standard one) but – and this is key – the 669 comes with a blink-and-look again starting price of just £34,995.That’s £34,995 on-the-road and using Fiat’s long-wheelbase Ducato with 130bhp engine and six-speed manual gearbox. Absolutely no kidding.
So the appeal is still very much there for couples wanting a rear bed high-top (with as little financial outlay as possible), whilst the additional bed option extends that attraction to those with small families.
A MORE BASIC BASE
It’s back to basics – a bit – with the base vehicle. Relative luxuries such as electric door mirrors aren’t here, and there’s only pre-wiring for a stereo. Of more concern is the lack of a cab passenger airbag. Air-conditioning is here, although it is a £955 option (I’d put some serious thought to not having this, if you really want to squeeze out the value).
The conversion is actually ‘right-handed’ as far as we’re concerned here in the UK – unlike most imports, the sliding door is on our nearside and the whole conversion is switched appropriately. That’s a plus point. Aspects such as the colour-coded bumpers and wheeltrims, again suggest this is anything but a budget vehicle.
EN ROUTE WITH FEW RATTLES
I am no stranger to the Fiat Ducato base vehicle in all manner of forms and I have to say I did find the engine in this vehicle particularly sweet. And, initial rattles were considerably less than in plenty of other similar van conversions.
There’s travel for up to four folk, but do note the lounge’s overhead locker arrangement means one rear seat occupant (not just for travel) needs to be short.
The rear seat has a bit of an angle to its backrest, for travel, but actual cushion support belies the budget status of the vehicle. Try it for yourselves.
The cab seats, in matching upholstery to the rest of the seating, get a captain’s style treatment with additional cushioning to the head restraints. The cab also gets a carpet section as part of the conversion process.
INTERIOR AFFAIRS
It was cold, pretty wet and simply grubby enough for a fair amount of dirt to get tramped into this motorhome (never intentionally, of course). It did serve to prove that light coloured floors – as fitted here – just simply don’t work in our climate.
In fairness, owners will be sensible enough to add their own mat at the door, and possibly carpeting elsewhere, to save most of this.
Elsewhere, there’s plenty of blown plastic moulded panelling – the overcab locker and sliding door area, in particular, and the bedroom area. It certainly looks better than the glued-on carpet of yesteryear, but I can’t help thinking here it’s all a little flimsy. Again, this is something you’ll want to assess for yourselves.
Heating and hot water are courtesy of a Webasto unit, powered by diesel sipped gently from the base vehicle, which can also be used whilst travelling – ensuring you arrive on site with the living quarters already cosy and warm.
COMPACT KITCHEN
There’s a combined two-ring gas hob and sink to play with here, with worktop coming from a fold-up flap that then makes access at the sliding door pretty tricky (although it is almost close enough to reach from the comfort of the swivelled cab passenger’s seat).
You could also swing the table extension round, but again this simply means absolutely no passageway for your fellow occupants while you indulge in preparing a meal.
The kitchen unit also houses a Smev grill, with a large cutlery drawer beneath it. I only say that as a criticism because the narrowness of the passageway here does make access to both grill and drawer – and indeed the kitchen cupboards – a bit of an exercise. This isn’t the first time the term ‘ergonomics’ will come up in this test.
WASHROOM
Damn clever, these slide-away basins and, to my mind, generally better than the fold-down versions that other converters tend to resort to in such tight circumstances. Praise, too, for the tambour door here – another great space saver and convenience (pun intended) enhancer. The tiniest of drainage holes for both the washbasin and in shower tray are not ideal, however.
The Tribute washroom doesn’t get a warm air outlet, but (perhaps surprisingly, considering the cost involved) it does have an opaque, opening window (there’s no blind or curtain, be warned).
The large overhead locker is a bonus, certainly, but rooting around at the back of this specific example didn’t show Tribute’s craftsmen in their best light.
STORAGE ISSUES
General storage is tight. By that I mean overall locker arrangements. But, as with any motorhome as you go down the sizes, it’s all a question of being organised.
I did like the high-level, drop-down clothes locker at the end of the bed, its location presumably dictated by the prospect of adding a further double bed section here to take the sleeping berths up to four.
Typical of many a budget vehicle, I found a lot of the upper-level lockers could have done with either shelving or deeper lips. As you’d expect in any motorhome, all such lockers have positive catches, and the high-gloss finish to the forward overhead locker doors adds a touch of class.
SOFTLY, SOFTLY SLEEPING
The framework is metal, with slats allowing for plenty of ventilation, while mattress comfort tends towards the soft (you might want to add a bit of support with a mattress topper, or similar).
However, for any of us who have had to endure years of back-breaking bed-making using daytime seating, the pleasures of a ready-made bed are something to cherish.
If you want to sleep four, there’s the upper bed option, which also includes a ladder and safety net. It can also be added and removed from the vehicle, as required.
CONCLUSION
First off, it’s a cracking price and not much else gets near it. But it’s pretty obvious where the compromises are. I appreciate interior build quality is some way off the finest, but that’s all part of keeping the costs down.
Plenty of other long-wheelbase Fiat Ducato high-top conversions make more of the limits of those interior dimensions… though they just can’t get near this Tribute on sheer value. In the end, it depends on how much you would be prepared to forgive, considering that amazing price.
Read the full review in the Summer 2013 digital issue of MMM
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Our Verdict
It’s a cracking price and not much else gets near it. But it’s pretty obvious where the compromises are. In the end, it depends on how much you would be prepared to forgive, considering that amazing price.
Advantages
Remarkable price
Excellent drive
Fully configured right-hand drive
conversion
conversion
General equipment levels
Webasto heating and hot water system
Comfort-Matic automatic option
LED interior lighting
Disadvantages
Poor storage
Cramped interior
Some build quality issues
Heated kitchen unit
