Yucon K-Peak 7.0 GD high-top campervan

With four-wheel drive and all-terrain tyres as standard, this new campervan from Frankia looks ready for some serious adventures

Words and photos: Peter Vaughan

The Yucon K-Peak 7.0 GD

This doesn’t look like your average campervan, does it? Standing super-tall, like any 4x4 Sprinter, the K-Peak emphasises its go-anywhere nature with chunky BFGoodrich All-Terrain tyres on black steel rims. 

In Tenorite Grey metallic with distinctive Yucon graphics, it looks like it means business – even more so with the LED headlamps and over-windscreen light bars shining the way ahead.

But who is Yucon and what is a K-Peak? Well, the former is the campervan brand from Frankia, founded in 2020 and now being imported to Britain by SMC Motorhomes of Newark, which is already the sole UK dealer for the parent company (best known for its luxurious A-classes). 

The new-this-season K-Peak, meanwhile, takes its title from Keele Peak in the Yukon territory of Canada; the highest point in the Mackenzie Mountains (2,972m). In campervan form, the K-Peak is also the highest – as in the top spec that Yucon offers. 

For once, this is a premium German campervan without an options list that takes several trees to print. Here, the only extra-cost items are the pop-top, roll-out awning, inverter and WiFi router. All of those were fitted to the left-hand drive demo model; everything else you see here is standard and the only thing that will change for the UK is the position of the steering wheel.

So, when you look at the spec, the £131,352 total price of this vehicle starts to look like tempting value compared with other campervans of this size, even those without all-wheel drive. 

You could even save yourself five or six grand by going for one of the shorter K-Peak models; this is the near-seven-metre 7.0 GD but there are also two six-metre versions, the 6.0 BD (double bed) and 6.0 GD (twin beds), all with the same level of specification.

The drive

After weeks of rain, blocked roads and flood warnings, there was no shortage of wet grass, deep puddles and thick, gloopy mud at Hawton Waters, where our usual lakeside pitches were well and truly out of bounds, even for a 4x4. 

On tracks that would see any front-wheel drive campervan spinning its tyres wildly before even leaving the gravel, however, we just drove on regardless. Just occasionally, there was a momentary slip before traction resumed, the limiting factors being the Land Rover-dwarfing size of the Merc and its more-than-three-and-a- half-tonnes empty weight.

Nevertheless, with horsepower aplenty and a fully automatic all-wheel drive system, we just kept on going. Having driven these 4x4 Sprinters in far more challenging off-road conditions, that didn’t surprise me. What did was just how impressive this lofty campervan was on the road. 

It’s a long way up – around 56cm from muddy ground to the internal cab step – so, you may find it easier to walk around to the sliding door (where there’s an electric step), to get aboard. Be warned, though, if you’ve been playing in the brown stuff, half a field’s worth of mud could be sitting on the step as it slides out to greet you! 

The spec

All motorhomes afford their drivers a view over the hedgerows but, with such tall ground clearance, the 4x4 Sprinter has you almost at HGV eye level. However, the near-three-metre height doesn’t seem to impair stability; cruising down the A1, the K-Peak was as solid as a rock and utterly effortless with its 190hp motor and nine-speed automatic transmission (both standard). It was refined, too, despite the knobbly tyres.

The acceleration and handling seemed uncannily good, given the size and weight of this campervan. Even the left-hand drive wasn’t an issue as a blind spot warning device flashed a red triangle in the mirrors when a passing car might have been missed (that’ll be equally welcome when driving a RHD Yucon on the Continent). 

There’s a full gamut of safety and assistance systems here, too, including automatic lights and wipers, adaptive cruise control, attention assist and active brake assist. 

The K-Peak also comes with the larger, 10.25in MBUX central touchscreen display with DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat-nav and not just a simple reversing camera but a 360-degree parking system that provides an overhead view as you manoeuvre and lines that indicate where you’re heading.

The cab chairs live up to this exalted spec, too, hugging you almost as if you’re in a sports car, not a commercial vehicle with a 4,100kg gross weight. With height, tilt and the length of their squabs all adjustable and a combination of leather and suede-like microfibre upholstery, these seats don’t just look the part. 

I could happily have headed off to the Côte d’Azur (if only), with neither conversion nor tyre noise spoiling the drive. Seat heating was, perhaps, the only thing missing.

The pop-top

As standard, the K-Peak is a two-berth, but it adds space for a couple more if you opt for the pop-top (from renowned specialist, SCA). It’s an expensive option, at over £9k, but that does also include a second 90W solar panel on the roof. 

Unusually, there’s a Mini Heki rooflight in the pop-top, too, so the lounge area isn’t dark with the roof down, and, as the rising section isn’t full length, there’s room for another small rooflight over the rear bedroom.

You’ll need to stand on the back seat to push up the roof and a ladder (which splits into two when stowed) is needed to climb aloft. Upstairs, the bed is fully adult-sized (1.96m by 1.10m), with plenty of headroom, twin reading lights (with built-in USBs) and Froli springs under the mattress for your comfort.

Production models are even expected to have ducting from the blown-air heating (a diesel/230V Truma Combi system) in the roof. We’d have liked more consideration on storing the ladder – it was found lying loose in the garage area. 

The garage

Open the rear barn doors and you’ll also find the gas locker here, on the left. As propane is required solely for the hob, Yucon has only provided room for a single 6kg cylinder but, behind that, a door lifts off to reveal the habitation electrics, including a 300Ah lithium battery (wow!) and the optional 2kW inverter.

The rest of the space is given over to housing all your bulkiest gear and measures 1.48m long, 1.18m wide and 91cm high. You can raise the right-hand bed (after removing the mattress) for an area of taller storage, but this isn’t really a bike-friendly space ( folders only) and, strangely, it’s not illuminated.

The lounge

The K-Peak’s living area, in contrast, is mostly well-lit, with dimmable ambient lights, square ceiling lights, a long LED strip over the side door and reading lights for the lounge and bedroom. 

What’s missing are any reading lights in the cab and this exacerbates the relative gloominess up front caused by the dark grey Mercedes headlining (elsewhere in the campervan the ceiling is a much nicer off-white cloth).

Open the supersized, soft-closing sliding door (which remains on the offside with RHD) and you’re faced with the typical continental half-dinette, although the size of the table (and its sturdiness) are worth noting and the tabletop takes its Top Trumps win even further with its rotating extension deployed. 

The rear bench is comfortable and the armrest against the wall is a nice touch but this feature also splits into a pair of cushions that can be used to create a wider seat – 98cm instead of 86cm, thus catering for adult rear passengers far better than in many rivals. Isofix is also standard here.

There’s some storage under the back seat, too, but access is only from above; there’s no drop-front door.

The kitchen

Like the lounge, the galley is, in many ways, just as you’d anticipate. It sits opposite the dinette, partway across the sliding door, and includes a typical campervan two-burner hob and sink combination unit from Dometic, with a split glass lid. As in many European van conversions, there’s no option to add an oven.

What there is here is more space; plenty more, taking advantage of the extra length of this Sprinter van. 

That’s noticeable with the useful acreage of worktop to the right of the sink, while even more preparation space is available if you lift the flap at the forward end of the galley; in Teutonic style, this seems to have been engineered to take the weight of a baby elephant!

Storage is pretty exceptional for a campervan kitchen, too, as it includes no less than seven drawers, all soft-closing and with a domestic quality to them. To the rear, the compressor fridge won’t win any prizes for size, but its 84-litre capacity is surely big enough. Above that, an illuminated cupboard is ideal for taller items: bottles, cereal packets, etc. 

There are two USBs and two mains sockets in the kitchen area, too, but these are above the sliding door and on the front of the galley, respectively. 

I would have preferred to have sockets to the right of the sink, which is the best place for a toaster or coffee machine to sit.

The washroom

Opposite the kitchen is, of course, the washroom, accessed via a conventional door. Inside, again, you feel the extra space made possible in a 7m van. There’s loads of leg and shoulder room on the bench cassette loo, although headroom (1.80m) when standing could be an issue for some. 

More space has been created by hiding the washbasin, which slides away under the tall mirrored cabinet above the loo. Press here and a good-sized basin pops out, complete with a drawer below.

There’s an opening window for ventilation and a pull-out cord creates a washing line for wet clothes to dry. With a corner shelf for your shampoo, twin drains in the shower tray, and upstands to keep your toiletries secure in the cupboard, it’s almost a faultless performance here.

Our only reservation is the shower curtain that clips into place to cover the loo, window and mirror; it won’t get stuck to you or restrict space for showering, but you might think it a bit of a faff to use.

The bedroom

At 64cm wide, the rear single beds could seem a tad slimline but, as they share a 1.33m-long pair of centre cushions, in actual fact, you can enjoy the full width of the campervan (1.67m) along much of the mattresses’ length. And these beds are not short – both mattresses measure 1.96m. Nor are they short on comfort, thanks to their Froli springs.

There are opening windows on either side of the bedroom and in the rear doors, plus the aforementioned roof vent. Reading lights are fitted, too, and you can sit up in bed – sort of. Put a pillow against the back door and you can prop yourself up; just watch the head-banging risk that’s the unpadded (and rather unnecessary) pelmet over the back doors.

There’s also a long line of roof lockers down each side of the bedroom (perfect for folded clothes) and a small wardrobe under the foot of the offside bed (85cm maximum drop from the rail).

Motorhome supplied by SMC Motorhomes
Tel: 01636 670760
smcmotorhomes.co.uk

Insurance: £848.60
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo

If you’re fed up with the traction issues of front-wheel drive in slippery conditions, this might be a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it’s a very appealing one that’s also well made and very well equipped. The extra length of the 7m Sprinter pays dividends, too, but requires a heavy (4,100kg) chassis. Considering the spec, this K-Peak also looks surprisingly good value.