Auto-Sleeper Broadway FB - motorhome reivew
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Description
PRICE FROM £52,995 PRICE AS TESTED £55,495 EXTRAS FITTED Premium Pack – alloy wheels, cab air-con, cruise control, wind-out awning, reversing camera, 30W solar panel, LED daytime running lights (£2500)
Key Features
Model Year
2013
Product Class
Low Profile
Product Model Base
Peugeot Boxer
Price from (£)
£52995
Length (m)
7.16
Berths
4
Belted seats
2
Main Layout
French Bed
Full Review
The concept is simple: take Europe’s most popular layout and inject a big dose of Britishness. The result is a French bed-equipped motorhome that includes the comfy lounge and decent kitchen that some of the continentals lack.
Internal styling too, is appealing, leaning towards the traditional, which is much more comfortable to live with during the dark wet days of the great British summer; maybe even the winter too!
OUTSIDE
A trot around the outside discovers a barbecue point, a mains socket and aerial input point. There’s also a filler for the new underslung gas tank – doing away with the gas cylinder locker has saved space, to say nothing of the convenience of being able to fill with LPG at a garage, saving a wodge of hard-earned in the process: autogas is much cheaper than the bottled variety.
INSIDE
Rich, matt-finish wood, chrome trim, traditional fabrics and fully-lined curtains create that sought-after comfy feel, while kit such as windows and blinds, rooflights and lamps are all from the upmarket section of the motorhome makers’ kit catalogue.
LOUNGE
In the lounge, all is simple and effective as cab seats turn easily to face twin sofas. The sofas aren’t the longest, but provide feet-up opportunities for two, seating for four, while the cab seats become comfy armchairs.
Above, a big wind-up rooflight and overcab sunroof give plenty of natural light, and no less than seven lamps provide oodles of artificial illumination.
KITCHEN
The kitchen features a full cooker, big fridge/freezer, a microwave, decent drawers and cupboards.
The sink does not hava drainer, but a plastic removable one does the job, leaving a good slab of worktop when it’s not there – pull-out and flip-up surfaces add still more.
The cooker has three gas burners, one mains hotplate, separate grill and oven. Above, a cooker hood rids fumes and includes a pair of lamps. Opposite lives the fridge, with microwave above.
This is a good kitchen and more capable than most of the competition.
BED
The fixed double bed will be the reason to buy this motorhome, so it’s nice to discover that a decent size is on offer – 6ft 4in in ‘old money’ and nearly 4ft 3in wide makes it bigger than a few I’ve tried - take a tape measure with you when hunting for your perfect ’van.
It’s comfy too, with a padded headboard with two headrests, and you can get sat up without nutting the lockers above.
WASHROOM
Bathrooms alongside French beds can often suffer from a lack of space in important areas, thanks to their relatively long and narrow shape.
This one actually does quite well, fitting in a large washbasin, swivel-bowl loo and decentsized separate shower.
Lighting in here is – like the rest of this Broadway – comprehensive, with a ceiling lamp, a spotlight and blue LEDs set into the good-sized mirror.
Storage is beneath, in a tambour-doored cupboard, while above the sidewall-mounted window there’s another mirror and a good shelf.
IN THE CAB
Peugeot’s long-wheelbase Boxer chassis-cab does duty as motivator, providing good handling and sprightly performance (though experience shows the rival Fiat engine is rather more refined and the Pug has no auto option).
The cab’s well equipped if you opt for the Premium Pack of extras, and all surely will.
At £2500, the package of air-con, cruise control, reversing camera and passenger airbag inside, alloys and daytime running lights outside, provide reasonable value.
The radio features steering wheel-mounted controls and extra speakers in the bedroom.
Internal styling too, is appealing, leaning towards the traditional, which is much more comfortable to live with during the dark wet days of the great British summer; maybe even the winter too!
OUTSIDE
A trot around the outside discovers a barbecue point, a mains socket and aerial input point. There’s also a filler for the new underslung gas tank – doing away with the gas cylinder locker has saved space, to say nothing of the convenience of being able to fill with LPG at a garage, saving a wodge of hard-earned in the process: autogas is much cheaper than the bottled variety.
INSIDE
Rich, matt-finish wood, chrome trim, traditional fabrics and fully-lined curtains create that sought-after comfy feel, while kit such as windows and blinds, rooflights and lamps are all from the upmarket section of the motorhome makers’ kit catalogue.
LOUNGE
In the lounge, all is simple and effective as cab seats turn easily to face twin sofas. The sofas aren’t the longest, but provide feet-up opportunities for two, seating for four, while the cab seats become comfy armchairs.
Above, a big wind-up rooflight and overcab sunroof give plenty of natural light, and no less than seven lamps provide oodles of artificial illumination.
KITCHEN
The kitchen features a full cooker, big fridge/freezer, a microwave, decent drawers and cupboards.
The sink does not hava drainer, but a plastic removable one does the job, leaving a good slab of worktop when it’s not there – pull-out and flip-up surfaces add still more.
The cooker has three gas burners, one mains hotplate, separate grill and oven. Above, a cooker hood rids fumes and includes a pair of lamps. Opposite lives the fridge, with microwave above.
This is a good kitchen and more capable than most of the competition.
BED
The fixed double bed will be the reason to buy this motorhome, so it’s nice to discover that a decent size is on offer – 6ft 4in in ‘old money’ and nearly 4ft 3in wide makes it bigger than a few I’ve tried - take a tape measure with you when hunting for your perfect ’van.
It’s comfy too, with a padded headboard with two headrests, and you can get sat up without nutting the lockers above.
WASHROOM
Bathrooms alongside French beds can often suffer from a lack of space in important areas, thanks to their relatively long and narrow shape.
This one actually does quite well, fitting in a large washbasin, swivel-bowl loo and decentsized separate shower.
Lighting in here is – like the rest of this Broadway – comprehensive, with a ceiling lamp, a spotlight and blue LEDs set into the good-sized mirror.
Storage is beneath, in a tambour-doored cupboard, while above the sidewall-mounted window there’s another mirror and a good shelf.
IN THE CAB
Peugeot’s long-wheelbase Boxer chassis-cab does duty as motivator, providing good handling and sprightly performance (though experience shows the rival Fiat engine is rather more refined and the Pug has no auto option).
The cab’s well equipped if you opt for the Premium Pack of extras, and all surely will.
At £2500, the package of air-con, cruise control, reversing camera and passenger airbag inside, alloys and daytime running lights outside, provide reasonable value.
The radio features steering wheel-mounted controls and extra speakers in the bedroom.
Our Verdict
The newly-named Broadway FB should be on your must-see list if you’re looking for a British-style fixed bed motorhome. Well equipped and traditionally styled, it also comes from a converter with an excellent reputation for after-sales service.
Advantages
Price reduction over Cotswold
Well-equipped
kitchen
kitchen
Large shower
Good-sized comfy French bed
Disadvantages
Four berths, but only two belted seats
Taller standard rear chassis
Underslung water tanks
Non-wipe-clean shower linings
