Auto-Sleeper Nuevo ES and EK

Berths: 2 (EK), 4 (ES) Travel seats: 2 (EK), 4 (ES) Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer Gross weight: 3,300kg (EK), 3,500kg (ES) Payload: 476kg (EK) 564kg (ES)

At just 5.71 metres (18ft 9in) long, Auto-Sleepers’ Nuevo range offers a pair of the most compact British coachbuilt motorhomes on the market.

Inside, arrangements see a classic layout that’s been around for many a year and for good reason – Auto-Sleepers’ advertising blurb calls it iconic and, for once, that statement is entirely true.

It simply works brilliantly in a small coachbuilt motorhome such as this.

The base vehicle is Peugeot’s Boxer, now with a brand-new downsized, 2-litre, Euro VI-compliant engine that’s far smoother than its rather rattly 2.2-litre predecessor. The gearbox is a six-speed manual or you can opt for an automatic, but it’ll come fitted to Fiat’s near-identical Ducato.

In foundation-model Nuevo EK, cab seats turn to face a cosy twin-sofa lounge that easily makes into a transverse double bed or alternative lengthways singles using the cab seat bases as the foot of each bed.

Two tables do duty, the first a full-sized free-stander, plus a pedestal-mounted smaller brother that mounts between the cab seats for drinks and snacks.

Further aft there’s a cabinet on the nearside that doubles as working space for the kitchen and a sideboard for the lounge. This also makes a handy nightstand when the double bed is made. Above is a microwave, below a good-sized fridge with automatic energy selection.

Ranged across the rear, the rest of the kitchen is very nicely equipped, with a full, domestic-style cooker and stainless-steel sink – plenty of drawers below, two lockers above.

Next door, in the rear offside corner, the bathroom makes the very best use of space thanks to the washbasin being mounted on a swing-wall that moves forwards, helping to create a spacious semi-separate shower. The loo is one of Thetford’s swivel-bowl stalwarts and, above, there’s a reasonably roomy wooden locker.

Forward of the bathroom, the Nuevo circular tour is completed with a roomy wardrobe with drawer below. Truma’s Combi boiler lives beneath – the drawer nicely warmed, so might house some nicely toasty socks!

To the stablemate and the ES version, which has an overcab pod that offers a double bed with decent headroom and makes this Nuevo into a diminutive four-berth. Now rear travel seats are needed and the lounge provides them with a sofa-replacing half-dinette, complete with two belted places. Opposite, the other sofa remains, as does the ability to make two single beds or a transverse double.

Nuevo’s standard-fit kit list is very impressive indeed and starts with the motor, which is the flagship 160bhp version (with the auto it’s a Fiat 150bhp unit).

There’s a DAB radio with Bluetooth and steering wheel-mounted controls and the central locking extends to the habitation door.

Living area services include an underfloor gas tank, dual-fuel boiler/heater, USB sockets and an external barbecue point. The two versions of the Nuevo pack huge amounts into small spaces and in thoroughly practical fashion.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in the Summer 2017 issue of What Motorhome magazine.

There are over 47 campervans and motorhomes featured in the latest issue and you can get a digital version of the latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.