Auto-Sleepers Corinium RB motorhome

Berths: 2 Travel seats: 2 Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer Al-Ko Gross weight: 3,500kg/4,000kg Payload: 263kg/678kg

When the Corinium range was launched the obvious omission was an island bed layout for this flagship line-up, but it didn’t take long for the Cotswold firm to plug this gap with a third model, the RB.

In fact, despite over five decades of motorhome manufacturing history behind it, this was the company’s very first island bed model. And it remains the sole such offering, even though this has become one of the core floorplans throughout the coachbuilt sector.

The Corinium RB, like its French bed and single bed stablemates, is a big motorhome, at not far short of 8m long. Unlike the rest of Auto-Sleepers’ Peugeot-based coachbuilts, it sits on an Al-Ko chassis, but without a reduced overall height and the floor level in the living area is still as high as that in the cab. It has a 3,500kg gross weight as standard, but with a rather meagre 263kg quoted payload. Fork out an extra £1,200 and, if your driving licence allows, you can upgrade to a 4-tonne chassis – and a far more practical 678kg carrying capacity.

And, although the Peugeot cab is not offered in automatic form, Auto-Sleepers meets the demand for two-pedal motoring with a switch to Fiat’s sister base vehicle. A Ducato cab with 150bhp engine and Comfort-Matic robotised gearshift will, however, set you back an additional four grand.

Another reason to dig deeper is the Premium Pack. Here’s £2,500-worth of goodies that, in reality, you’ll never see a Corinium without. After all, who would forgo alloy wheels, cab air-conditioning, cruise control, an Omnistor roll-out awning, reversing camera, sat-nav, leather steering wheel and an 80W solar panel when spending close to £70k? If you want even more luxury, then the Media Pack (with Maxview satellite system) is £995 and the Winter Pack another £295. That takes you up to £69,990 for a manual gearbox, 3,500kg Peugeot Corinium.

The standard spec does include Peugeot’s 160bhp, 2-litre diesel engine, though, so performance should be more than adequate. And three years’ Peugeot Camping-Car Assistance has now been included on all Auto-Sleepers’ Boxer-based ’vans registered since September 2017.

But it’s the bedroom that will sell you the RB. Beyond the kitchen, a proper door in the centre of the full-width wall opens onto a separate bedroom, complete with bedside tables and his ‘n’ hers wardrobes.

In our full road test back in the Dec/Jan 2017 issue of What Motorhome, we measured the mattress at 1.23m wide and 1.93m at its longest point and, although it is radiused at the foot, we said “unless you are particularly gangly, it’s perfectly sized.” The Combi boiler is under the head of the bed and the whole mattress and slatted base lift up on gas struts to provide access to this and room for outdoor chairs, etc.

You’ll have to carry your gear through the ’van, though, as there’s no external access to the under-bed space. If that’s a disappointment, then the kitchen goes some way to making amends. Most impressive is the amount of usable worktop, even before you’ve slid out the extension panel over the fridge, but you’ll also find a high-level microwave and a full cooker with separate grill and oven and a mains hotplate here. The fridge is an under-counter model, rather than a tall unit, but should be adequate for two people and it comes with the convenience of automatic energy selection.

Opposite is the all-in-one washroom (no separate shower, unlike most rivals, but otherwise roomy), while the lounge is the British classic of side settees (plus neat storage for the free-standing table). New this season are the rear exterior styling and additional upholstery choices.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in What Motorhome magazine. You can get a digital version of this latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.