Chausson Flash 10

Where normally a new model sells better in some countries than others, the Flash 10 has been a hit everywhere.
 

When Beautiful South sang, ‘She’s a perfect 10’ I’m not sure they were referring to Chausson’s compact low-profile, the Flash 10, but this is one of our 2012 award winners so ‘it’s still love in the first degree’ might just ring true. Motorhomers all over Europe are looking to buy smaller ’vans, but those downsizing regime will also be faced with sacrifices. What should you go without – the always-ready bed, the big fridge/freezer, the spacious lounge, the separate shower, the external storage or the rear travel seats, or even several of the above? Usually, the first choice is whether or not to forego the fixed bed, but can you face going back to a jigsaw of cushions every night? If only there was another way…

Clever roof bed

Of course, putting the bed in the roof has been a motorhome designer’s solution for as long as we can remember. A-classes had been the real home of space-saving beds, though, until Bürstner brought us the Ixeo, combining an A-class bed with a cheaper-to-build, low-profile body. Making the drop-down berths into the main bed was a logical next step and one that Chausson first took with the radical island kitchen Suite. Now proven, with more than two years’ production behind it, the Suite’s clever electrically lowering bed has found a new home in the Flash range.

In the daytime, there’s 6ft headroom beneath Chausson's design and at night you simply undo the catch and press a button. As it whirrs down, it offers you choices. Firstly, you can leave your laptop or breakfast things on the table, or you can make up the lounge into another bed (not the flattest, but the grandchildren won’t mind), so you effectively have bunks – one double bed atop the other, each with 67cm of headroom. Alternatively, if there’s just two of you on board then the bed can be lowered further, so that the ladder can be discarded. It’s this lower position – and easier access – which gives the Flash bed a USP, while the electric motors mean that there’s no effort at all involved in bed-making. Even the table squats down at the flick of a switch to let the bed come down those extra inches.

Lounging and dining

With the bed hidden away above your head, the Chausson can devote plenty of space to lounging. Two swivel cab seats are joined by a long settee on the UK offside and an even longer (5ft) L-settee opposite. The other seats are firm, but not hard, so that it’s easy to get comfy here, with plenty of room to put your feet up. You’ll get seven around the table for a natter, and at least five could dine comfortably.

Kitchen

The galley itself sits aft of the high-backed forward-facing section of the L-settee (where two three-point seatbelts allow for passenger-carrying). It’s not the biggest kitchen, but it seems well planned. There's a sensible area of preparation space between the hob and sink when the clip-on drainer is detached, which during travel slots safely away under the glass lid. The fridge is a massive 141-litre Thetford unit with separate freezer, but not – unsurprisingly for a £40k ’van – automatic energy selection.

Washroom

Slide back the curved tambour door and step up five and a half inches and you’ll find yourself in a remarkably good washroom. All the normal stuff is here; a swivel cassette toilet (with masses of legroom in front of it), a fixed corner basin with cupboard below, wall cupboards, opening window and roof vent, towel and toilet roll holders. But it’s the size of that separate shower and the amount of clothing storage that makes this washroom special.

Optional kit

The Silver Pack adds the silver paint (of course), and air-con, foglamps and CD/radio. Like the sunroof, it’s an option that no one is likely to forego, but you already get twin airbags, cruise control, electric mirrors, radio controls on the steering column and a more varied (if less capacious) array of inn-cab storage than in the Fiat. If cash is tight then you might miss out on the 140bhp engine – 125 horses should be enough for such a compact motorhome, and a minority of Flash buyers stick with the standard power unit.


This review of the Chausson Flash 10 was published in the June 2012 issue of Which Motorhome.
You can buy a download the full magazine by clicking HERE

Under six metres long but with a clever electric drop-down bed, the Chausson Flash 10 manages to pack a quart into a pint pot. It lacks in no one area and the price is competitive.