Full review

Words: Peter Vaughan  Photos courtesy of Chausson

The Chausson X550 Exclusive Line 

The Chausson X650 Exclusive Line might be our Motorhome of the Year 2024 but its little brother came first, in  2021, and was so successful that Chausson stopped promoting it for a while in order to catch up with delivering the motorhomes it had already sold. 

Our video of the X550 has had over 800,000 views – see it at motorhome.ma/review220 

Here then is a low-profile motorhome with a unique look – all in black and white. Despite the ubiquitous Fiat  Ducato cab, you’d never mistake it for anything else. Nor is it like anything else.

It’s barely wider than a panel van and only 5.99m long, but it has a large lounge and a drop-down bed, plus a  washroom that belies the motorhome’s size. Almost Tardis-like, this is perhaps the cleverest motorhome – or is it a campervan? – ever to come from this most innovative of all mainstream motorhome makers.

But. There’s always a ‘but’ isn’t there? The one thing that the X550 lacked at launch was sufficient windows. Where there should have been glazing on the offside it had a pinboard and mirror. 

The YouTube comments weren’t at all kind but the French firm hadn’t come over totally perverse and a bit (shrugs shoulders) Gallic – there were genuine technical reasons for the absence of that window. Reasons that took time to overcome. 

But overcome them they have, so – ta-da! – here’s the 2024 model year X550 Exclusive Line. With that extra window! To be honest, Chausson hasn’t changed much else in this one-of-a-kind vehicle, but then it didn’t need to.

So, you’ll spot a new ‘X’ motif inside the door and an X-shaped light on the underside of the drop-down bed but that’s about it for the changes. All the winning features of the model remain intact.

The layout

Technically, this is a low-profile with the usual sandwich construction of GRP skinned walls and Styrofoam insulation. The exterior also has a bit of the off-roader about its aesthetics, although the 140hp engine drives only the front wheels. 

Like Swift’s new Trekker, this is a motorhome that seems to be chasing a younger audience. Unlike the longer, newer X650, there’s no garage but a tall exterior locker on the nearside caters for outdoor chairs and the like. 

The spec

As it’s sold only as an Exclusive Line model, the X550 gets plenty of kit as standard, including black alloy wheels (an alternative, part-polished design on automatic versions, which have a different axle), ESP, Traction Plus, stop/start and an overcab sunroof. 

You might want to add the Connect Pack (touchscreen radio with steering wheel-mounted controls and reversing camera) and the X Pack (awning and solar panel). 

The important thing, though, is that this feels like a campervan to drive (note the more compact, van-style door mirrors, too).

The lounge

So, on the road it’s a campervan, but then on site it’s more motorhome. The flat side walls, the sense of space and the facilities on offer all point to this, and you can also thank Chausson’s proven Smart Lounge. 

Its long side settees, combined with a table that folds in half, make for a surprisingly spacious feel. Especially now with that extra window!

Another benefit of the Smart Lounge is its easy conversion from side sofas to a pair of forward-facing travel seats. The travel seat backrests are hidden under the settees and simply hinge up into position. The seat cushions are then repurposed for their new role. 

The beds

The X550 also matches its seatbelt tally with berths for four – in two double beds, one above t’ other. The  dinette bed is made by lowering the table and adding the two giant infill cushions. It’s a good-sized bed but  much, much more comfortable is the electric Hideaway Bed above.

And, if you don’t need four berths, the drop-down double can be lowered right down to seat height, with easy access ensured. Of course, if you’re using both beds, then the upper one stops at a higher position and a ladder is employed.

Really, though, we’d see that as an occasional-use-only option – the X550 works best as a comfy two-berth.

The washroom

So, the front half of the X550 combines a lounge that belies the model’s compact dimensions with a good-sized drop-down bed.

But there’s more to impress at the opposite end of this motorhome, where you’ll discover a washroom that puts six-metre campervans to shame – and also betters that in the X650.

The ablutions zone runs virtually the whole width of the back of the vehicle and, inside, a supersized tambour door pulls around to create a shower cubicle of unprecedented generosity for such a compact model. 

The trendy looking square showerhead gives a good spray, too, so you’ll never be tempted to use the campsite facilities instead. 

And this washroom also features generous cupboard space, neat recesses in the shower cubicle’s back wall, the usual swivel cassette toilet and a large but (unfortunately) backless tip-up basin.

The kitchen

When it comes to the kitchen, you need to remember that Chausson is one of those continental brands that  takes the UK market seriously and panders to our Anglo-Saxon tastes. 

That means an oven in the kitchen and, here, the Thetford Triplex also includes a grill and a mains hotplate (our images show the French spec galley). It’s mounted conveniently below the counter, too.

There’s just enough culinary worktop, thanks to a deep counter and a cover for the sink, while the tall fridge opposite is more than sufficient for a couple’s needs.

The storage

More storage can be found beneath the lounge seats, especially when they are in settee mode. This includes a useful cupboard for shoes and boots accessed directly from the entrance area, but it should be noted that the drop-down bed precludes any top lockers from being fitted in the lounge area. 

Under the offside sofa you’ll also find the gas/12V boiler (heating is diesel-fired) and the 100-litre fresh water  tank (inboard for the best winterisation).

Summary

If you’ve been weighing up the crucial question of whether to purchase a biggish campervan or a smallish motorhome, Chausson has a unique third option and it might just be the best of both worlds…

You can see our review of the original 2021 Chausson X550 Exclusive Line model here.

Where to buy

Chausson has 14 dealers around the UK. In Northern Ireland it is represented by Central Motorhomes, while in Scotland the dealership is Knowepark Caravans.

In Wales, you’ll find Chaussons at 3 A’s Motorhomes in Carmarthenshire. 

Then, in England, there are retailers as far north as Tyne Valley Motorhomes (Newcastle), as far southwest as Highbridge Caravan Centre in Newton Abbot, Devon, and down in the southeast at TC Motorhomes of Herne Bay.

If you’re heading off on a grand tour, it’s reassuring to know that there are Chausson dealers as far afield as Bulgaria, Lithuania, Sweden and Greece.