Dethleffs Alpa

Price from: £64,190 OTR  Price as tested: £74,174
The vehicle: Fiat Ducato Al-Ko chassis cab, 3.0-litre turbo-diesel producing 177bhp, six-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel drive
Warranty: Base vehicle and conversion 2 years, water ingress 6 years
Length 7.38m (24ft 2.5in). Width 2.33m (7ft 8in). Height 3.25m (10ft 8in)
Gross vehicle weight: 4,500kg Payload: 990kg
Belted seats: 4 (incl driver)
Beds: Overcab singles nearside 1.87m x 750mm (6ft 1.5in x 2ft 5.5in), offside 2.00m x 770mm ( 6ft 7in x 2ft 6.5in). Lounge double 2.11m x 1.70m (6ft 11in x 5ft 7in) max
Water and space heating: Truma Combi boiler with blown-air, gas-mains operation
Tanks: Fresh water 137 litres, waste water 137 litres Gas: 2 x 11kg cylinders
Options fitted: 3.0-litre engine upgrade (£3,063), LED daytime running lights (£350), alloy wheels (£1,060), Luxus Pack (£2,890), LED Lighting Pack (£175), Deco Pack (£320), rear travel seats (£800), additional leisure battery (£240), fridge/freezer and oven (£350), additional garage door (£410), multi-floor storage (£326)



The Alpa recipe starts with Fiat’s doughty Ducato married to an Al-Ko rear chassis. An overcab coachbuilt body includes features commonly found in other ’vans, but rarely together in one model.

There’s a big rear lounge, but it’s above a garage; fixed single beds feature too, but these live above the cab. Add a living area-raising double floor and you begin to see why the Alpa is such a lofty beast.

Thanks to the Alpa’s stature, the cab is ‘downstairs’ from the living area and plays no part in providing on-site space. Indeed, a sliding door closes to make the cab entirely separate – something that makes things quieter on the road and increases the effectiveness of the standard-fit cab air-conditioning, as well as isolating the colder cab on winter nights.

Other base vehicle items are useful – a passenger airbag, captain’s seats and cruise control are standard. No stereo, though, but with the huge choice of units this is no bad thing – owners can choose the one that suits them best. Bear in mind too that there are no rear speakers fitted, so a stand-alone stereo in the lounge might be useful. Check that your licence allows you to drive the Alpa: the juicy near-tonne payload is thanks to a 4,500kg gross vehicle weight.

U-shaped rear lounge

Including the external slide-out step, three treads raise you to living area height, where you discover an interior that’s undeniably impressive, both in looks and space. Rear lounges in continental ’vans are a rare thing, but this U-shaped one bucks the trend, providing place for six people to sit, and four to dine, in comfort. However, there’s still the big fixed table that our continental cousins love. This one adjusts to improve access and a telescopic leg allows the table to drop, providing part of the base for the lounge double bed.

Aside from its designer good-looks, the galley impresses on a practical level, too. Above, a range of cupboards are capacious and shelved, but set quite high – even 5ft 10in me would need a hop-up to get at them easily. The kitchen top provides a good amount of worktop to the left of Dethleffs’ fancy ‘Gourmet Centre’ hob/sink combo. This has its hinged glass lid divided into three, allowing sink and/or part of the hob to be covered in turn. Across the aisle is a big fridge/freezer, contained within a unit that accommodates and an oven/grill above. Around the corner and just inside the habitation door, there’s a good-looking glasses cabinet, cupboard space and two shoe lockers.

Washroom

Located directly behind the cab and split either side of the aisle, the ablutions act as an en suite to the overcab bed. The toilet room door opens outwards and can then close across the aisle, separating the bathroom from the living area. Close the cab access door and you’ve created that private en suite to the overcab, and one that makes a good dressing area too, allowing you to step straight into the big separate shower. The toilet room is simply a practical space with big basin, counter-top, high and low-level storage and two mirrors.

Bedroom

It’s single beds to the fore in the overcab, where a pair are arranged lengthways. Both are over six feet long; one just over six feet, but the other long enough for all but major league basketball players. There’s a central mattress section that can link the beds, resting on the panel between the two. This makes getting in and out more comfortable and increases shoulder space for each sleeper. A rooflight and window on one side provide natural illumination and essential ventilation.
The lounge double is easy to make: the table descends on its telescopic leg and backrest cushions drop in. That leaves some spares though, with the cab seemingly the best place to stash them at night.

Storage

With its huge payload, the garage will be one of the main reasons to buy (in combination with the rear lounge). No surprises here: a big door, lots of space, tie-down rings and lighting. The double floor area also weighs in, with a full-width locker beneath the kitchen, got at through hatches in the floor inside, locker doors on each side outside. Here too, live the tanks, all cosy and frost-free. Talking of keeping frost at bay, the Alpa is described as ideal for winter camping. With the cab (and its single-glazed windows) separated from the living area, good insulation and double floor, this would seem to be a given. There’s even plenty room for skis in the under-kitchen locker.

An extended version of this motorhome review first appeared in the July 2012 issue of MMM. You can subscribe or download the full digital issue by clicking HERE

Large and impressive, the Dethleffs Alpa is ideal for extensive winter camping with many thoughful touches and decent build quality. The U-shaped lounge is excellent, too, and there’s a good payload. It’s not cheap if you tick all the option boxes you’ll soon by over £70,000.