Elddis Marquis Majestic 135

Berths: 3 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer Gross weight: 3,300kg Payload: 613kg

This Elddis is a compact low-profile coachbuilt motorhome that could rival equivalent six-metre campervans while offering more in the way of living space, including all-important increased headroom

Insulation can also be better, as a coachbuilt’s sandwich construction walls and roof outperform many campervans’ cold-defeating qualities.

In days past, coachbuilts were infamous for damaging water ingress problems (usually as they age) from which steel-bodied ’vans don’t generally suffer. However, Elddis’ patented SoLiD construction and its standard 10-year water ingress warranty provide peace of mind as to the durability of its new motorhomes.

The Majestic 135, which is built exclusively for – and sold only by – Marquis Leisure dealerships by Elddis, is derived from its Accordo range. This model has near-campervan dimensions, but with the kind of comfortable lounge so beloved by British motorcaravanners.

The point of the Majestic is to offer enhanced value over the equivalent Accordo, with a long list of standard-fit extras that aren’t on the mainstream model. And some of these are exclusive to Marquis: an example is the 160bhp engine that’s not on the Accordo’s options list. In fact, there are no less than 28 options that come as standard on the Majestic – goodies such as climate control, rear view camera and tyre pressure monitors, to name a few.

The layout is very similar to a van conversion equivalent, with swivelling cab seats and a half-dinette up front, centre bathroom and kitchen. The rear lounge features twin sofas that pull together and create a transverse double bed, while up front the dinette converts into a teenager-sized single. The first impression on entering is a real feeling of space throughout the interior. The main dining area is in the lounge, using a wall-hung table, while a swivelling snack table in the front is great for two people.

The kitchen exceeds the dreams of most campervans, with a four-burner hob, a large oven, plenty of storage and even a microwave. The bathroom is nearly as compact as the campervan equivalent with an integral shower and swivel-bowl loo, but comes with a stylish vessel-style washbasin.

The twin sofas are quite short, but big enough, while they easily pull out to make a bed that, importantly, is longer – at 6ft 6in – than campervan rivals can manage.

Finally, the 135’s shot at providing something equivalent to the rear barn door access offered by the van-based competition is a large low-level hatch in the rear panel. The sofas also fold completely away, leaving an impressive amount of space for all manner of bulky kit. At 5.99 metres long, the 135 drives and parks like a campervan, but the deal maker, especially for taller people, may well be the 1.93m interior headroom and 1.98m bed length.

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