Hymer B-CL 598 motorhome

Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Gross weight: 3,500kg Payload: 480kg

Hymer’s latest B-Class, the SupremeLine, is undoubtedly the best yet but, fully optioned-up, a B-SL 708 would set you back £110k. Or more. That puts it well and truly into the luxury league, the Aston Martin or Bentley of motorhomes.

What if you want the Hymer name and kudos, complete with PUAL construction and an A-class body, but in a more affordable package? Something, maybe, to compete with upmarket British coachbuilts like the Auto-Trail Frontier (£69k up to £82k) or Swift Kon-tiki (£76k to £84k)?

Well, there is an answer – if you’re quick – and you don’t have to buy used. The Hymer B-CL is a limited edition German A-class with a less scary price tag attached. For £73k, you can have the island bed 598 model – and better still, it’s on a 3.5-tonne chassis, so anyone can drive it. No, it doesn’t have the double floor of its more expensive brethren, but it still has plenty going for it.

Base vehicle is, unsurprisingly, a Fiat Ducato chassis-cowl with 130bhp Euro VI diesel engine. Despite its status in the Hymer portfolio, however, it still comes with ESP, Traction Plus, Hill Holder, EBD and ASR. Not only that, but it’s instantly recognisable as a Hymer – the big silver lettering across the grille gives the game away rather – and it comes with bus-style rear view mirrors and a large garage with twin loading doors. There’s capacity in there for up to 300kg, too, subject to axle limits.

Hymer’s PUAL construction includes 35mm polyurethane insulation in the walls and roof. And luxuries – such as separate temperature settings between the bedroom and living area – have not been overlooked.

The layout is typical for a continental A-class. Up front, the captain’s chairs rotate to face an L-settee and a single inward-facing seat on the offside (next to the habitation door). Above the cab is the usual, manually operated, drop-down bed (with lighting at each end but no roof vent) – it turns the B-CL 598 into a practical four-berth and, with the bed down, most of the lounge remains available

The central, L-shaped galley comes with plentiful soft-closing drawers, while the deep sink has a loose cover to create a bit of extra worktop. There’s only a three-burner hob as standard, but the tall ‘n’ slim fridge/freezer (opposite) offers enough beer space for a lads’ trip to Glastonbury. The TV bracket (adjacent) is low enough for comfortable viewing and the habitation door comes with a deep window.

It’s up a small step to the en suite and bedroom, where the toilet cubicle lives on the offside and the shower on the nearside, while a proper sliding door closes off the back of the vehicle. For chaise-longue-style lounging, the bed slides back, the head rising to an angle – thus also creating more space for dressing and undressing. Both shower and toilet compartments hide behind tambour doors and neat details include purse-style pockets for night-time knik knaks on either side of the bed.

With a 120-litre fresh water tank and Truma Combi 6kW heating, the B-CL doesn’t skimp on the practicalities, either. It’s no match for a SupremeLine, obviously, but as an alternative to a pre-owned Hymer it would take some beating.

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.