Hymer B-DL 444 A-class

Berths: 2 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Al-Ko Gross weight: 3,500kg Payload: 630kg

This Hymer B-DL 444 motorhome arrives with an impressive 630kg of payload (before options). DynamicLine is slim, too: at just 2.22 metres wide, it’s some 80 to 130mm narrower than a typical coachbuilt.

With its Hymer-commissioned headlights, flush-glazed windscreen and chrome-enhanced grille, the 444 looks pretty good. Semi-flush living area windows and a swish, fenestrated habitation door add to a reassuring feel of understated quality.

Step aboard and be impressed as the new lightweight furniture looks excellent. The layout is typically continental up front with the two-berth design providing the expected drop-down bed and half-dinette/L-settee. The bathroom is flanked by a kitchen fit for a king – or, more likely, a king’s cook. Open a low-level door in the rear kitchen unit and you’re into quite a good-sized garage.

The cab is well equipped as standard – Aguti captain’s seats with twin armrests, ASR with Traction+ and hill holder, electric mirrors, passenger airbag and LED daytime running lights and indicators. The fitted Design Pack adds cruise control, uprated front springs, climate control and a nearside cab door. Opting for the fancy double-height radio brings sat-nav and also a trio of cameras.

All is standard for the type up front with a half-dinette doing duty as both lounge and diner. No big lounge, feet-up settees in here, but it’s possible to seat five in reasonable comfort, while our two residents will probably choose the swivelled cab seats as the best in the house. And it’s from here that they’ll be watching TV, as the locker, located on the forward end of the bathroom wall, is in the right place for viewing.

It’s difficult to decide what’s best about the galley, but it’s probably got to be the working surface as there’s just so much of it. The sink is the one disappointment, however, because it’s rather small and lacks a drainer. There’s no microwave – few continental firms fit one – but the lack is more than made up for by the full-sized, slot-in stove’s separate grill and oven. The hob even includes a mains hotplate. There’s also a flip-up worktop to the right of the stove. The fridge weighs in with a reassuring 160 litres of capacity. Storage sees an impressive five drawers and four overhead lockers doing duty and there’s a deep, high-level shelf and a perspex-fronted glasses cabinet, complete with elastic retaining straps and lock to stop ne’er-do-wells nicking your lead crystal. In this kitchen I could easily make Christmas dinner for eight, although we’d have to be dining outside in an awning.

The bathroom is compact, but well-designed. There’s a bench-type loo , the basin/countertop is in a solid, almost Corian-like material, while, above, are a marble-effect splashback, large mirror and cosmetics cabinet. Below, there’s another cupboard, complete with Hymer’s signature ‘slot’ toilet roll holder, which places the roll inside and away from the splash zone. There are a couple of pigeonholes in here, too, so, all in all, plenty of stowage space.

The shower is integral but, once its rigid screen is folded out, it does a good impression of a separate cubicle with plenty of space. A multi-arm, swing-out airer, a second big mirror, plus robe hooks and roof vent complete a room that sees maximum usable space created by good design.

The drop-down bed is only really compromised by the DynamicLine’s narrow overall width as it’s around an inch shy of six feet long. That’s an obvious downside, but there is a solution. Part with £720 and, as here, you have alternative single beds. Now you sleep lengthways and in beds that are a smidge over six feet four inches long.

In keeping with its generous payload (though, watch how much you eat into that with optional extras), there’s plenty of stowage available. The most obvious is the garage – and it’s a good ’un. Axle weight notwithstanding, you can load 350kg of kit in there and, as the main access door allows 1.20m-tall items in, bikes or a scooter should be possible.

The large internal door means it’s easy to get at your stuff when the weather’s bad, while pet owners might find the space ideal as a kennel.Inside, there’s good volume beneath the lounge’s side seat. Hymer claims a double floor, but it appears more complex than simply that as pods, containing fresh and waste tanks extend below. There are also a couple of hatched, in-floor spaces that seem perfect for shoes, and the whole, including the tank pods is heated, so all-year motorhoming is very much on the agenda.

Heating is by a mains/gas Truma Combi blown-air system (upgraded to 6kW here) and all very standard, while lighting is a stand-out feature. A vast number of luminaires do a fantastic job of making the interior look, well, fantastic, while three little pin-lights, switched from the bedside, lead you, dazzle-free, to the loo in the night. Genius!

Top-quality construction, slim and short with a luxurious layout that can provide genuine all-year touring for two in this new Hymer motorhome