Hymer Exsis-I 588 A-class motorhome

Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato Gross weight: 3,500kg Payload: 660kg

Hot off the press and newly arrived in the UK, Hymer’s latest Exsis is impressive. The original Exsis (launched in 2003) was a rather weird-looking semi-A-class, semi-high-top concoction – short in length but tall in stature and with a high-level bed.

Each new incarnation has seen the model creep up the evolutionary ladder, becoming ever more upmarket. This latest version has lost any whiff of entry-level - the Exsis has come of age as a full-fledged Hymer. That’s especially true of the A-class offering. The externals look great –there is an upmarket Al-Ko chassis bolted to the omnipresent Fiat Ducato front end.

Add metallic silver paint – albeit £2,500’s worth – and the effect is pure class: fully bonded windscreen with wiper stalks emerging through it, new sharp-edged-style mirrors, eye-shaped LED headlights, front foglamps and a neatly installed cab door.

Step on board and you discover an interior that looks and feels fantastic décor-wise. It’s neutral alright, but the light-coloured wood tones and splashes of white look harmonious and make for a good atmosphere. The upholstery is in cream with the tiniest hint of blue.

At less – just – than seven metres long, and with lengthways singles installed, there was never going to be enough length to allow palatial en suite ablutions and so a more conventional washroom is located on the nearside and directly aft of the L-shaped lounge/diner. The kitchen is opposite, while the beds fill the rear.

There’s plenty of kit in the cab, including climate control and cruise control, hill start assist and Traction+. Hymer-added plastics are OK, too, incorporating cup holders, some stowage and front speakers. To the driver’s right, a set of switches offers mirror adjustment, external step control and something new. One switch is marked with a Bluetooth logo, switch to on, press and hold and your smartphone/tablet should pair. My phone did and my music wafted from the front and rear speakers.

The Aguti cab pews have an easy-to-use mechanism, so swivelling is swear-free and quick. The table – mounted on a fixed single leg – is not huge, but should be big enough to let four people eat in reasonable comfort, while the upside is that it doesn’t get in the way when moving through the interior. It slides two ways as well, so can be adjusted to allow all diners to get comfortable.

At this length, and with single beds installed, there’s no space for a bench seat on the offside – here, a little stack of shelves is also a column that supports the drop-down bed when it’s lowered.

Lined in silky material, the bed sports a Hymer Comfort mattress and there’s a good wooden access ladder. Reading lamps are stalk-mounted, large and touch-switched – very practical.

Jumping to the rear and up a couple of steps, the single beds are both long. They’re not the same length, but the shortest is well over six feet, so either should be fine for taller folks.

The galley suffers a loss of space for two reasons. The first is simply the overall length of the ’van. It’s bijou, with the sink suffering the most: it’s small and cannot have a fixed drainer.

The second reason is that the optional Brit-friendly full-sized cooker robs loads of space – especially storage, so think very carefully before you choose appliances. Standard fare will be just a three-burner hob.

There is, however, a number of drawers and a large locker up top. Further aft, the fridge is conveniently located at chest height and surrounded by cupboards and a slim wardrobe. The foot of each bed has stowage beneath and, at one side, the base lifts to ease access to a hanging rail. Its opposite number is slimmer and shelved.

It’s a typical Hymer washroom. The latest-model bench loo fits the space perfectly. Benefits include a larger capacity cassette and few, if any, nooks and crannies to clean.

The shower demonstrates good practice, too. It’s a space-saving integral design with a rigid folding screen to protect the loo, basin and cupboards. The room’s door is clad with plastic, adding a seal at the bottom to prevent leaks.

The drive to create good payloads on the licence-friendly 3,500kg chassis continues with the 588 and part of the process has other benefits.

Roof, walls and rear panel are clad in aluminium inside and out and bonded together to create a lightweight, wood-free structure that should also be free from any water ingress issues.

Unusually for a continental model, the fresh water tank is underslung, as is the waste tank, but both are in enclosed pods, so insulated from the cold. They can also be got at from above (through hatches in the floor) for maintenance.

The gas locker is mounted to the rear, on the nearside, and its design is nothing short of superb. The cylinders sit on a tray that slides right out, so getting at them for checking and changing is far less back-breaking.

Describing the garage is simple. It’s very roomy, can take up to 350kg, and has two big doors – one on either side – that are a metre high, so it can take full-sized cycles.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read the full version and more in the October 2017 issue of MMM magazine.

You can get a digital version of this latest issue of MMM magazine here.

Construction, design, style and attention to detail are just that bit better than much of the competition. Added to which, it has the advantages of a slimline, lightweight body