Knaus Tourer CUVision 500 MQ pop-top

Base vehicle: VW Transporter T6.1 Price from: £72,230 Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Length: 5.88m Width: 2.16m Height: 2.13m Gross weight: 3,200kg Payload: N/a

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Knaus Tourer CUVision 500 MQ

Knaus says that its brand-new Tourer CUV combines the best of both worlds – campervan and motorhome. It describes this one-of-a-kind vehicle as being as manoeuvrable as an ‘urban-class vehicle’ (by which we think it means the VW California and its ilk), but says it is ‘as spacious as a fully fledged motorhome for up to four people when stationary.’

That’s quite a claim, so we were more excited about this vehicle than perhaps any other at the Caravan Salon this year – after all, it is considerably more affordable than Hymer’s Venture S (see last month’s mag) which vied with the Knaus for star-of-the-show status.

Based on the Volkswagen Transporter T6.1, the Tourer CUV is like no other VW campervan. For a start, it’s arguable whether it’s a campervan at all. Its construction is more akin to a coachbuilt motorhome and its layouts are the same as you’ll find in the more conventional (but also Transporter-based) Tourer Van range.

The dimensions

This 500 MQ model has the sort of rear fixed bed floorplan that you might find in a Fiat Ducato campervan from a continental brand, but there will also be a 500 LT with a side settee front lounge and no fixed bed. As a compact two-berth, that might be the one with more UK appeal, but it’s yet to be shown in public…

Of course, the Tourer CUV is wider, longer and a tad taller than a typical T6.1 campervan, but it should still drive like a VW – and benefit from the Volkswagen’s loyal following. But it is also lower and slimmer than a standard motorhome.

The pop-top

Key to this is the full-length pop-top, which lifts straight up, rather than sloping to one end or the other, and is operated electrically via a remote control. It gives at least 1.90m headroom inside but is said to reduce overall height by around 70cm.

Fortunately, Knaus has not claimed a world-first with the Tourer CUV because we have seen pop-top

coachbuilts before, albeit none quite so attractive or contemporary. Rapido’s first ever motorhome, in the early 1980s, had a pop-top, while Eriba (an Erwin Hymer brand) produced motorhomes with pop-tops in the same era and then revived the concept with its Eriba Style of 2004.

Perhaps 2023, with fuel prices at an all-time high, will be the year for this concept – with its more aerodynamic shape – to finally reach the mainstream.

The layout

Anyone downsizing from a typical motorhome will have to accept some compromises inside, but there are still facilities more akin to a larger campervan than a VW camper. There’s a full-sized transverse fixed bed at the rear and a garage beneath that can carry up to 150kg and has doors on either side (each 1.10m high).

The washroom

Inside, there’s also a proper walk-in washroom, although its walls only reach the height of the campervan with its roof lowered.

The clever bit is the way the shower shares space with the bedroom. The cassette toilet is usable with the bed fully occupied but, when you want to take a shower, a section of the mattress is removed and the washroom expands with a folding mechanism.

Even the washbasin slides to make more room.

The kitchen

Opposite, the galley beats any other T6.1 for space. The two-burner hob and sink might be similar to a campervan’s but the 90-litre compressor fridge is a bonus, as is its position by the door, so that a cold beer can be reached from outside.

What’s included

As standard, the Tourer CUV gets the 110PS engine but upgrade to the CUVision model and it’s the 150PS motor with seven-speed DSG automatic, plus 17in alloy wheels, LED headlights, climate control, heated cab seats and sat-nav.

This version also comes with a full TV Package, rear view camera, a second double bed over the lounge and an awning.