Morelo Palace XL 88 LB

Berths: 2/4 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Iveco Eurocargo 75E 19 Gross vehicle weight: 7,490kg Payload: 1,390kg

Based on the Iveco Eurocargo truck, the 9m-long, 7.5-tonne Palace is an intimidating vehicle.

Door entry is via a keypad which lights up when you touch it and the electric entrance step unfurls.

Inside, it’s like being in an upmarket hotel. The test vehicle’s options included white-faced cabinets, Malibu cream leather and air-suspended cab seats. The floor is all on one level, making cab access easy. Morelo has lifted up the driving position and moved it further forward to improve visibility. While the Palace is only offered in left-hand drive, this is no issue at all as you’re so high up that you can see most vehicles. The test vehicle was also fitted with the optional six-speed automatic gearbox with hill hold and you’d be utterly crazy not to have this £2,535 option: it’s pretty much essential on a vehicle of this size.

The 4.5-litre motor has been upgraded to 204bhp (a 184bhp model is standard), but from low down in the rev range the Iveco produces a whopping 750Nm of torque. For comparison, a 3-litre Fiat Ducato offers 400Nm.

Once rolling, you soon get used to the width and length of this Morelo. The seating position is vastly superior to any other A-class seating I’ve tried and you soon get used to the vehicle’s bulk.

The ‘van comes bristling with energy options. These include two 210Ah gel batteries, a pair of solar panels and even an LPG generator fed by a 120-litre underslung tank. All your electrical systems are housed in an exterior locker that also holds your mains hook-up lead. This is fed out to the site’s electrics through a hole in the double floor, which is thoughtfully sealed.

The shower and loo sit on one side of the vehicle, while a large vanity basin sits opposite. The shower is in its own glass-doored cubicle and there’s masses of room, even if, like me, you’re over 6ft tall. All the fixtures and fittings are of hotel quality and the shower itself is a proper domestic-style power shower. With a 3kW boiler and a 350-litre fresh water tank, there’s no time pressure and you can savour a proper shower.

The washbasin unit is also exceptional, being made of a stout Corian-style material and offering plenty of worktop space on either side. Three large, glass-fronted lockers with internal shelves sit above, while a trio of drawers and two cabinets lie underneath.

The lounge is a palatial place to relax in. Plush leather settees flank the dining table. Four people would be spoilt for choice of where to sit and all could put their feet up. The Malibu cream leather trim of the test vehicle only added to the luxury feel.

With large windows either side you get a great view, too, although our vehicle also featured the optional privacy blind that pulls halfway up the windscreen.

The only possible negative in this sea of superlatives is that it all feels a bit detached from camping. There’s little sense of the outdoors and it made the campsite seem superfluous.

When it comes to needing travel seats, just remove a cushion, then a panel and rotate the base 90 degrees and a spacious travel seat for two adults is available. Thanks to the big windows it’s a pleasant place to sit.

With a three-burner auto-ignition hob and a grill and oven above the fridge, chefs will want for nothing and storage space is lavish, with seven deep drawers under the brown mineral worktop and two overhead lockers above.

These cupboards are particularly deep, too. All cabinet doors, drawers and lockers in the kitchen – and throughout the vehicle – have self-locking catches and high-quality hinges. There’s even a Nespresso coffee machine fitted on the wall.

You expect a high-quality fixed bed in a vehicle of this status and the rear bedroom doesn’t disappoint, with its massive double bed boasting memory foam-style mattresses suspended on a bed of Froli-style plastic spring bases.

With the ceiling flanked by deep storage lockers, perfectly placed reading and room lights and a 24-inch TV on the wall (linked to the auto-seeking satellite system on the roof) the bedroom was a pleasant place to be.

If you’re wondering why the bed is so elevated, opening the garage door soon reveals all. Here’s an area fully sealed against the weather with two access doors and a low floor with built-in rails offering movable lashing points. Lit by a full-width LED strip, heated with a radiator and fully lined, it’s a good place to stash up to 1,350kg of cargo. And there are other exterior lockers too – including a full-width one under the lounge that can accommodate long items, like surfboards and fishing rods.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the October 2015 issue of What Motorhome.