Pilote Explorateur Diamond Edition G742 LCE

Price from: £75,995 OTR Price as tested: £78,935 OTR Type Approval: European Whole Vehicle Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4

Being Continental, the habitation door is, naturally (and like every other A-class on sale here), on the offside, but with a door each side you’ll never have to step out into the traffic. Entering via the substantial Hartal habitation door, there’s quite a stretch-up, despite the electrically-operated step.

To your right is the half-dinette lounge, the fridge tower is to your left and, opposite, stands the kitchen. Rearwards, through a solid door, is the pièce de résistance – an en suite bedroom comprising, to your right, a shower cubicle, to your left the washroom and, facing you, a large island bed, flanked by wardrobes.

Under the coachwork lies a Fiat Ducato Maxi, with a wide, low Al-Ko chassis and (optional) 3.0-litre 177bhp motor, now in Euro 5 guise. On our brief excursion, the trip computer claimed over 25mpg – impressive, though these dashboard displays tend to be optimistic.

Aguti seats are supportive, multi-adjustable and have twin armrests. Forward visibility is great through that enormous windscreen. The coach mirrors give excellent visibility down the flat ’van sides, assisted by the rear-view camera screen, residing in the radio.

Dining and lounging

As with many Continental motorhomes, seating focuses around the table. Its base is fixed but the table-top slides every which way, and it can be raised, lowered, extended or reduced, so it doesn’t interfere unduly with access and egress. Lighting is excellent, from a large wind-up Heki, windows on either side, LED lights in the overhead bed-base and adjustable reading lights either side of the lounge. A TV bracket is hidden within a rising wooden cover alongside the door. Attention! Over the seat here is a beautifully-made, wooden shelf unit; perfectly positioned to crack craniums.

Kitchen

The Explorateur’s kitchen features a curvaceous, vaguely L-shaped work surface contains a circular stainless-steel sink at the front left, and a slim auto-ignition, three-burner gas hob with darkened glass lid across the rear. There’s a Baraldi extractor above with two halogen lights, three LED ceiling light fittings, high-level ambient light bars over fridge and top cupboards, plus another under the work surface lip. Snazzy double light strips illuminate the end of the dinette settee, which also houses an electrically motivated two-bottle wine store (manually operated on 2013 models). The combi oven is opposite, atop the huge 160-litre SES Dometic fridge/freezer tower. Why this tower couldn’t be lowered is a mystery.

Washroom

A wooden door hiding the motorhome’s rear bedroom, doubles as the washroom door. The quadrant-shaped shower cubicle stands alone, on the opposite side of the aisle, behind tri-fold plastic doors (and a rather unnecessary outer pleated screen).

The washroom has wooden walls and excellent storage – cupboards and shelves galore, suitably positioned mirrors and lights, a radiator, skylight, and all the robe hooks, towel rings and mug holders you could wish for – even a loo brush holder. The toilet is Thetford’s swivel unit, and the washbasin is a stylish green bowl. This is small, and rendered difficult to use by the fixed faucet.

The shower has everything necessary for comfortable cleaning, including a radiator, skylight and even a drying rack.

Bedroom

The drop-down bed is easily lowered and raised (manually), it rests low over the cab seats, and has a short access ladder. The Bultex foam mattress is 10cm (4in) thick and supported on sprung slats.

At the rear is an island bed, with good access both sides. It’s long and wide – 1.95m by 1.35m (6ft 5in by 4ft 5in) – with slightly rounded bottom corners, and the upper portion can be raised electrically. The mattress is thick at 17cm (6½in) and again, very comfortable.

There’s ample adjustable lighting under the high-level lockers and plenty of headroom for reading. With tall wardrobes at each side of the bed, TV point, swivelling mirror, side windows, wind-up Heki, and radiators, this is truly a master bedroom. If an island bed doesn’t appeal, you can choose twin longitudinal singles or a transverse double.

An extended version of this motorhome review first appeared in the September 2012 issue of MMM. You can subscribe or download the full digital issue by clicking HERE

If comfort is high on your priority list you’ll enjoy everything from the Aguti captains to the spacious lounge area, while the en suite rear bedroom is excellent. It’s big and expensive, though.