Rapido C86i A-class motorhome
Description
Can’t find an island bed A-class with a realistic payload on a 3,500kg chassis? Rapido’s newcomer might be the answer…
Key Features
Full Review
Words and photos: Peter Vaughan
The Rapido C86i
This might have seemed inevitable. First came Rapido’s C Series low-profile range – a selection of narrow-bodied low-profiles as the brand’s entry-level motorhomes – in 2021.
Then, from within the group and built at the same French factory, the Itineo Famili Compact line-up arrived a year later, offering A-classes that are both more affordable and slimmer on the road than most of their ilk. Now, completing Rapido Group’s trio of more compact motorhomes, comes the C Series A-class.
Launched last September, there are two C Series A-classes (joining the existing four low-profiles). You can choose from the 6.72m C55i with single beds and the longer island bed C86i. Each has an overall width of just 2.17m (18cm less than a typical A-class), taking them into a niche with few rivals, especially if you want an island bed.
Established entrants such as the Dethleffs Globebus and Hymer Exsis-I are only sold here with twin bed layouts, while Adria’s appropriately named Compact offers an island bed, but comes only in low-profile form.
It’s no surprise then that Wokingham Motorhomes, the UK’s original Rapido dealer, reports strong interest in the C86i.
Many of those sales are likely to be driven not just by the easier-to-drive overall width but also the additional payload available. While many A-class motorhomes become marginal for realistic use when plated at 3,500kg,
the new Rapido has a 531kg capacity in standard form. So, the C86i works for those too young to have C1 entitlement on their licence, as well as those wanting to avoid the hassle of its renewal at the age of 70.
The spec
It’s not a payload that will be eroded by a lengthy list of options, either. All right-hand drive Rapidos come with an enhanced spec, their GB Pack adding Traction Plus with Hill Descent Control, front fog lamps, a leather steering wheel with radio controls, twin lenses in the bus-style mirrors, removable carpets, an oven, upgraded 6kW Truma heating (here the diesel/230V Combi, which seemed very effective and quiet), a second leisure battery, heated waste water tank, external hot and cold shower and rear steadies.
The only must-have extra is the Select Pack, which adds a Pioneer multimedia unit with 6.8in screen, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and a reversing camera, as well as heated mirrors, a habitation door with two-point locking, flyscreen and window, and height-adjustable cab seats.
Then, completing the spec of our test vehicle, were 16in alloy wheels, an upholstery upgrade and a dealer-fitted bike rack and awning.
It all adds up to a smart, modern motorhome with contemporary matt black for its grille and branding. The bodywork’s Novatech construction uses impact-resistant polyester outer panels, including under the floor, and insulation is Styrofoam. The skirts are aluminium and the windows are fully framed, so the C86i ticks the boxes of a premium-quality vehicle, while practicalities include an auto-retracting electric step and remote central locking of both doors (also linked to the awning light over the habitation door).
The garage
Another neat touch is the mains hook-up that pops up through a hatch in the offside (under the driver’s side window), but the key feature externally is the garage.
This has full-sized doors on either side, a ceiling light and six fixed lashing points, as well as being home to the RCD, habitation fuses and outside shower. Internal width here is almost a metre and height 87cm but this can be increased by pressing a button to raise the bed, maximising headroom at a more bike-friendly 1.07m.
The body
On the road, the standard spec combo of Fiat’s 140bhp motor and six-speed manual gearbox seems more than adequate for the job, although the 180bhp engine and automatic transmission are available for those prepared to pay the substantial premium. Engine noise is quite well suppressed and, while conversion noise could be reduced, it is less of an issue than in some A-classes we’ve driven recently.
The captain’s chairs have integral seatbelts and plenty of adjustment but the right-hand drive layout, with a cabinet alongside the chauffeur, means that access to the handbrake is awkward, particularly if you have large
hands. But, while that could (and should) be improved for RHD, the windscreen wipers – three of them! – do a fantastic job of clearing the glass. I can’t think of another A-class where the wipers do such a good job.
However, the overriding impression from behind the wheel is that this isn’t a large vehicle. The slimmer body, along with those excellent twin-lens bus-style mirrors, make this a much less daunting prospect on rural roads – ideal if this is your first A-class.
The interior
What’s surprising, perhaps, is that the same loss of girth doesn’t strike you when you step inside. Maybe it’s the open-plan lounge with fashionable side settee layout or, perhaps, it’s the generous amount of daylight flooding in from all around – huge A-class windscreen, Heki rooflight, deep window in the door – but there’s no initial sense on board that this is a compact motorhome.
The lounge itself isn’t huge – remember that the C86i is half-a-metre shorter than a typical island bed layout, as well as being narrower – but it still manages to offer plenty of space for a couple. The cab chairs swivel easily and the settees (each around 84cm long) come with scatter cushions and, on the offside, an armrest.
Because the cab floor is higher (it’s then flat all the way back to the bedroom), the sofas are a tad tall unless you have long legs, but they are perfect for feet-up chilling with the front seats rotated through a full 180 degrees. The TV (its bracket is mounted not too high in the entrance area) is then in the ideal spot, too.
Rapido was the first maker to regularly fit a fold-in-half table, so it’s no surprise here to find a surface that’s ideal for G ‘n’ Ts or that it unfolds to 68cm by 86cm for more elaborate dining. In either mode it twists and slides to any position.
Another plus is the generous lighting, with myriad downlights, plus ambient illumination above and below the top lockers and swivelling reading lights (with integral USBs) over each sofa. There are speakers built into the base of the drop-down bed, too, while the large Heki rooflight is the wind-up type – it all helps with the luxury feel.
The kitchen
This Gallic brand has long pandered to our rosbif whims with the fitment of ovens across its range and it has even squeezed one into its compact models. The bad news is that this 18-litre unit doesn’t include a grill (a larger oven/grill is fitted in the C55i), and that it’s mounted over the fridge.
However, it’s not as absurdly high as some, at a manageable 1.50m off the floor; a door that folds down will help with serving.
The fridge is a supersized compressor model with a quiet mode (as this is 12V-only, it’s worth remembering that two 92Ah leisure batteries come as standard).
Opposite is the main galley area. The furniture has a contemporary vibe and feels well made. This is the Nacarat interior (Luceo is the alternative with lighter wood tones), mated to optional Milan upholstery (one of three TEP leather-look styles). There’s a gloss white splashback with recesses for washing-up liquid, etc, solid wood edging and top lockers that push to open.
The Can hob looks smart with its gas-on-glass format but has only two burners. It comes with a Baraldi extractor hood, a sensible splashguard and a modicum of worktop in front and to one side; this is enhanced with a slot-in panel overhanging the nearside bench.
Where the C86i really scores, though, is storage, with a trio of drawers (with electric central locking for travel) and a large cupboard under the sink. There’s just one mains socket in the kitchen, but you will find another in the lounge, one in the toilet cubicle and one in the bedroom.
The washroom
Despite its reduced dimensions, the C86i follows the proven format in the rear half of the layout; a lengthways island bed with wardrobes on either side, then toilet and shower areas facing each other across a central aisle. The toilet door can close off the rear of the motorhome (and be locked), and there’s even a sliding door to separate the bedroom from the ablutions.
The loo compartment is especially impressive. There’s plenty of leg and shoulder room ‘on the throne’, even with the door closed, and, for once, the seat is not too high.
The square basin has a designer look and a high-quality tap, as well as plenty of worktop adjacent. A roof vent, two toothbrush mugs and a toilet roll holder are fitted, but the star feature is the storage found behind the sliding mirrors – loads of room for all your toiletries, all held securely in place with elasticated straps.
On the offside, the shower has good headroom and the intrusion of a wheelarch in one corner is not an issue because of where you’ll stand.
Even the single outlet in the shower tray worked much better than expected, thanks to the shape of the moulding. Again, there’s a roof vent above, plus a basket for your gels and a fold-down rail for drying towels, etc.
The bedroom
Beyond, the bedroom looks attractive, with wardrobes suspended over large bedside tables (one with a 12V socket), angular gloss-finish top lockers and reading lights (with USBs) and speakers above the head of the bed, where the backlit headboard matches the cushions. With the bed slid back, it not only creates a chaise longue-style arrangement but leaves just enough room to negotiate yourself around the curved foot of the Bultex mattress.
It’s a long bed, too, at 1.93m (if narrower than many island beds), but, when flattened for sleeping, there is only space for the skinniest of folk to walk between the bed and the door – the rest of us will shuffle or squeeze by.
And, if you’re planning long lazy mornings with the Sunday Times (or MMM), you’ll need to be a dab hand at DIY. The chaise longue position on the bed seems to be for showroom appeal only; try to use it like this and the bed slowly flattens itself out! Why no catch to secure it in ‘day mode’?
The drop-down bed
The rear bed is one of two doubles in this motorhome; a key USP over the low-profile C86. With Rapido’s decades of A-class building, you’d expect this to be easy to use and it is. It doesn’t come down as low as some, so headroom is only around 64cm and the mattress is also a tad under 6ft long, but you do get the essential roof vent and twin reading lights. And it’s possible – just – to leave a duvet in situ and still lock the bed in its stowed position.
The extra berths come with extra travel seats, too, as the lounge settees convert into forward-facing pews with seatbelts. This operation is simpler than many and requires no additional cushions, nor does it leave you with a huge pile of leftover upholstery. The only issue for some may be the fairly limited legroom here.
Motorhome supplied by Wokingham Motorhomes
Tel: 0118 979 1023
wokinghammotorhomes.co.uk
Insurance: £756
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo
Our Verdict
<p>This is a rare beast – a motorhome with no direct rivals. It’s a narrow-bodied A-class with a face-to-face lounge and an island bed, plus a practical payload on a 3.5-tonne chassis. For many that may make the limitations of its bedroom irrelevant, while for others it’ll just be a compromise to achieve a more manageable and manoeuvrable vehicle. Either way, there’s plenty to like about the C86i.</p>
Disadvantages
