Sunlight A 70 overcab motorhome

Base vehicle: Price from: £64,600 Berths: 6 Travel seats: 4/6 Length: 7.25m Width: 2.32m Height: 3.14m Gross weight: 3,500kg Payload: 476kg

Words Daniel Attwood, photos courtesy of Sunlight

The Sunlight A 70

Sunlight, a brand within the huge Erwin Hymer Group, prides itself on producing quality motorhomes and campervans, which are built in Germany and aimed at those looking for value for money in the entry-level sector.

But don’t think entry-level means corners have been cut – these motorhomes are built at one of the most advanced factories in Germany and are designed to offer a high level of equipment as standard.

The coachbuilt bodywork is created from a reinforced glass-fibre rear panel and roof and aluminium sidewalls. As you’d expect from a German manufacturer, there is comprehensive seven-year water ingress warranty.

The new A 70 is a 7.23m-long Fiat Ducato-based (140bhp) family coachbuilt with that all-important dedicated overcab sleeping area.

Belts and berths

As a family model, the A 70, which costs from £64,600 and is sold through eight UK dealers, comes with up to six fully belted travel seats. However, the two rear-facing seats in the dinette, which is just to the rear of the cab, can be specified without seatbelts.

And, of course, it has six berths – there is a transverse double bed at the rear (210cm x 150cm, which reduces to 135cm at the corner where the shower room intrudes at the foot end), and a huge (210cm x 160cm) second double bed in the overcab.

The final two berths – a double bed measuring 185cm x 100cm – can be created from the dinette seating.

The garage

Beneath the rear double bed is a large garage, which, unusually for an entry-level model, has twin access doors on either side, one of which is over a metre high, allowing bikes to be loaded easily. Inside the garage, which has a payload of 150kg, there is a power socket and lighting.

More payload

As standard, the A 70 is built on the 3,500kg Ducato chassis and we’d suggest upgrading that to 3,650kg (a £210 option) if you plan to use all six berths and travel seats – the extra 150kg of payload will be invaluable when fully loaded with passengers and their gear.

However, if you do upgrade, ensure you have the correct driving licence.

The layout

The layout is well proven and typical of its type, with the shower and WC on the offside just forward of the rear bed. Opposite, there is a large wardrobe with a 156-litre fridge/freezer beside it.

Heading towards the cab, on the nearside is the galley, which has a three-burner hob and, for UK models, an oven below.

Add to this the ample worktop, circular sink and plenty of storage both below the worktop and in the overhead lockers and you have a kitchen perfect for catering for a large family.

Opposite the kitchen is the comfortable full four-seater dinette with large removeable table and head-height storage.