Sunlight T69L 10 Years Edition

PRICE FROM £48,900 Berths/Travel seats 4/4 Fiat Ducato CAMPER CHASSIS ENGINE 2.3-litre, Euro V, 130bhp, six-speed manual

Dethleffs’ budget brand, Sunlight, (which comes out of the same factory as Hymer’s Carado) has always looked like one of the biggest bargains in motorhoming. With Sunlight, everything was an option, so the base price looked low.

Add some essential kit from the options list and the price, while still reasonable, would reach more familiar territory quite quickly.German buyers like to buy motorhomes in this modular way, but us Brits, well, we like to have a certain amount of standard kit at a set price and up-spec from there. The good news is that for 2015 we will get all Sunlight models in a new UK specification.

Motorhome specialist, Lowdhams, has negotiated a UK package with Dethleffs, and it is pretty comprehensive. For 2015, Sunlight models will all have the Fiat Chassis Pack that includes cab air-conditioning, passenger airbag, electric mirrors, cruise control, electronic stability programme (ESP), traction control and a radio preparation pack. In the living accommodation, the Basic Pack is now standard in the UK, and it includes some of the most ticked options from previous production years, like rooflights, plastic walls in the shower (yes, really), wardrobes, oven and Truma Combi 6 heating.

And there’s more. To celebrate a decade of Sunlight production, the 10 Years Edition models have silver body sides, a four-bike rack, a 4.5m awning and a satellite TV receiver. Inside there are smart leather and textile fabrics and a 19in TV on a pull-out bracket. The 10 Years Edition kit adds £3,410 to the standard Sunlight price of £45,490, bringing the total to £48,900.

The two models in the special edition range are the T68 with twin single fixed beds and the island double bed T69L reviewed here.

The bedroom, for that’s what it is really, is effectively en suite, with a shower on one side and a loo and basin on the other. The shower makes great use of space. When it’s not in use, the screen folds back out of the way and an infill brings the base up to floor height, so the shower barely intrudes on floor space. To shower, lift out the infill, close the screen and you’re ready to go. The Truma Combi 6 boiler will ensure there’s plenty of hot water, too.

The loo is partitioned off in a small room of its own. If you want complete privacy from the rest of the motorhome, the door to the room can be used to close off the entire rear bedroom area. Do this and you’ll probably be accused of being elitist by your fellow campers, but if you’ve already bagged the near opulence of the bedroom, chances are you’ve paid for the motorhome and have, therefore, earned the right.

Sunlight motorhomes always had quality on their side, and with the new standard UK equipment, coupled with the 10 Years Edition pack, they’ve got the specification to match. Add the optional drop-down bed and you’re left with a great family-friendly motorhome at a good price.

This is an abridged version of the full review which appears in the January edition of Which Motorhome.

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The T69L benefits not just from the bells and whistles of the 10 Years Edition upgrades but also from a strong standard spec. Island bed buyers on a sub-£50k budget need look no further.