Motorhome Of the Year 2015 plus video reviews of 8 models (1 Viewer)

[Wombles]

Just received this & thought might be of use to anyone considering a new motorhome:
http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/Information/The-Motorhome-Awards-2015-main
It has a 30 minute video reviewing 8 models but not had a chance to watch it all yet!

 

[leeboy]

Yep another win for Chausson

 

[funflair]

And one for N+B Flair, if you have a spare £200k you could own one, but wait for the ZF 8 speed auto though.

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[Wombles]

We have Best Of 04 (2014 model) & love it but think this years Chausson models layouts weren't as good & Benimar shone out at the NEC show in the under 6m for design & price.

 

[sallylillian]

Watched the Flair video, interesting disinformation. He pointed to the 130 litre black tank and said it was the freshwater tank!! This new tank size [130 or even 170 as an option (170 exceeds the 40 us gl black tank on my US RV)] and re-plumbing of the black and grey is a new and excellent feature for the new Flair, yet not only does he fail to mention it but attributes the tank to something totally spurious. Also missing the point that the Flairs grey and fresh water tanks are in the double floor, positioned such that they can be removed through the garage for any service work. Makes you wonder what other glib comments are unfounded in these reviews??

 

[funflair]

I got the same disinformation from a Concorde dealer at the NEC, put the fresh water in the Alde gas heater exhaust they said, then suggested what was actually the diesel tank, after that I stopped believing anything they said and decided we best stick with the old Flair.

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[Wombles]

Don't necessarily agree with reviews that say these models are best (still haven't watched video yet!) but videos give an idea of the new models & can save wasted trips travelling to see them at dealers. An example is the Chausson - much as we love ours we wouldn't choose the model that won as it has a garage door on the rear so can't fit a standard bike/box rack At the NEC show they had this one fitted with a high up rack above the door but that immediately ruled this one out for us. The Benimar was impressive with a layout & fittings like ours being Trigano group (obviously we like that!) plus design additions for the UK which improved on ours but only sleeps 2 whereas ours sleeps 3/4 so a big let down there (although 4 belted seats) plus don't know how good shell design is on Benimar & warranty length & small print so didn't compare with Chausson track record & 10 year shell warranty when we bought. It's all down to personal choice & what suits you - certainly have never found dealer sales staff very knowledgeable & always double checked any facts & figures.

 

[JJ]

I bet each one of the award winners advertise in the MMM...

Typical over hyped, image over content nonsense so prevalent in some parts of the world.

JJ

 

[gozomike]

To me it's which manufactures lend them a 'long term test van' will get the best reviews. They seem to miss some of the vital area's. I have looked at a number of vans over the last couple of years, most of the ones from well known manufacturers had very small water tanks, poor storage with the main area's blocked with heaters, batteries and those cardboard air pipes, yet none of this is ever mentioned. They all seem to want a window in the toilet/shower room, I prefer not to be seen in there and find the sky light works for me.

As said they do give a little idea of the vans but are not good enough to be of any real use.

As for vans of the year, pick one from each manufacturer and you would not be far out.

One of my first thoughts when I saw the one I now have was that it had been designed by someone who uses them and has tried it out.

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[vin0114]

Yep another win for Chausson

just had a look at the kitchen, very small work area, doesn't look big enough to hold 2 plates with the sink open, and if you pull the bed down it covers the seating area so there is nowhere to sit if one of you wants to stay up unless you sit in the loo!! big oversize shower but hope its not a pot sink? still at 41k they'll sell well I should think.

 

[Jaws]

Not too sure I like any of the new offerings
Kitchen areas are in general small, they seem to rely heavily on captains chairs and seem to make poor use of available space compared with older vans

 

[Judge Mental]

Want proper in depth reviews you can't beat the German mags...yet to see MMM weigh anything!

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[jonandshell]

All the magazine reviews are crap in my opinion. The very worst are the CC magazine reviews!

The reviews would have more credibility if the authors actually dared stray away from fully serviced campsites and stayed in them for more than one night!

 

[funflair]

Two posts in a row commenting on very small kitchens but they still keep producing van with very small kitchens, the Flair kitchen has got smaller since our 2006 van yet the overall vehicle has got bigger. One bright light on the horizon for kitchens in German vans might be the latest Concorde Credo or Hymer Duo as these both have larger kitchen work areas.

I do agree that these test are pretty worthless though as it only one person view based on how they use a van (if you use one at all) or how they think the viewer/reader uses a van.

 

[vin0114]

Really could do with some input from our fulltimers on how they manage in these micro kitchens. We seem to have acres of workspace at home even with a dozen appliances cluttering it - microwave, toaster, phone, wine rack, sandwich toaster, bread bin, kettle, knife rack, tea-coffee-sugar jars

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[DuxDeluxe]

Two posts in a row commenting on very small kitchens but they still keep producing van with very small kitchens, the Flair kitchen has got smaller since our 2006 van yet the overall vehicle has got bigger. One bright light on the horizon for kitchens in German vans might be the latest Concorde Credo or Hymer Duo as these both have larger kitchen work areas.

I do agree that these test are pretty worthless though as it only one person view based on how they use a van (if you use one at all) or how they think the viewer/reader uses a van.

Yes, kitchens are an issue......... On the last comment, fully agree; I suppose that one view is better than none and at least it gives some sort of idea

 

[frogijock]

For me the best Van of the year is the van that ticks all the boxes (as near as dammit) for what suits me and for what I use it for