Do i buy the Pegassao 590 or the Geist explorer i585??

[kingham king]

hello
looking for some advice from seasoned motor homers. I'm, stuck in a piddle whether to exchange my Auto sleeper Kingham for the pegasso 590 or the geist 585?? both are near enough identical inside, just wondered if anyone has experience of them both?? many thanks

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We looked at both, when we were purchasing almost bought the Geist, but realised it had nowhere to store anything long like our popup gazebo, so went for the 590 which stores the gazebo upright in the rear locker, also had a bad experience with bad build quality on a Dethleffs which put me right off German built motorhomes.
The 590 has been really good on build quality.

 

[Guigsy]

I've had a 2020 Geist i585 for 2 years. I nearly bought a new Pegaso 590 and looked unsuccessfully for a Pilote G600L as I couldn't find one that was Euro6. They all had the same layout I was looking for, large lounge with a dropdown bed over the cab which leaves the table unaffected. The trade-off is little garage space, but I can fit two Bromptons in and folding chairs and a table, so good enough.

The i585 and Pegaso are very similar vans in terms of spec. The Geist is a bit brown inside. But the Pegaso isn't to everyone's taste either. A few things were the decider for me. Somehow the Geist manages to squeeze in an extra set of overhead lockers and the kitchen layout seems to give more storage. It's got a skylight over the bed, so it won't cook when it gets warm. And the build quality seemed a step up from the Pegaso. Both materials used and the way it was put together seemed to be better than the Trigano group van. Screw heads are mostly hidden. Panels are thicker and dowelled for stiffness. Fixtures are integrated and stouter.

Things I don't like about the Geist. It's quite hard to get in and out of as the door is narrow and there's no external step. The dealer network is basically just CamperUK in Lincoln, which is a long way from anywhere. The kitchen layout means it's all burners and no worktop. And it's a noisy on the move (although I don't know how bad the Pegaso is either). I've swapped the tyres to non-camper van tyres and it's much better... but I've also recently splashed on full air suspension and now I'm happy.

Other things to note: It's not double floor and the insulation is merely average. It's got a slightly odd 'futuristic' electrical bus system (which still isn't Lithium aware) that had a failure and CamperUK replaced parts under warranty. And my 2020 van appears to have been manufactured quite a long time before it was registered... although this might be considered an advantage as it's not ad-blue. It also means the only auto gearbox was Comfortmatic at the time, so I stuck with a manual.

I previously had a PVC. The Geist feels massively bigger inside. It's a nice place to be. We've had 8 people in the lounge playing board games on a family camping trip last year when the rest of the family were in tents and it was pee'ing it down. The downside is that it's a foot wider than the old van, which makes narrow country lanes and urban streets more tricky, but it's worth the stress. It's great in Europe.

 

[kingham king]

I've had a 2020 Geist i585 for 2 years. I nearly bought a new Pegaso 590 and looked unsuccessfully for a Pilote G600L as I couldn't find one that was Euro6. They all had the same layout I was looking for, large lounge with a dropdown bed over the cab which leaves the table unaffected. The trade-off is little garage space, but I can fit two Bromptons in and folding chairs and a table, so good enough.

The i585 and Pegaso are very similar vans in terms of spec. The Geist is a bit brown inside. But the Pegaso isn't to everyone's taste either. A few things were the decider for me. Somehow the Geist manages to squeeze in an extra set of overhead lockers and the kitchen layout seems to give more storage. It's got a skylight over the bed, so it won't cook when it gets warm. And the build quality seemed a step up from the Pegaso. Both materials used and the way it was put together seemed to be better than the Trigano group van. Screw heads are mostly hidden. Panels are thicker and dowelled for stiffness. Fixtures are integrated and stouter.

Things I don't like about the Geist. It's quite hard to get in and out of as the door is narrow and there's no external step. The dealer network is basically just CamperUK in Lincoln, which is a long way from anywhere. The kitchen layout means it's all burners and no worktop. And it's a noisy on the move (although I don't know how bad the Pegaso is either). I've swapped the tyres to non-camper van tyres and it's much better... but I've also recently splashed on full air suspension and now I'm happy.

Other things to note: It's not double floor and the insulation is merely average. It's got a slightly odd 'futuristic' electrical bus system (which still isn't Lithium aware) that had a failure and CamperUK replaced parts under warranty. And my 2020 van appears to have been manufactured quite a long time before it was registered... although this might be considered an advantage as it's not ad-blue. It also means the only auto gearbox was Comfortmatic at the time, so I stuck with a manual.

I previously had a PVC. The Geist feels massively bigger inside. It's a nice place to be. We've had 8 people in the lounge playing board games on a family camping trip last year when the rest of the family were in tents and it was pee'ing it down. The downside is that it's a foot wider than the old van, which makes narrow country lanes and urban streets more tricky, but it's worth the stress. It's great in Europe.

Thanks that’s a great response, lots to consider really then. I’m really stuck between both

 

[kingham king]

We looked at both, when we were purchasing almost bought the Geist, but realised it had nowhere to store anything long like our popup gazebo, so went for the 590 which stores the gazebo upright in the rear locker, also had a bad experience with bad build quality on a Dethleffs which put me right off German built motorhomes.
The 590 has been really good on build quality.

Ok thanks for the great response. I’m really confused as there’s different aspects I like from both and don’t like

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[Guigsy]

Ok thanks for the great response. I’m really confused as there’s different aspects I like from both and don’t like

I think I would have got the Pilote if they'd still been making them when the Euro6 engines appeared. But I believe the Pilote has almost useless external lockers and Brompton storage was essential for us. The Geist just about manages it by putting one bike in each locker with some careful manoeuvring. I was going to fit an underslung gas tank to free up the gas locker so a bike could go in there, but that seems like it might be unwise long term now. The Pegaso's rear locker is bigger, it could just about swallow both bikes, which was a bit better. But my wife didn't like the interior design.

 

[GMLS]

Would the Rapido 854f work for you? 2 or 4 birth with dropdown bed over rear lounge plus has a reasonable sized locker.

Highbridge Caravan Centre Ltd.

www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk

 

[Steve N Tracy]

I've had a 2020 Geist i585 for 2 years. I nearly bought a new Pegaso 590 and looked unsuccessfully for a Pilote G600L as I couldn't find one that was Euro6. They all had the same layout I was looking for, large lounge with a dropdown bed over the cab which leaves the table unaffected. The trade-off is little garage space, but I can fit two Bromptons in and folding chairs and a table, so good enough.

The i585 and Pegaso are very similar vans in terms of spec. The Geist is a bit brown inside. But the Pegaso isn't to everyone's taste either. A few things were the decider for me. Somehow the Geist manages to squeeze in an extra set of overhead lockers and the kitchen layout seems to give more storage. It's got a skylight over the bed, so it won't cook when it gets warm. And the build quality seemed a step up from the Pegaso. Both materials used and the way it was put together seemed to be better than the Trigano group van. Screw heads are mostly hidden. Panels are thicker and dowelled for stiffness. Fixtures are integrated and stouter.

Things I don't like about the Geist. It's quite hard to get in and out of as the door is narrow and there's no external step. The dealer network is basically just CamperUK in Lincoln, which is a long way from anywhere. The kitchen layout means it's all burners and no worktop. And it's a noisy on the move (although I don't know how bad the Pegaso is either). I've swapped the tyres to non-camper van tyres and it's much better... but I've also recently splashed on full air suspension and now I'm happy.

Other things to note: It's not double floor and the insulation is merely average. It's got a slightly odd 'futuristic' electrical bus system (which still isn't Lithium aware) that had a failure and CamperUK replaced parts under warranty. And my 2020 van appears to have been manufactured quite a long time before it was registered... although this might be considered an advantage as it's not ad-blue. It also means the only auto gearbox was Comfortmatic at the time, so I stuck with a manual.

I previously had a PVC. The Geist feels massively bigger inside. It's a nice place to be. We've had 8 people in the lounge playing board games on a family camping trip last year when the rest of the family were in tents and it was pee'ing it down. The downside is that it's a foot wider than the old van, which makes narrow country lanes and urban streets more tricky, but it's worth the stress. It's great in Europe.

I can confirm the Pegaso 590 is quite while driving with minimal squeaks and rattles, the 750 kg payload on our 2019 model is useful too.

 

[Guigsy]

I can confirm the Pegaso 590 is quite while driving with minimal squeaks and rattles, the 750 kg payload on our 2019 model is useful too.

The Geist doesn't squeak or rattle. It's that road imperfections boom quite a lot. Pot holes made it judder. It was noisier then our previous PVC before I got the suspension changed.

Payload is also over 700kg. Which I suspect will be hard to hit without a garage.

I think the Pilote is much closer to its limit though. They seem to build them heavier.

 

[kingham king]

Would the Rapido 854f work for you? 2 or 4 birth with dropdown bed over rear lounge plus has a reasonable sized locker.

Highbridge Caravan Centre Ltd.

www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk

Too long! Only want a 6m thanks though

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[Guigsy]

Mobilvetta (also owned by the Trigano Group) sell a 6m a-class with the same layout as the Pegaso with a slightly less contemporary interior.

There are a couple of 6m a-classes about with either with French bed or transverse bed layouts. It gives a bit more garage space under the bed. But they have half dinette layouts, smaller wet-room style bathrooms and much less space up-front. With those, the a-class cab doesn't add as much to the up-front space, and the overcab bed option becomes irrelevant. Our logic was that if we did go for that one of those layouts, we'd save the money and get a c-class instead.