Choosing a motorhome

The pedal is twice as big so you can twice as many feet on it ..... I'm sure we could all stop the biggest of auto vehicles if we use both feet.

PS I use 2 feet to drive an auto anyway ....

Having had both the Merc auto, a Fiat manual and a Peugeot I can honestly say that really there is no real benefit of one over the other, just a slightly different driving style. Although I loved the Merc auto I equally loved the others for different reasons. Would I have another Merc auto? Probably not at that extra cost, I'd rather look at habitation quality and design!

... Merc auto, a Fiat manual and a Peugeot I can honestly say that really there is no real benefit of one over the other,... 

😞 German engineering vs Fix It Again Tomorrow vs French. Mmmm? No obvious difference at at 😂😂

Agreed MM. It's essential to give auto transmissions a thorough test drive. Last autumn I bought a one year old Citroen C4 and the automated manual gearbox was really dire. May complaints about the gearbox but the most annoying was that there was just a 'D' and 'R' button and it took a bit longer than 2 seconds to change gear. When pulling into a gap on a busy roundabout it would change from 1st to second at about 12mph (taking 2 seconds to do so) and causing the traffic to brake and close up behind me as the car slowed down. 2 seconds is a long time when slowing down with no drive. The garage said the immortal words: "They all do that, Sir". I hated it so much and only kept it 9 weeks then changed it for a VW with the sublime DSG transmission.

I agree with all the comments of MichaelT above; I have a Fiat 250 with auto box on a 4,250t van and have done 15,000 miles in two years with no issues.    I have driven auto Volvo cars for 35 years and would never go back to manual.     I am not sure where the term "semi-auto" came from, it is not a semi-auto.

The Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen vans/chassis are all built in the Fiat factory in Italy under a consortium arrangement, but when Fiat developed the Comformatic box they decided not to let the other two brands use it.       But Ford do an auto box which is said to be reliable and well tested.   Chausson do Fords.

I do believe that there is a lot of ignorance when it come to auto cars and especially auto motorhomes, including at the dealerships.   I know because I have first hand knowledge of this being a long-term auto driver.

With regards to German quality, here we go again, I know two people with new merc MHs, one a Hymer and they have had lots of problems with the Merc engine.    I think one was connected to the emissions control on Euro 5/6.

Like someone else said, horses for courses,      See if Swift do an auto rental model to try out, if your dealer will not provide one.

BillC

Thanks to Kontikiboy.  I had a look at an Auto-Sleeper Nuevo in the showroom at Brent Knoll last week.  Apart form the fact that I think it a little too small' for us I liked the look of it.  It was, unsurprisingly, a manual model but I thought the Peugeot cab layout looked quite good with user friendly controls etc.  For some bizarre reason Auto-Sleeper have an arrangement with Peugeot/Fiat whereby the factory will fit the auto option to the Peugeot used for Auto-Sleeper models.  I  do not know why they will not do this for Bailey, Swift et al. 

I have no idea as to whether or not there are any differences in the Fiat or Peugeot base other than the badge on the front.

One marginal benefit of the Peugeot over the Mercedes Sprinter offering is that the former is six inches shorter.  The new Sprinter may be shorter than the current one but I have no knowledge of the measurements as yet.

I would like to see an Auto-Sleeper Broadway EK TB LP as it offers extra length over the Nuevo and would probably suit us better.

For some bizarre reason Auto-Sleeper have an arrangement with Peugeot/Fiat whereby the factory will fit the auto option to the Peugeot used for Auto-Sleeper models.

I don't think that is quite correct and it's not what they say on their website......You have to pay extra to get the Comfortmatic box

I have no idea as to whether or not there are any differences in the Fiat or Peugeot base other than the badge on the front.

The Peugeot & the Fiat have different engines......

Sorry - edit timed out...You have to pay extra to get a Fiat engine with the "Comfortmatic" box

You are quite right. It costs more. I was not suggesting it was an FOC option. According to the Auto-Sleepers price list it is £2,000 for the Comfortmatic with 130 bhp or £4,000 for the C'matic with  150 bhp.