Peugeot/Fiat BHP

the 'current' Fiat 130 engine has been pulling the vast majority of European (incl UK) vans around in various inprovements/guises for about 12 years...

our two Swifts had it and they both drove very well.

most testers still feel it's more than adequate for small/medium sixed vans, certainly no issue in the Adria you mentioned in thenother thread.

while there are certainly 150/180 bhp upgrades (we have the 150) there is a trend for small vans to fitted with the new 115 engine as std and this has been received very well.

6.5m vans should be well served by the 130.

for info, the Comfortmatic transmission is not available on the new 115 but is in the 130/150/180 series.

Hitch, has this Adria caught your eye? I thought you liked the Broadway?

I don’t think anything much can be assumed from cc or bhp/ps these days what with turbo boosters and the electronic wizardry employed. 

Having tested the Fiat 150, I found the Pug 160 to be smoother and, possibly, more powerful but it’s a fine line between them. I’ve no experience of the Fiat 130 and, on paper, it doesn’t appeal but look at the number out there! They must be doing something right. 

Fiat Based motor caravans have for years used Fiat engines the 2.2 engine that is /was fitted to Peugeot(and Citroen) based motor caravans is/was a modified Ford engine made in Dagenham

BB, my wife finds the beds uncomfortable on the Broadway despite us using 5cm memory foam on top of the cushions.  Personally I find them very comfortable so we have a big difference of opinion!

Of course, the main drawback of the parallel seating is the lack of storage and, also, the fact that you have to lift up the seats to get at the lockers which are the main storage area. Additionally, we keep the picnic chairs strapped to the back of the driver and passenger seats so we cant swivel them and we keep a lot of stuff in the shower so can't really use it as a shower. Having said that, you are always going to have to compromise with a compact motorhome.

So, we are looking at compact "garage" style motorhomes with single beds.  We can live with a slightly longer body - the Adria Compact and Hymer Exsis are about 40 cm longer than we have now at around 6.6m but they are narrower body which offsets this in terms of parking at home and at supermarkets etc.

We really like the Hymer Exsis-t 474 but our nearest dealer is about 100 miles away so not ideal.  Cost is not too much of an issue but the list and price of extras is eye watering! The Adria is available closer to home and similar design to the Exsis. No oven which is fine and no microwave which is a shame but can live with that. The extras are going to add around £10k but quite a bit less than the Hymer.

A bit undecided at the moment but any comments would be welcome and other suggestions. We live near High Wycombe and dealer access/mobile service is important.

a direct competitor for the Hymer would be a Carthago c-Compactline 143, similar to ours but with longitudinal single beds instead of our transverse double, taking the length up from 6.40m to 6.95.

the Compactline is a very trim 2.12m wide, so very close to PVC dimensions but without the disadvantages of sloping sides, poorer insulation.

the Carthago also has a proper double floor which the Adria and Hymer don't have.

when we bought our previous Carthago I was very interested in an Exsis-I (dealer on doorstep) but just could not get anywhere near the deal we got on the Carthago.

there is also now a c-Compactline i141 which is almost identical to the Exsis 474 at 6.65m, which, rather than just making the washroom smaller as in the Hymer, uses a sliding wall mechanism to allow the bed to make use of the shower space when not in use.

this also keeps weight down.

i understand all the points you raise about storage /access etc....we had a similar layout Swift as our first van....loved it but had its shortcomings.

the garage and underfloor storage means no 'stuff' (outdoor chairs) inside the van and the shower is always ready as a shower, which is great, as we use it when off grid.

the garage takes outdoor chairs, tables, two bikes (on internal rack), tools, levellers, fiamma waste, hoses, cables, windbreak etc

might be too far away but just noticed a 2015 used i143 at Highbridge for £62,995.....a darn sight cheaper than a Carthago/Hymer specced up from scratch.

Hitch, I think I've sent you a PM on the ASOF

I've got the slightly earlier 150BHP Peugeot engine in my Majestic 125. Whether I would have noticed the less powerful 130 engine, I'm not sure, but when I look at some of those wider and taller MHs with just a 130 engine, I wonder about the power/windage ratio.

We have the 2.0ltr 130bhp Peugeot base vehicle on our Elddis Motorhome, it returns currently 30.5 mpg with only 2k on the clock. It pulls well and a good indication of the torque is not needing to change gear from 6th on the A30 Cornwall bound just past okehampton coming up to sourton cross, it just digs in and pull up nicely only losing around 15mph from bottom to top 

its not a sports car so I’m not expecting sports car performance, I’m on holiday when in it so what’s the rush😎

We’re on our 3rd Fiat 130 motorhome base (2 off Adria and a Burstner). The performance on all of them has been fine despite the current one being 7.4m long and well up to the 3500t. Consumption around 30mpg even over mountain passes in Italy and Switzerland. I’d certainly recommend the Fiat 130 engine.

My camper van is a little more aerodynamic than a coach built but still carries the same load (up to 3500kg). My second one, with Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines respectively. 

The previous 2.2 Ford Puma ("Citroen") engine and the new 2 Litre PSA Euro 6 Engine produces 130 bhp. Higher outputs are available form the same capacity engine. Both engines can propel the vehicle to over 90 mph on the autobahn and cruise all day at 130kph (obviously where permitted). The engine has sufficient torque to climb steep gradients.

So for many people 130bhp will be sufficient but a test drive will help you decide. Bear in mind though that an unladen vehicle will be much more lively than one in full touring kit. 

MPG on recent long trip around 34/35. About 3 mpg better than previous Puma engine.