Which base vehicle?

Tinwheeler - you make the Merc option sound more and more appealing!  I must confess I find the thought of a proper TC box a strong factor in all of this.  In fact I am non my second Nissan with a CVT.  The first was reasonable but the new one feels just a good as a TC.

For 'non' read 'on'.

Your choice, Q. We hunted high and low for a Merc based PVC and it would just not work for us. It took a lot of soul searching to revert to a manual Peugeot. (We wanted a TC auto, not the Fiat automated manual.) The Peugeot goes well once wound up but it’s noisier and lumpier.

We're all different and what suits one won’t suit another. Why not test drive a selection from those already on forecourts? Ex-Dems and the like can be as good as new and buying one can save the wait and a few quid.

Happy hunting.

Sound advice.  Is your Peugeot  PVC?  We have considered PVC choices but don't think we can live with such a narrow body after 40 years with a caravan.  A motorhome is different but we are yet to experience it for ourselves.

I like the look of some of the Swift models which are all Fiat based.  However, the layout we like doesn't offer the storage capacity of the Auto-Sleepers.

It is a big jump from a caravan to a PVC but you soon adapt. It was a similar change from the coachbuilt to the PVC but we got used to it very quickly. 

I think it would be difficult to define best. Mercedes might well be considered the best but if the motorhome you want is not available with a Mercedes base vehicle its all a bit academic. For the last five and half years I have been driving a motorhome based on a Peugeot Boxer, OK not as smooth as driving a car but it gets us from A to B perfectly well and its been all over Europe. In the last week or so we have been looking at a possible replacement for our Bailey. We had initially thought about a PVC and actually found an Autotrail V-Line with a Comfortmatic  gearbox which was tempting. Unfortunately the long bunks are not really wide enough sleep on and we are trying to get away having to climb over each other to get to the loo in the middle of the night! In most other respects we thought it very good. The search will continue for a smaller coachbuilt within our limited price range or we may just keep what we have. At the end of the day the engine choice will only be part of the decision.

David

I must admit when we bought our M/H it was the layout that was the deciding factor and I never gave the base vehicle a second thought ,it is Fiat  based 

When I worked at a Vauxhall dealership i vowed I would never buy one , then I bought the shop and bought a Corsa van 9 years ago and have had no trouble ( that's done it)

That’s true, David, it’s the whole package which is the very reason we had to compromise on the base vehicle. There’s always a compromise somewhere.

Knaus are building on MAN base vehicles for some of the range next year. 

We have only ever had the Fiat 150 with comformatic box and overall we are pretty pleased with it.  Not as smooth as a car obviously but it pulls well, fairly economical considering the size and weight and they are easy to get serviced etc.  The 2 year warranty is over now so no need o go to a Fiat dealer although we will continue to do so as they did not rip us off last this year for the first (year 2/20k) service £210.  I enquired about a service for next year and they said not to bother, the MOT is a good safety check and as its low mileage (6k a year) not to worry.

I think if you buy a MH based on the base vehicle alone you are limiting yourself severely as to choice, best to get the layout and features you want/need then if you have a choice of base vehicle choose from there.