Chausson launches a new combination of campervan and motorhome

The name Combo was chosen by Chausson for its new model as an internationally recognised shortening of the word ‘combination’, an apt title for a vehicle that claims to be the first of a new type of leisure vehicle.

In a compact model, Combo aims to have the comforts of home, combining the best aspects of a low-profile motorhome with the best of a van conversion.

In size, it’s almost identical to the most popular Fiat-based campervans, but inside it promises a unique design in its class, while the exterior has been developed in collaboration with automotive experts.

At 5.99m long, the Combo X550 mirrors exactly the dimensions of a long-wheelbase Fiat Ducato panel van. Its width, at 2.10m, is just a tad more than the van (2.05m) – not enough to be noticeable on the road – while height (2.75m) is midway between the usual figure for a high-top campervan and a low-profile motorhome.

But, despite Chausson’s clear concept of a small vehicle, the X550 boasts 1.98m internal headroom and a drop-down bed of 1.90m by 1.40m.

The Combo claims four significant innovations.

• A robust and aerodynamic roof, with one-piece cap made from PDCPD (polydicyclopentadiene). This is thought to be the first use of such material – which is seen in the construction of tractors, buses and trucks – in a motorhome. It boasts high impact resistance and can withstand high temperatures.

• Chausson’s Smart Lounge, with side settees that convert into travel seats, has become a key selling point across most of its motorhome range. However, the Combo is 25cm narrower overall and this is the first time such a layout has been incorporated into such a slim-bodied coachbuilt. The X550 offers four travel seats, four berths and five dining seats.

• An automotive approach to the exterior design means that there are no visible fixings. Often the look of even quite expensive motorhomes can be let down by visible fixings of wheelarch mouldings, bumpers, etc. With the Combo, Chausson has put a great deal of effort into the styling, with a very modern look to details such as the rear light lenses, while the white and black colour scheme goes a lot further than the typical use of motorhome graphics.

• It’s no surprise to find a Hideaway Bed (as Chausson calls its drop-down beds) in the Combo, because the firm has long been a market leader in offering this feature in its motorhomes. However, not only does the newcomer include such a system in a much narrower vehicle but it uses cables (rather than belts) to support the bed, which is also on an aluminium frame. Chausson says it has reduced the height of the bed, too – hence the 1.98m standing room inside.

The interior layout of the Combo owes more to 7m motorhomes than to van conversions. Up front, the cab chairs swivel to face two side-facing settees (longer on the UK nearside) with a fixed table (110cm by 66cm) in between that features a fold-in-half top.

There’s a flat floor throughout and, when the sofas are adapted to form a pair of forward-facing travel seats, they also feature Isofix for child seats.

The X550’s washroom (with swivel cassette toilet and tip-up basin) goes right across the full width of the rear of the motorhome and, forward of this (conveniently close by), is a large wardrobe (with shelves and hanging space) on the offside.

The galley is housed on the nearside, with a 134-litre fridge (generous for this size of vehicle) opposite. The fridge has automatic energy selection as standard.

Although there’s no garage, the Combo does manage to incorporate a tall external locker on the offside for your outdoor chairs, etc, and this space can also be accessed from inside.

In addition to the drop-down bed, the lounge seating can be converted into a second transverse double berth below. The Hideaway Bed can be lowered to a choice of two positions, depending on whether the second bed is in use or not.

Priced from £57,690 on a 140bhp Fiat Ducato, the Combo is described as an Exclusive Line vehicle. There are three options packs available – Connect (included on the first vehicles), Safety (£1,341) and Automatic (£4,491).

The Connect Pack includes a DAB radio with touchscreen, steering wheel controls and a reversing camera. The Safety Pack features Collision Alert, automatic lights and wipers, Traffic Sign Recognition and Lane Change Alert. The Automatic Pack adds not only the nine-speed automatic transmission, but upgrades the engine to 160bhp and adds the Eco Pack with stop/start.

Standard spec on all Combos will be comprehensive, including air-conditioning, cruise control, driver and passenger airbags, Traction Plus, leather steering wheel, colour-coded front bumper, foglamps and Hill Holder on the Fiat base vehicle.

The habitation area, meanwhile, benefits from an opening panoramic overcab sunroof, a flyscreen for the door, 5.5kW diesel-fired blown-air heating, a premium mattress for the drop-down bed, a TV bracket, cab blinds, and a wooden duckboard in the shower. Exclusive fabrics from the automotive industry (including fully retrimmed cab seats for the first time on a Chausson) are also featured.

There are fresh and waste water tanks of 100 litres each and the standard model has a generous payload of 770kg.

Developing such a completely new vehicle has not been the work of a moment. In fact, it’s more than two years since work began and the prototypes have been subjected to 100,000km of testing.

However, you can’t get your Combo just yet. A roadshow is planned to take a demo vehicle around Chausson’s British dealers as soon as the Covid situation allows retailers to reopen and customers to view safely. Dealers will be able to order their vehicles in June with the first production vehicles expected to roll off the line in Tournon-sur-Rhone at the back end of 2021.

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