Tested: the Knaus Tourer Van 500 MQ Vansation

Vansational

Adding to the appeal is the fact that the Tourer Van can also be ordered in Vansation trim (as here), which brings the 150hp engine and automatic gearbox, as well as a host of extra kit both from VW and in the habitation area. Most surprisingly, perhaps, the spec includes a 3.05m Thule awning and an Oyster 60 Premium satellite dish linked to a 27in TV.

Externally, it’s a mix we’re not used to seeing – the T6.1 cab with a low-profile motorhome body that increases overall width from the van’s 1.90m to a still-modest 2.16m. With running boards under the cab doors and the whole ensemble in Ascot Grey, it has an upmarket and unified look – and it’s compact by coachbuilt standards at 5.89m long.

That set my mind questioning the wisdom of a T6.1 coachbuilt – would it still drive like a vee-dub?

As I sat behind the oh-so-familiar controls of this T6.1, adjusted the twin armrests and switched on the bottom warmers, I was prepared to be disappointed. Those long-armed mirrors look like they’ve been purloined from a truck, but everything else feels right. The Vansation even has VW’s Discover Media sat-nav, the Premium multifunction display with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a pin-sharp reversing camera.

Well, it’s only minutes into a deliberately fairly rapid drive along Nottinghamshire back roads that I’m sighing with relief. I am genuinely surprised by how well the Knaus handles, how little it wobbles or leans.

As I pull back into Hawton Waters campsite, I’m grinning – I can’t remember the last coachbuilt I enjoyed driving this much.

Space odyssey

When you step aboard, you’ll be dumbstruck if your sole motorhoming experience is VW campervans. If, on the other hand, you’re familiar with compact continental coachbuilts, it’ll look quite familiar. There’s a half-dinette lounge, central galley and washroom and a transverse rear double bed – a popular floorplan for a 6m motorhome.

Despite the slimmer VW cab, the front seats rotate easily without opening the doors (you do have to release the handbrake, however). What’s more noticeable is how low you sit, so the lounge floor is down a step from the entrance and kitchen (to match the cab floor level).

The huge overcab sunroof increases the feeling of space and, despite the lack of any directional reading lights, there’s plenty of artificial illumination, both in the form of ambient lighting and downlights. Drapes and Roman blinds add to the ambience, and storage around the overcab area seems better thought out than in most rivals.

From the lounge, you step up into the kitchen area, which still offers almost 2m of headroom. It’s appointed more in line with a campervan than a UK coachbuilt (with just a two-burner hob for cooking), but there’s a decent amount of worktop, as well as two large soft-closing drawers and a pair of top lockers. The compressor fridge is mounted at the end, facing forwards, so it can (just) be reached for a cold drink without entering the motorhome. Again, the space is well lit, while, surprisingly, there are three 230V sockets here.

If you’re looking for more storage, there’s another top locker over the lounge but no space under the dinette bench (which is home to all the habitation electrics, including the leisure battery).

Then, there’s a wardrobe under the end of the bed, with a small shelved section as well as a hanging rail with a modest 66cm drop. Its best feature is that your clothes will be warmed by the Truma boiler beneath, which here is the Combi D 4 diesel-only system. That also explains the small gas locker for a single 6kg cylinder.

Bed 'n' bath

Opposite the galley, Knaus calls it an Xpand Bathroom and it’s a feature that’s a new innovation for the Tourer Van. The designers must have agonised over squeezing a fixed double bed and a decent washroom into such a compact motorhome; they achieved it by making the bed and washroom share space.

There’s a transverse double bed (on sprung staves) that’s wider on the nearside. However, the reading lights are located on the offside and a small shelf and the window make sitting up slightly awkward, although there is sufficient headroom.

With the bed fully in situ, you can still access the toilet room to use the washbasin or the cassette toilet, but not the shower. The basin has plenty of worktop around it and a large mirror-fronted cupboard behind (shelves are fitted with practical upstands, as in the kitchen).

Space to use the toilet, however, is quite tight. It’s best to reverse yourself in to sit down and I found my left knee jammed against the door when on the throne. There’s a slight gap in the washroom wall but that doesn’t look difficult to overcome. In any case, if you’re used to a Porta Potti in a campervan cupboard…

The magic ‘xpanding’ bit happens when you lift out a corner of the rear mattress, enter the washroom, release a catch and pull a handle up to the ceiling to create the shower cubicle. This is an ingenious bit of design. There are two sections of shower screen – upper and lower – and once you’ve unfolded those you have a good-sized separate shower – in a T6.1!

The MMM verdict

For VW fans, the fact that the Tourer Van offers a proper washroom and a fixed bed in combination with the T6.1 chassis will be enough. But, even if you’re not a Volkswagen aficionado, this Knaus offers clever design and great on-road manners, along with a high spec and a sensible price. If you’re tempted then buy one while you still can…