Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Westfalia Kelsey

The Kelsey – which is built in Westfalia’s French factory alongside the Kepler and Jules Verne models and Fleurette/Florium motorhomes, rather than in Germany – is an unusual and keenly priced campervan.

Based on the long-wheelbase Ford Transit Custom, it comes as standard with features such as front fog lights, blown-air heating and a hot water system, but it’s the layout that is the real USP.

At the rear it has a bench cassette toilet and a shower (with covered tray lightly recessed into the floor), but first you’ll need to undo a couple of straps and lift the front-hinged pop-top. That also gives access to the roof bed, with its generous 1.91m by 1.19m mattress on Froli springs for super sleeping comfort. Unusually, there’s a ladder to reach the bed more easily, too.

When not in use, the bed base is hinged to increase headroom up front – it’s 1.66m just aft of the cab but a whopping 2.24m in the shower area.

The washroom

A shower curtain press studs into place but only reaches up to the level of the roof bed, so you’ll shower sitting down – and have to be extra careful to get the water to go into the tray, not all over the floor.

Rather more practical is the inclusion of the cassette toilet, which has a decent amount of space around it (but it’s best if you’re under 6ft tall). Alongside the loo is the wardrobe, which has a long drop (98cm) but is only 31cm wide.

The kitchen

The kitchen runs right down the offside of the campervan, concluding (opposite the toilet) with a raised 51-litre compressor fridge above storage, including provision for two Campingaz cylinders.

Further forward, the unit contains a Can two-burner hob and sink above a pair of wide drawers. There’s a neat slide-out storage unit at the forward end of the galley, too, as well as a good worktop area for food preparation. 

The lounge

Even the lounge is unusual, with a movable footstool and a rear bench that’s well-shaped as a passenger seat, as well as the expected swivel cab seats. The fitting of sliding side doors on either side is a further bonus but only one of these (the nearside) has an opening window.

When dining, you’ll extract the table from its storage position on the rear tailgate and the leg from the wardrobe but the 93cm by 61cm tabletop is just too big for a small space; it’s better suited to (free-standing) use outside. 

The lounge feels so much more spacious without the table, while the footstool is a neat addition and the twin side doors are best appreciated in hot weather. Under the bench seat is the Combi boiler but this does seem to rob you of a lot of storage.

The beds

Locker space would be a challenge for family camping but couples can choose to sleep upstairs or down. We’d opt for the roof bed if it was warm enough because the lower berth takes a bit of working out. Two large cushions store upright behind the rear travel seat and these are supported by the table and footstool, with your feet going onto the cab seats.

Still, the bed isn’t really suitable for larger folk, at 1.76m by 1.16m. The simple roller blinds on the side windows leave gaps that let in daylight and don’t seem up to the high standard of the rest of the build. Silver screens are provided for the cab windows but take up space in the wardrobe when stowed. 

There are some nice touches in this unusual campervan, such as the padded headlining on the underside of the roof bed and the high-quality, automotive-style interior, but other details (like the fiddly roof straps) let it down.

Compared with Ford’s own Nugget Plus (also built by Westfalia, but in Germany), it seems something of a bargain.

Where to buy

 Westfalia has four UK dealers – Campersales in West Sussex, Harbour Creek in Hampshire (Jules Verne and Kepler models only), Roseisle in Edinburgh and Wandahome in East Yorkshire. 

In Ireland, Westfalia is represented by Anchor Point in Co Tipperary.

The company

Westfalia is the original campervan company, having been converting vans for leisure for over 65 years.  Its classic VWs of the 60s and 70s are some of the most desirable of all historic campers and, today, it maintains its position as a market leader by building the Nugget as an OEM model for Ford and the Marco Polo for Mercedes-Benz. 

But it doesn’t just manufacture for third parties, it builds the Kepler (VW T6.1), Kelsey (Ford Transit Custom) and Jules Verne (Mercedes Vito) pop-top models in France at a factory shared with Fleurette/Florium. 

Then, in its German homeland, it makes the Club Joker (VW T6.1), Amundsen and Columbus (Fiat Ducato), Sven Hedin (MAN TGE) and James Cook (Mercedes Sprinter).

Today, Westfalia is part of the French Rapido Group.