Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Rapido C03

Slimline, or narrow-bodied, motorhomes appear to be very much en vogue at the moment, with Auto-Trail and Bailey each launching completely new ranges this season. 

Quelle surprise, you might say, as it’s not hard to see the appeal of coachbuilt motorhome insulation and flat sides that create more interior space in combination with near-panel van proportions – especially at a time when campervan sales have been skyrocketing. 

Where a coachbuilt is usually much broader than a campervan at 2.30m to 2.35m wide (and some are wider still), these slimmer models are only around 2.20m or less. It might not sound a lot – until you’re threading yourself down a country lane in Cornwall, wishing that you could do more than just fold in the mirrors…

Seeing a 23-year-old Rapido 710F at Wokingham Motorhomes (which supplied our test motorhome) reminded me that the French firm has history in this sector, a part of the market that it returned to in 2021 with its C Series (C for compact). 

There are now six models in this line-up, including two A-classes – all of them measuring 2.17m in the beam.

The most petite of the Cs is the C03, a new model for 2024 that’s just 6.19m long – shorter than an extra-long  Fiat or Peugeot panel van. 

The layout

Its layout is almost campervan-esque, too, with a transverse double bed at the rear (as seen in so many continental van conversions), while this floorplan is also one that you might have expected to figure in the range all along. After all, many of the German makers have long included this format in their compact line-ups, usually with ‘Van’ in the title to highlight their panel van-like dimensions.

Traditionally, these layouts have often been combined with a just sub-six-metre overall length but the C03 being a little bigger isn’t simply a matter of a Gallic shoulder shrug and a wilful desire to be different. 

The intention here is to stay compact but to include a supersized fridge and a proper wardrobe (not a shallow hanging space squeezed beneath the bed) and therefore to have a USP. 

The spec

So, this is the French marque’s baby but it’s still recognisably a Rapido. The grey graphics and red logos give it a clear identity, while framed windows and aluminium skirts, plus the giant (glass) overcab sunroof and central locking on the habitation door tell you that this isn’t a budget offering.

Rapido also enhances the spec for the UK, so right-hand drive models get upgraded heating (electric as well as diesel and 6kW output), a heated and insulated waste tank, an oven/grill, carpets (cab and living area), rear steadies (mounted just forward of the rear wheels) and an external shower.

The base vehicle gets additional kit, too – Traction Plus and Hill Descent Control, front fog/cornering lights, and a leather steering wheel with radio/phone controls are standard.

More cab content comes, too – ESC with ASR, Roll Over Mitigation, Crosswind Assist, towing stability control and automatic post-collision braking, as well as seats with both twin armrests and height adjustment.

The options

That’s not to say that you can’t spend more than the £71,900 list price, though. We’d be amazed if any C03s leave the factory without the Select Pack (£1,730), which includes a glazed habitation door, second leisure battery, cab blinds and a 6.8in touchscreen in the dash with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as a reversing camera. 

The cab, as standard, is a Peugeot Boxer but, if you want an automatic gearbox, you have to switch to a Fiat – at a premium of £1,740, plus another £3,050 for the nine-speed torque converter transmission.

Changing to the Ducato also brings a wider range of other options, which are not available currently on the Boxer. 

The All Black Pack (£1,760) adds LED headlights, sequential indicators, 16in alloy wheels and a black skid plate.

The Connect Pack (£2,370) includes Fiat’s fully digital instrumentation, keyless starting, automatic air-conditioning, an induction phone charger and a larger sat-nav/radio screen (9in). 

The Safety Pack (£860) completes the spec with lane keeping assistance, road sign recognition and automatic headlights, and an electric parking brake (£480) avoids the usual stretch down to your right to release the handbrake.

At over £86k, as tested, this C03 certainly had all the toys and it’s hard to think what else you might add. Equally, it’s still less money than a number of high-end campervans we’ve tested recently.

On the road, it won’t be off-putting if you’re a campervan driver. The modest wheelbase helps with manoeuvrability and the 140hp engine seems surprisingly perky (we were very lightly laden, though). Most of all, the C03 feels compact and easy to drive. It’s still a Fiat Ducato but a small one with all the toys.

The garage 

It may be campervan-sized, but the C03 still has the sort of garage space that confirms it to be a fully fledged coachbuilt. 

There are loading doors on either side, fixed lashing points on the floor and access here to the twin leisure batteries, RCD and habitation fuses (plus a continental-style 230V socket), the gas locker (which holds just one 13kg cylinder as the heating is diesel-powered) and the external shower. 

There’s a strip light on the back wall and, below this, an elasticated strap that could usefully hold outdoor chairs in place. 

Internal headroom is a generous 1.20m and the maximum weight allowance is 150kg, although the C03’s total payload is a fairly generous 640kg as standard (reduced to a still more-than-adequate figure of around 560kg with the options and accessories added).

The interior

Of course, the entrance is very much motorhome-style, too – a Baur door (on the offside) with deep window and an electric step that auto retracts and is very necessary for access as the door sits above the skirt level.

And, as soon as you walk in, you feel that you’re in a Rapido motorhome – although you might also pop back outside to recheck those external dimensions! 

With a wind-up Heki rooflight over the table and surely the biggest of all overcab sunroofs, this is a light space – even when parked under the trees at Gorrick, Wokingham Motorhomes’ one-of-a-kind rural home.

It doesn’t get gloomy when the sun goes down, either. There are downlights in the ceiling, reading lights for each cab seat, LED strips under the top lockers, ambient lights in the overcab shelves and kitchen counter and a swivelling lamp (with built-in USB) over the table. 

Lighting gets maximum points and, with the pale Luceo woodwork option (Nacarat is much darker) and faux leather Montreal upholstery (£320 extra), make for a bright, welcoming interior.

The lounge

It’s a surprisingly comfortable one, too. The half-dinette bench is ergonomically shaped and a sensible height and it converts into a cosy L-shape with a simple flip-up cushion.

On the offside, there’s another neat addition – a pop-up jump seat in the doorway that makes an ideal footrest for the rotated driver’s seat. Grab that pew to watch the telly, for which a bracket is mounted on the washroom wall. 

All the while, the folded table is the ideal size for a couple of glasses of vin rouge and a few nibbles but, if your dining is more serious, simply unfold it (to 87cm by 59cm) and you could even cater for four.

The only downside of this front lounge is the mix of floor levels. As usual in a Fiat, the cab is highest, with a 14cm step down to the main living area but, oddly, the floor beneath the table adopts a middle ground, just 5.5cm lower than the cab.

The bedroom

At the opposite end of the motorhome, the C03’s transverse double bed is easily accessed via a pair of fixed steps – a big plus over the ladder sometimes seen in these layouts. 

There’s a good-sized (1.95m long) Bultex mattress here, which narrows towards the offside. 

Again, it’s light and airy, with a window at each end and a small, clear rooflight above, but having a window at the head of the bed means that you’ll need to take care not to damage the blind when you prop yourself up with a morning cuppa. 

At least there’s plenty of headroom to sit up, although then be careful not to bang your head on the shelf from which the reading lamps (with USBs) are suspended.

Another rear speaker is fitted here (there’s also one in the lounge) and a 12V socket at the foot of the bed caters for a bedroom telly.

Clothes can be stowed in the three top lockers along the back wall, as well as in the drawer under the bed. And remember that ‘proper wardrobe’ USP – hanging height is over a metre and there are two shelves below. Clearly, Rapido owners really do care about their couture.

The dinette can be converted into a transverse single bed but it seems a rather convoluted process that requires an extra infill cushion that was missing from our test motorhome. It looks adult-sized but completely blocks the door.

The kitchen

If there’s one aspect of the C03 that lives up (down?) to its compact billing, it’s the kitchen. This is a small space that lacks worktop, especially once the hob and sink lids have been raised.

However, it is not without merit. A small (32cm by 27cm) extension panel slots in at the end of the galley to give some serving up space, while an extractor hood over the two-burner hob is an unexpected plus. 

Then there’s the Can oven and grill, which is not the oft-seen afterthought but properly integrated under the giant cutlery drawer. 

This and the two other drawers are also centrally locked at the flick of a switch. The fridge is generous, too – a tall 140-litre compressor model with night-time and ‘turbo’ modes as well as a separate bottle drawer.

Finally, note the single 230V socket on the wall – best used when the sink lid is shut (other mains sockets are fitted in the lounge, bedroom and washroom areas).

The washroom

The washroom sits opposite the galley and offers more space on its swivel cassette loo ( for both legs and shoulders) than in many larger motorhomes. There’s plenty of room to splash your face over the white oval basin, too, and the toilet is mounted at a comfy height. 

Towel hooks and a drying rail are fitted, as well as a tall cupboard, but this lacks those practical elasticated straps that we’ve seen in other Rapido washrooms.

Maybe the best news of all, though, is the shower. A swing-wall sees the basin hinge over the loo and a bifold door complete a really generous cubicle that even has a basket on the wall for your shampoo and gel. 

Pity there’s only one drain in the tray, while headroom could be an issue for those over 6ft. Despite that, this is a well-designed washroom.

I wasn’t so sure about the way its door opens to the left and locks in place across the aisle. That leaves the ablutions exposed and there’s insufficient room on the other side of the door to get undressed. Perhaps, it’s just to give some privacy for a daytime catnapper?

Motorhome supplied by Wokingham Motorhomes
01189 791023
wokinghammotorhomes.co.uk

Insurance: £778
Tel: 0800 975 1307
shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk
For quote details: motorhome.ma/QuoteInfo

Where to buy

In Scotland, the dealer is Dicksons of Perth.

In England, there are six outlets representing the brand – Spinney (Knutsford) and Brownhills (Newark) look after the Midlands and north, while Simpsons is in East Anglia, Highbridge’s two branches cover the southwest and Rapido’s original British dealer, Wokingham Motorhomes, is in Berkshire.

In Ireland, Rapido has dealers north and south of the border – Thompson Leisure in County Down and  Cara Motorhomes in County Limerick.