Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Rapido C55

Launched in 2021, Rapido’s compact range – the C Series – now numbers four layouts (with transverse double, single beds or an island), two of which are also available in A-class form (now with the option of deleting the drop-down bed in the cab). 

Here, though, we’re focusing on the low-profile C55, which has been enhanced for the 2024 season with a much larger fridge.

Like the rest of the ‘C’ range, the C55 is just 2.17m wide and, although it’s the second longest model in the line-up, its 6.72m length is typical for a model with fixed single beds over a garage at the rear. 

The spec

Just as importantly, this is no economy-spec motorhome. It has typical Rapido styling with framed habitation windows, aluminium side skirts, a huge glass overcab sunroof and central locking on the habitation door.

Rapido also considerably enhances the standard spec for the UK market, to include electric heating (as well as diesel), a heated and insulated waste water tank, an oven/grill, carpets, rear steadies and an external shower in the garage. 

Then, in the Peugeot cab there’s Traction Plus and Hill Descent Control, front fog/cornering lights, and a leather steering wheel with radio/phone controls. 

The Boxer base vehicle comes with the 140hp HDi engine and six-speed manual gearbox; you have to switch to a pricier Fiat if you want the (also pricey) nine-speed automatic gearbox. 

You’ll still need to add the Select Pack, though. For an additional £1,730 that adds a glazed habitation door, second leisure battery, cab blinds, a 6.8in touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a reversing camera, ESC with ASR, Roll Over Mitigation, Crosswind Assist, towing stability control and automatic post-collision braking, plus both cab seats come with twin armrests as well as height adjustment. 

The garage

An important part of a model like this is the rear garage, here featuring loading doors on either side, fixed lashing points, the gas locker, the leisure batteries and habitation electrics and, most importantly, headroom of 1.20m (plenty for cycles). 

The extra cushion for the front bed stows here against the back wall. Maximum weight in the garage is 150kg, while the overall payload is a pretty generous 600kg.

The interior

Inside the comfortable living area, a wind-up Heki rooflight over the lounge and the biggest of big overcab sunroofs make the lounge light and airy, while artificial lighting is even better – there are downlights, reading lights in the cab, LED strips under the top lockers, ambient lights and a swivelling lamp over the table.

The rear seating is L-shaped and, in addition to the swivel cab chairs, there’s also a flip-up jump seat by the entrance – better, perhaps, as a foot stool than an actual seat. 

You can also convert the lounge into a third berth (1.88m by a maximum of 1.10m) but it’s a fairly fiddly process (aren’t they all?) that rather makes you wish for a drop-down bed instead. 

As it also blocks the entrance, consider it a bed for very occasional use (a visiting grandchild?) only.

The table folds in half to become an ideal surface for coffees – or un verre du vin! The only negative here is the slightly odd trio of floor levels – the cab (highest), the main living area (lowest) and a mid-height under the table.

The bedroom

There are more steps at the rear – one up into the bedroom area, which can be entirely separated with a pair of sliding doors, and then two more to ease access into the twin beds. 

These are of unequal lengths – 1.86m on the nearside and a more generous 1.94m opposite, although the mattress here tapers slightly at the foot. Again, a roof vent and windows on either side, plus plenty of artificial lighting, make for a light interior – especially so with this Nuceo furniture option (Nacarat is the optional darker wood with white lockerdoors). 

It’s just a shame that you can’t sit up in bed as there are overhead lockers along the back wall but that is so often the case in this type of layout. 

There’s a large cupboard under the nearside bed, while a wardrobe (with top and front access) is under the foot of the offside berth.

It’s a good-sized space with an 83cm drop from its hanging rail.

The washroom

In the centre of the C55 is Rapido’s clever Duo’Space washroom. In here there’s plenty of room to use the swivel cassette loo and good space around the white oval basin, too, but the best bit is the swing-wall design for the shower. 

There’s only a single outlet in the shower tray but there’s room to flail your arms as you wash your hair, without injuring yourself, and Rapido even fits a basket on the wall for your Head and Shoulders.

The kitchen

As you might expect in this class of motorhome, the final aspect – the galley (running aft of the door on the offside) – is quite compact, but it does have a proper oven (with a grill, too, and mounted sensibly below the counter), unlike some rivals (and not shown in our images of a French-spec motorhome).

There’s a slot-in extension to provide a tad more workspace but, in reality, more adventurous cooking is likely to mean spreading preparation onto the table.

The storage here is in large drawers – yippee! – which are centrally locked at the touch of a button – yippee again! – but the star feature of the kitchen is undoubtedly the new feature for 2024, the 140-litre Vitrifrigo compressor fridge with its separate bottle drawer (last year’s C55 had only 85 litres of cooled capacity).

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 both north and south of the border – Thompson Leisure in County Down as well as Cara Motorhomes in County Limerick.