AUTO-SLEEPER WARWICK DUO Rear lounge and a super-sized kitchen

The alternative six-metre model to the Symbol Plus is this – the Warwick Duo.

The Warwick name indicates a rear lounge, with the first of this type having introduced an end lounge in a camper in 2008, or the first time since Auto-Sleepers’ Volkswagen LT-based VX10 of four decades ago!

Of course, today, rear lounge campervans are a popular part of the UK market.

You don’t get any rear travel seats, but you do benefit from a seating area that’s spacious and entirely separate from the cab. Indeed, the cab is redundant as soon as you arrive at your campsite. There are no swivels on the front seats.

Instead, this campervan is all about the settees in the stern and the layout becomes especially attractive when the sun has got his hat on and you can shout ‘hip, hip, hooray’ as you fling open those barn doors.

A choice of coffee table on a centre pole or bigger free-standing table, which can also be used al fresco, increases the versatility of the space, while rear speakers and a large rooflight are part of the fully appointed spec. Reading lights feature, too, and are of the clip-on/clip-off type that can be positioned where you like.

An overhanging wardrobe on the nearside reduces seating space whilst still allowing full-length beds. If you want to sleep singly, it’s just a quick job to jettison the backrests and have near-identical twin beds (1.88m and 1.90m long by 0.69m wide). As in the two Symbol models, there’s a double bed option, too, and it’s almost square at 1.90m by 1.85m.

Unusually for a floorplan like this, the washroom is adjacent to the sliding door, while the galley is behind the driver’s seat.

The ablutions include a bench cassette loo (with generous leg and shoulder room), a tip-up basin and a curtain for showering.

But it’s the kitchen that benefits from Auto-Sleepers swapping the galley to the offside. The cook will love a unit that measures a whopping 1.67m from end to end, with plenty of preparation space without recourse to flimsy flaps. There’s no tall furniture on this side of the ’van, so you get a clear view from sofa to cab, while spec again includes the Triplex cooker, microwave and extractor hood. Better still, there’s a large pan drawer as well as four small drawers, so this model is certainly one for keen chefs. ³

The Warwick XL is clearly a relative of the Warwick Duo, with the concept of a spacious rear lounge two-berth carried over, but in the longer, 6.36m Boxer. This isn’t just a stretched version of the Duo, though. Here, the washroom and kitchen swap sides for a different feel to the interior.

Perhaps more important than the reversal of the floorplan up front, however, is the extra space at the rear.

Not only is the seating area here more spacious but it’s better suited to lovely feet-up sprawling facing the open back doors because the XL doesn’t have the overhanging wardrobe that reduces settee space on one side of the Warwick Duo.

Once again, there’s a choice of a small coffee table or a free-standing table that stores on the overcab shelf. This model is all about maximum lounging space for a couple and the long settees’ comfort is enhanced by armrests and scatter cushions in all four corners. There are rear speakers and reading lights that can be repositioned anywhere along their mounting rails, while the lack of opening side windows is addressed with a large rooflight. There’s good storage under both of the sofas, too.

As with many of the Auto-Sleeper campervans, you can choose between single beds or a double, even alternating between the two, depending on the season. The singles measure 1.90m by 0.67m each, while the double is a huge 1.90m by 1.85m.

The kitchen unit may be a tad shorter than the expansive one in the Warwick Duo but, once you’ve deployed the folding flap at the forward end, it actually beats its relative’s galley length – and that worktop extension makes a useful table for the swivel passenger cab chair. Of course, the Triplex cooker features again, as does a microwave. The fridge is an 88-litre capacity three-way model from Thetford.

Above the fridge is a large area of kitchen counter – space to use the removable draining board or plug in your toaster and kettle as two 230V sockets are adjacent. There’s a USB port here, too, and a kitchen roll holder on the wall.

Opposite the galley is a larger wardrobe than in most of the XL’s sister models, featuring a 930mm hanging height and three drawers below.

But the star feature of this model is the spacious washroom with separate wet area, including the washbasin and shower behind bifold doors. ³

Every model reviewed so far has been a two-berth, but the Fairford has beds and seatbelts for four. It’s the same length as the Warwick XL and also has a rear lounge, but this time there’s a second seating area up front.

Most of the Fairford’s rivals adopt a half-dinette arrangement for the forward lounge, but here it’s pullmans tyle with forward and rearward facing benches on either side of a wall-mounted table. There are two three-point belts on the front-facing seat but, on site, this area will be tight for more than two adults.

Appealingly, though, there are small backrest pads on the side wall, so you can sit ‘side-saddle’ and look out of the open sliding door.

At the rear, the lounge is obviously more compact than in the two-berth Warwick models, but this is still a cosy and comfortable place in which to relax. You can also dine here, adding one or both of the small tables that store behind the settees’ backrests.

Then, at night, the two sofas pull together to create a transverse double bed that’s 1.85m by 1.24m.

Of course, the front lounge converts into a second double bed (1.91m by 1.34m), leaving room for one person to stand by the sliding door and a slightly larger area between the washroom and galley.

Bed-making here is more complex and requires a selection of infill cushions (think about where you’ll store these), so a better solution for some people will be to make a smaller front bed (1.84m by 0.90m) that doesn’t require the three large infills and leaves a clear walk-through past the kitchen.

Those cook’s quarters, centrally positioned on the nearside, are a whopping 1.91m long, with loads of worktop on which to prepare dinner.

Keeping the counter at one modest height throughout, the wardrobe is concealed under the forward end of the kitchen. Naturally, as in the two-berth models, the Fairford’s galley gets all the gear, including oven/grill and microwave. There’s a 71-litre fridge, too, but no drawers here.

Opposite the culinary area, you’ll discover the ablutions behind a sliding tambour door. Here, the washbasin can slide along a rail to a position above the cassette toilet to create more room for showering.

There’s sufficient room for that and use of the loo, but just be careful to align the showerhead accurately when repurposing it as the washbasin’s tap. ³

Arguably the most versatile model in Auto-Sleepers’ campervan range, the Fairford Plus is the second four-berth in the line-up and the newest model in the range.

Its washroom, kitchen and front lounge are broadly similar to the standard Fairford but, at the rear, it swaps a second seating area for a fixed bed/garage format that looks more like something you’d expect to see in a continental campervan.

The rear transverse double bed measures 1.86m by 1.35m max and is quite high off the floor (910mm) to maximise storage below, but it’s when you fold away the metal-framed bed bases to either side that the Fairford Plus really comes into its own.

Unlike most imported rivals, there is very little fixed furniture in this space, so the garage area measures a generous 1.36m by 1.35m. Then, with the bed stowed, the load area height increases from 0.82m to the full headroom of the ’van – 1.88m. Anything from surfboards to mountain bikes, mobility scooters to pet cages can be kept here. There are four corner lashing points to secure your load and even seatbelt straps for dog harnesses. A 230V socket is provided and an external shower, too.

If even this isn’t enough load capacity for you, then the Fairford

Plus comes with roof rack rails as standard – just keep in mind the

389kg payload.

As well as the dinette, this model has a swivelling passenger seat, while the rear travel seat has a wedge-shaped backrest section to improve seat comfort. Remove this to create a flat bed, while night-time arrangements up front mirror those of the original Fairford with a choice of beds.

Clearly a close relative of its non-Plus cousin, there are, however, some detail differences between the two, including the table in the front lounge – rather than a wall railmounted device, here it’s a more European-style fixed table (940mm by 560mm) on a large central leg. It’s very stable and can twist and slide. Above the table are those clever reading lights that can be moved to suit.

Other changes between the Fairford and Fairford Plus are the position of the cooker and sink – swapped here so that splashes from pans don’t stain the duvet. Otherwise, the galley is equally expansive (again with that low-level under-counter wardrobe), but a useful addition here is the pop-up power tower with three 230V sockets. ³

While the Fairford Plus’ bedroom layout is designed for maximum storage, the Kingham is all about sleeping comfort. Here is a unique French bed floorplan for a campervan – and my personal favourite model in the whole Auto-Sleeper range.

That rear lengthways double bed isn’t huge (1.87m by 1.20m max), but it is exceptionally comfy and even comes with a set of fitted bedding.

When we headed off site (to the Camping and Caravanning Club’s pretty lakeside East Horsley campsite in Surrey) at the end of each long day’s filming and testing, it was the Kingham that I bagged without hesitation. I would have loved more time to enjoy the bed’s luxurious chaise longue position for a leisurely start to each new day!

Below that super bed (finished off with a smart moulded panel around the base) is plenty of space for outdoor chairs, etc. It measures 500mm tall under there and the area can be reached by lifting the whole bed on gas struts or from outside, through the back doors (which also provide servicing access for the loo).

Then, alongside, is a washroom similar to the one in the Symbol Plus – its space-saving tambour door slides back to reveal a fixed corner basin (so much nicer than the flip-up type), a swivel cassette toilet and sufficient space for comfortable showering without recourse to a horrid clingy curtain. There’s a vanity area opposite the foot of the bed, too.

Like its sister models in the range, the Kingham has a generous and well-appointed kitchen. Of course, the Triplex cooker with oven/grill and eye-level microwave are de rigeur in an Auto-Sleeper campervan, while a worktop flap at the forward end of the unit increases cooking space. The 88-litre fridge is opposite (under the wardrobe) and there’s a second pull-out worktop extension.

Better still, this galley offers practical and easy-to-access storage with four drawers, plus a larger pan drawer beneath the oven. There’s a pop-up tower of three-pin sockets for mains appliances, too.

Up front, both cab seats swivel and the small island-leg table that slots in here is perfect for light meals. The layout also includes a side sofa, facing the kitchen and sliding door, that is more comfortable than most as it doesn’t have to convert into a bed or a travel seat – the Kingham is purely about comfortable touring for two. ³

If the Symbol Plus takes a timehonoured floorplan and adds to it, then you might like to think of the Kemerton XL as a Symbol Plus Plus!

There is a similar front lounge format, with a side settee and single rear travel seat but, as an XL model (on the 6.36m window van), it gains extra space for the lounge, more storage and a much more generous washroom.

That forward seating area is completed with twin swivel cab seats and a choice of coffee table or fullsized dining table, the latter suiting the larger space of the Kemerton XL better than either of the Symbol models. The bigger base vehicle also equates to larger beds, the nearside seat flattening to make a 1.92m-long single, while the simple addition of an infill to the offside settee makes a 2.05m mattress. Not only that, but you can leave the nearside seat in its bed position, add backrest cushions across the sliding door and create a huge lounge with room for seven people – or more!

Also, there’s the possibility of a super-sized double bed (1.92m by 1.84m). If you want to use the nearside settee and the double bed, you’ll need to plan carefully where you stow all the extra cushions.

Not that the Kemerton XL is short of storage space, especially thanks to a taller nearside furniture behind the lounge. Here you get three large drawers, ideal for folded clothes, beneath the wardrobe and the largest-capacity fridge in AutoSleepers’ campervan range – a 105-litre three-way unit mounted off the floor for stoop-free access.

There’s some higher-level worktop on the nearside, but the main galley area is opposite. It’s here that you’ll discover the hob, oven/grill, eye-level microwave, power tower for 230V appliances and lots of cupboard space (albeit with only one small drawer).

Across the back of the camper, the layout really diverges from the two Symbols – and the rest of the range. On the nearside is the bench-style cassette toilet (easier to clean than swivel types and with a larger holding tank), with plenty of room for its use.

Then, on the offside, is a separate wet area surrounded by tambour doors. This includes a tip-up washbasin, as well as the shower and a mirror backlit in blue! More significantly, the washroom can be accessed directly from outside before you tramp mud into the carpets or put soggy wetsuits on the upholstery.