’Van review: Elddis Autoquest 150 Entry-level four-berth
Clever design gives this compact island-bed layout a feeling of light and space, says Peter Baber
When Erwin Hymer UK ran its socially distanced launch event in early September, most of the focus was on the expansion of Compass and the introduction of a raising-roof campervan.
But despite the interruption of the lockdown, it managed to introduce a new model into the Elddis Autoquest (and Compass Avantgarde) range.
The Elddis Autoquest 150 brings a four-berth in-line island-bed layout into Elddis’s entry-level range. It’s essentially the same floorplan as the Encore 250, but some 7cm shorter.
The only outside evidence of this shortening comes when you notice that, unusually, part of the Autoquest decals spread across the rear windows. The cab is standard Peugeot.
The parallel settees in the lounge contain fold-out travel seats, so you could use this as a day-to-day vehicle.
When you step aboard, a large mirror opposite the door helps to spread the light that comes in from no fewer than three Hekis. The settees and swivelled cab seats create an adequate lounge, even if you do have to step up into it. The foldaway table, which stores in the kitchen, is easily big enough for four.
There are four spotlights here, which is generous; but if you were to put a TV behind the driver’s seat, where the sockets are, only those on the nearside settee could view it comfortably.
Not having the 95-litre fridge and freezer near the door helps to enhance the feeling of space in the kitchen, and with the island bed pushed back into its daybed position, there is plenty of room to move around at the rear.
The three-burner hob is gas-only, but the rectangular sink is large and j Price From £48,369 j Sleeps 4 j Belts 4 j Base vehicle
Peugeot Boxer
j Engine 2.2-litre, 140bhp Euro 6.2
j Length/width/height
7.34/2.69/2.82m (24’1”/8’10”/9’3”) j MTPLM 3500kg j Payload 591kg j Water (fresh/waste)
100/70 litres j Leisure battery 95Ah j Gas 2 x 7kg bottles
there is plenty of workspace. There is a separate oven and grill, and three large drawers under the sink. But the shelf to the left seems a bit redundant, and the pan locker under the oven is partly taken up by the wheel arch, while that below the fridge hosts a heating vent.
Things are better up top, with large cupboards over the workspace that would still provide room, even if one held the microwave that is a £212 option. There’s another locker over the fridge.
Yet another Heki brings plenty of light into the washroom, and a large
mirror helps to spread the light around. But the salad-bowl-style basin is a little on the small side, and the only storage is the double cupboard over the toilet.
Due to the incursion of the wheel arch, the shower area rather intrudes on the space here, and there is only one drainage hole. But given the
’van’s shortened length, there has to be a compromise somewhere.
Platforms under the settees come together to make beds. The cushions are easy to turn, but Elddis retains the windbreak, which can get in the way.
Unusually, the concertina partition shuts off the front section, rather than the back – a perfect solution if you are touring with small children: they can be put to bed early in the evening, with this section closed off.
That leaves the rest of the interior accessible for the two of you to enjoy in the evening using an awning, after which you can retire to the comfortable island bed. There is a second TV socket by the dresser if you would rather put the TV here. Two individual spotlights are great for night-time reading, too.
The rear nearside corner is taken up with the gas bottle locker, so you only get a wardrobe on this side of the bed. But on the offside, there is a set of three drawers as well as a second wardrobe. Storage space is not lacking here, thanks to two lockers and the two cupboards that make up the dresser.
The space under the bed is externally accessible through an access door on the ’van’s rear panel. The underseat areas in the lounge are taken up with the travel seats, but there are four lockers here, and two open shelves.
PRACTICAL MOTORHOME SAYS...
It was good thinking for Elddis to introduce a compact island-bed layout into the Autoquest range. Although the list of extras that come as standard here isn’t quite as extensive as elsewhere, and there are one or two redundant storage spaces, the general feeling of room and light that you get makes this feel like a much larger motorhome.