Auto-Trail Tracker RB

There’s a completely new look for Auto-Trail’s mid-range this season

The all-new British-built Tracker is tested

WHO IS AUTO-TRAIL?

Based in Grimsby, and part of the French-owned Trigano Group, Auto

Trail built its first motorhome in 1982. Many of its early vehicles were based on Mercedes-Benz chassis, but other base vehicles followed, including VWs, Talbots, Peugeots, Fords and Fiats, although the company has tended to focus on the luxury end of the coachbuilt motorhome market.

Today, the company has an extensive range of Fiat-based campervans as well as building van conversions for the UK ranges of other Trigano Group brands, Benimar, Chausson and Roller Team.

The company’s coachbuilt portfolio starts with the F-Line (previously called Tribute) on Ford and then rises through Fiat-based Imala, Tracker and Frontier to the new Grande Frontier, marking a return to the A-class sector.

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Ssignificant in its own way as the new Grande Frontier (the company’s first A-class in well over a decade), the new Tracker might not have grabbed the same share of the limelight but, in terms of sales volumes, it will be more significant. This is the mid-range from Auto-Trail, slap bang in between the F-Line and Imala below it and the Frontier and Grande Frontier above. If you’re looking for a well-equipped low-profile on a 3,500kg chassis, this is where it’s at.

There are six layouts in the 2021 Tracker range, stretching from a modest 6.46m to a mainstream 7.39m. Prices start at £59,995 and could top 70 grand with an automatic gearbox, satellite dish and engine upgrade. Two floorplans are new – the single bed SB (how did they not have this in the range before?) and the rear lounge RL (which effectively takes the place of the old Apache 634). The one we’re looking at is neither of these but the RB, which is a more unusual offering than either.

While the Tracker line-up also includes the LB, with the ubiquitous lengthways island bed sandwiched between his and hers wardrobes on the back wall, the RB takes the road less travelled with its transverse island bed. Of course, that’s nothing new – not even in an Auto-Trail Tracker – but it is a rare find in a 2021-season brochure. Both Bailey and Elddis (who have both had this format in their ranges before) have moved away from this floorplan, while Swift now only offers it in the entry-level Edge overcab coachbuilt. On the Continent, one of the few manufacturers to include a transverse island in the range is Itineo. Direct rivals for this Tracker RB are, then, like politicians who give straight answers…

First, though, a look at the new Tracker as a whole, for this is a lower motorhome than before – a proper low-profile rather than just a ‘lowline’ or an overcab coachbuilt without the luton bed. It certainly looks a decade newer than its forebear and is enhanced by Auto-Trail’s usual choice of cab colours at no extra cost. Here, it’s

play-it-safe silver but the bold metallic red would be our choice. Standard spec on the Ducato also includes an aluminium-effect grille and lower skidplate, 16in alloy wheels and a colour-coded front bumper. The Tracker body comes with high-gloss GRP side walls and a new lower entrance that requires no external step. The habitation door is also linked to the central locking and comes with a bin and flyscreen as well as the traditional Auto-Trail brolly, ready for those less-than-perfect-weather days. An outside shower and exterior barbecue point are there for when the sun shines…

The only external storage is, of course, under the bed and this is reached via a hatch (750mm by 370mm) on the nearside. It’s not a garage but the 1.19m by 0.91m locker (with 490mm internal height) is still useful for outdoor furniture, etc. It can also be accessed from inside the ’van by lifting the whole bed on gas struts and you’ll find two small drawers and the 6kW gas/electric Truma Combi boiler here, too.

It’s the bedroom that’s the key feature of the Tracker RB, rather than the storage. With the mattress slid back, this is a comfortable place to recline and enjoy the views out of the offside bedroom window. Padded surrounds to the windows, pleated blinds and a large rooflight enhance this space, while wardrobes sit on either side of the bed. The forward hanging space is larger, but the slim wardrobe in the back corner also incorporates two tiny drawers. There’s a TV station at the foot of the bed, reading lights and USBs above, and corner cupboard/shelf units but what really catches your attention is the amount of space to move around the bedroom. That’s still the case when the mattress slides out and flat for sleeping, but the bed’s size is slightly disappointing at just 1.78m max by 1.33m.

The bedroom also includes a proper en suite, with shower on the offside and toilet compartment opposite. The loo room door then closes off the back of the motorhome as a private bedroom, but this area is just big

enough to use the facilities with its door closed. A towel ring, loo roll holder and roof vent are provided here. Opposite, the shower feels quite small and there’s a large step in the shower tray, which has just a single outlet. There’s no roof vent for the shower, either.

You’d expect a British motorhome in this price range to have a well-appointed kitchen and the Tracker won’t let you down. There’s a full cooker from Thetford – three gas burners, mains hotplate, separate grill and oven – as well as a Russell Hobbs microwave mounted above. A loose cover for the sink increases preparation space, while this is extended further by a flap on the end of the galley that also hides a cutlery drawer. That’s the only pull- out storage in this kitchen. Opposite, though, is a tall/slim fridge with generous 142litre capacity and next to that is the locker for the free-standing table.

With or without the table erected, the lounge feels spacious in this standard form. That means a big overcab sunroof, another large rooflight above the side sofas and a 21.5in TV hidden behind a black tambour door in the entrance area. Every Tracker buyer is likely to tick the Media Pack option (£1,299) that gives you the telly and aerial, plus sat-nav, DAB radio and a reversing camera. An extra grand on top gets you the Media + Pack, which adds a 65cm automatic satellite dish.

If you want to bring kids or grandkids along, you’ll need the HD half- dinette seating option (£825) but the new feature this season ( not fitted here) is the optional electric dropdown bed (claimed dimensions are 1.93m by 1.23m) – priced at £900. That will not only make the new Tracker more family-friendly but allow it to compete with the many continental island bed ’vans in this sector. However, those two options add 75kg to the vehicle’s weight, reducing payload to just 275kg. Fortunately, a 150kg increase in the gross weight is a no-cost option for those with the appropriate driving licence.