Lucie Cranfield Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Hello All, The August issue of Which Motorhome is on-sale today and it features the magazine's biggest ever group test of A-class motorhomes. The 12 motorhomes tested had a combined value in excess of £800,000 and they included the Adria Sonic Axess 600SP, Adria Sonic Supreme, Dethleffs Advantage 7051 DBM, Knaus Sky I 700 LX, Hymer Exsis-i 588, Frankia I 640 SD, Pilote Galaxy G741, Rapido 9048dF, Rapido 9090dF, Hymer B544 PremiumLine, Bürstner Viseo I 690 and Carthago C-Tourer I 149 RL. All the A-classes were tested by Which Motorhome’s highly experienced road-testers, and there were a number of differing opinions between the testers. The results of this test, along with the winner are published in the August issue of Which Motorhome - you can download and read this now - http://www.pocketmags.com/whichmotorhome Thanks, Lucie :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Fabulous! Did you weigh any of them? 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Agreed, that's essential information that any test should provide. I'm looking forward to reading how they each measured up against their published MiROs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 JudgeMental - 2015-07-09 2:52 PM Fabulous! Did you weigh any of them? 8-) And did all of them have a spare wheel as standard ? included in their MIRO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frankie640 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Not a chance for all the above. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Good read for anyone wanting an overview of A-classes. Some honest comments about price and payload - or lack of it in some models at 3500kg. No mention of spare wheels but plenty of comment about the need to raid the options list and the impact that has on weight and price. The testers chose the right the winner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frankie640 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Which were?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 frankie640 - 2015-07-10 9:25 PM Which were?. EXACTLY.... 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Buy the magazine! One was German and the other was French. Neither a surprise. I was wrong, the Hymer mentions a spare wheel as an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Brock - 2015-07-11 10:11 AM Buy the magazine! One was German and the other was French. Neither a surprise. I was wrong, the Hymer mentions a spare wheel as an option. Yes and the Hymer technical catalogue will also tell you its weight and price (as with all other options) so you can calculate the affect the options have on payload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Bet none mention the inherent dangers of driving one of these DIY motorhomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frankie640 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 What are you on about Rupert.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 frankie640 - 2015-07-11 10:15 PM What are you on about Rupert.? OMGG.......why bother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 rupert123 - 2015-07-11 12:46 PM Bet none mention the inherent dangers of driving one of these DIY motorhomes.. At a bit of a loss to know what you are talking about, Do Hymers arrive like an 'Airfix' kit ? With a tube of glue ? They might be more affordable that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Henry thinks they are all death traps because they leave the Fiat bonnet off and have GRP front ends instead. Me? I'm agnostic! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timabob Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I just bought a copy. It is interesting to note the main sponsor of the accompanying DVD: Travelworld. What is their main A-Class brand? Which A-Class won overall? Coincidence - I'm sure it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 timabob - 2015-07-13 5:12 PM I just bought a copy. It is interesting to note the main sponsor of the accompanying DVD: Travelworld. What is their main A-Class brand? Which A-Class won overall? Coincidence - I'm sure it is! You think? Surely a coincidence! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 frankie640 - 2015-07-11 10:15 PM What are you on about Rupert.? Well the first thing that is done by the maker of any 'A' class is to rip the front of the original vehicle off together with the built in crush zones. I would hate to be in one of these in a front end smash of any sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuxDeluxe Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 rupert123 - 2015-07-13 10:13 PM frankie640 - 2015-07-11 10:15 PM What are you on about Rupert.? Well the first thing that is done by the maker of any 'A' class is to rip the front of the original vehicle off together with the built in crush zones. I would hate to be in one of these in a front end smash of any sort. The crush panel in still there on mine ,,,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 DuxDeluxe - 2015-07-13 11:01 PM rupert123 - 2015-07-13 10:13 PM frankie640 - 2015-07-11 10:15 PM What are you on about Rupert.? Well the first thing that is done by the maker of any 'A' class is to rip the front of the original vehicle off together with the built in crush zones. I would hate to be in one of these in a front end smash of any sort. The crush panel in still there on mine ,,,,,,, Which crush panel exactly, their is no such thing. Even removing part of the original front wings will destroy the integrity of the whole crash system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timabob Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I'm sure this that been raised before, but Hymer, maybe others, do crash tests on their A Class. In addition, given the laws of physics, in most accidents a 4 tonne motorhome against a 1.5 tonne car, irrespective of crumple zones, with the occupants sitting above the impact zone, the car is likely to come off worse. HGVs are not exactly well designed for front impact collisions, but who many times does a lorry driver get injured in a car vs lorry accident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 What an A class manufacturer does and doesn't "remove" is an interesting point..... A-Frame manufacturers/installers tend to get some stick for meddling with the crumple zones of the towed car but surely, A-class MHs have been "meddled" with more..? :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 More yes, but differently. Adapting cars for A frames involves adding strength for the attachments, which is liable to alter the way the crash tested bodyshell reacts to an impact in unpredictable ways. Most adapted cars are small, so their designs are presumably less tolerant of such unforeseen interventions. With A class vans the cab is not removed, it is never installed, and a raw chassis, usually minus everything aft of the cab, is delivered from the factory to the converter. This can only be achieved if the design has been modified to facilitate it: they are not "cut and shut" by the converter, they leave the assembly line in that form. What can then be attached to which, and where, involves co-operation with the chassis manufacturer, just as it does for conversion of a chassis cab (or platform cab) coachbuilt - whether or not the rear chassis elements are present. Bear in mind also that most buses and coaches have GRP front ends. The driver and front passenger sit in the same positions relative to the front of the vehicle as in a coachbuilt, although the windscreen is much further forward than in coachbuilts. How well the end result would behave in an accident is a matter of chance, depending on the rigidity, weight, speed, and angle of impact of whatever is hit, as well as how the bodyshell of the van reacts. My personal view is that coachbuilt vans, with the panel van bodywork removed aft of the cab, and the cab roof more or less eliminated, are unlikely to be as crash resistant as the panel van from which they are derived, so if you want something with proven crash resistance, you should get a PVC. Fortunately, probably largely because of the relative experience and maturity of their drivers, there are not that many accidents involving motorhomes, so statistics are not readily available. However, once damaged they are very expensive to repair, and I believe more prone than cars to being written off for that reason, so the fact that a £60,000 motorhome can be insured for little, if any, more than a £15,000 car points to the accident risks being at the lower end. Doesn't answer the "what if" point, which is almost unknowable - just that whatever may be the consequences of an accident, the chances of it happening are statistically low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 timabob - 2015-07-14 11:10 AM I'm sure this that been raised before, but Hymer, maybe others, do crash tests on their A Class. In addition, given the laws of physics, in most accidents a 4 tonne motorhome against a 1.5 tonne car, irrespective of crumple zones, with the occupants sitting above the impact zone, the car is likely to come off worse. HGVs are not exactly well designed for front impact collisions, but who many times does a lorry driver get injured in a car vs lorry accident? Hymer have indeed done some crash tests and did one pretty recently on an A class, cannot remember which one, but it was a head-on at 33 kph. The report said although suffering extensive damage the occupant's would probably survive. This crash test is a publicity stunt and means little unless they use the same criterion as car and van maker use and not crash it at walking pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan MMM Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 timabob - 2015-07-13 5:12 PM I just bought a copy. It is interesting to note the main sponsor of the accompanying DVD: Travelworld. What is their main A-Class brand? Which A-Class won overall? Coincidence - I'm sure it is! The Ad department is separate from Editorial and cannot influence the content of reviews. What does happen is that a list of motorhomes being reviewed is put forward to the advertising department who in turn will try to sell space to those manufacturers in that issue, and also find a sponsor for the DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.