richard germain Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi, I am new to this forum and we are considering changing our Auto sleeper VW Topaz for a slightly larger panel van conversion. Has any body any advice etc on the Auto sleeper Warwick etc range? ie given that the conversion is on a Peugeot chassis. Thank you for any advice Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 My Cousin, in Newton Abbot, has a Warwick XL which is his 2nd one. He is very particular when it comes to motorhomes and he has had many over the years so he is in a position to judge and he is very happy with the one he has now. This is the 2015 facelift version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi Richard and welcome to the forum. We downsized to a Warwick Duo and we liked it. It drove and handled well and we covered many miles all over bits of France, Germany and Spain with it. Having had so many years with a coachbuilt in the end we decided the Duo was just that wee bit too cramped for us so we went for the next size up which we are really happy with, but upsizing from the Topaz you should have no such issues. Maybe if we had bought the longer XL we might still have but they were were too new and expensive at the time and the Executive came along at the right price at the right time! The Warwick has a bit more user space and storage but the Duo has the opportunity for twin single beds so it's a personal choice. As with all things the newer you come the more lightweight (aka less substantial!) the interior build seems to be but ours was a 2009 and it was OK if not as solid as Autosleepers of old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard germain Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi Rich, Thank you for your advice. I must agree with you on the way new vans are fitted out, as we have had several plastic panels split and have not really used it that much, well the wash room that is, not that we don't wash, just prefer the campsite facilities. Our latest Topaz is a late 2007 model which we bought new and must agree not as solid as the 1997 one we p/x. Still I suppose that's progress, will go and have a look around at vans, just really need some extra storage, which the VW lacks. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard germain Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Thank you for your reply, I think we will be having some trips to dealers this week for a better look. Really just need some extra storage space when away for short breaks. Regards Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 When we started looking for our first van a couple of years ago we were quite keen on an Auto Sleeper, particularly the new (at the time) Warwick XL. We had been looking at a Warwick but were put off by the fact that the washroom went across the sliding door and it made the front of the van feel very confined and dark. The Warwick XL is more open so looked better. We went to the NEC show however and came across Vantage and immediately knew that this was the van for us. The Sol is 6m with a rear U-shaped rear lounge that makes up Into twin singles or a large double. For us this was far superior to the Warwick or even the XL. The build quality was even better and the finish lighter and more modern - we were not overly keen on the Auto Sleepers slightly old fashioned swirly patterns. There was also the advantage of having a front seating area with the swivelled front seats and a table, which the Warwick does not have. This provides more options and it can be nice sitting at the front looking out through the sliding door. The U-shaped lounge is a bit more comfortable we feel and provided better storage underneath with a reasonably sized boot that we have found to be very useful indeed - much better I think than just having the two long settees to store stuff in as it is not so easy to separate inside and outside stuff. In the end we went for the Neo as it has the same basic arrangement as the Sol but is on the longer 6.36m van which provides even more worktop and masses of storage space. The extra length is never a problem and only brings advantages. Lots of alternatives out there so happy hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Why not join the Autosleeper Owners Forum, plenty of owners of Warwicks on there who will gladly give their experiences. www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com (it's free to join) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Don636 - 2016-02-07 10:41 PM When we started looking for our first van a couple of years ago we were quite keen on an Auto Sleeper, particularly the new (at the time) Warwick XL. We had been looking at a Warwick but were put off by the fact that the washroom went across the sliding door and it made the front of the van feel very confined and dark. The Warwick XL is more open so looked better. We went to the NEC show however and came across Vantage and immediately knew that this was the van for us. The Sol is 6m with a rear U-shaped rear lounge that makes up Into twin singles or a large double. For us this was far superior to the Warwick or even the XL. The build quality was even better and the finish lighter and more modern - we were not overly keen on the Auto Sleepers slightly old fashioned swirly patterns. There was also the advantage of having a front seating area with the swivelled front seats and a table, which the Warwick does not have. This provides more options and it can be nice sitting at the front looking out through the sliding door. The U-shaped lounge is a bit more comfortable we feel and provided better storage underneath with a reasonably sized boot that we have found to be very useful indeed - much better I think than just having the two long settees to store stuff in as it is not so easy to separate inside and outside stuff. In the end we went for the Neo as it has the same basic arrangement as the Sol but is on the longer 6.36m van which provides even more worktop and masses of storage space. The extra length is never a problem and only brings advantages. Lots of alternatives out there so happy hunting. We looked at the Vantage and were very impressed the only thing that put us off was that we would have had to purchase direct and taken the motorhome back to the factory for any warrenty or service work In the end we reverted to our original plan and bought a Warwick XL in which we have spent over a hundred nights and have been very pleased with it. I'm glad we didn't buy a Vantage because we had big problems with the combi 6 heater which were sorted out by the local dealer we bought the Warwick from but it needed three trips to do so one of which involved leaving the motorhome with them for a few days which would have been a problem with a Vantage van. Its worth bearing in mind that however well a motorhome is built its normally the bits fitted like heaters, fridges or skylights etc. that go wrong meaning that buying from as local a dealer as possible is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Colin, We have been fortunate as we have had our Vantage for just under two years now and nothing has gone wrong in that time. When we first looked at the van at the NEC show it had a Combi unit fitted but ours has a separate water and space heater and when I asked why I was told that they were not happy with the new style Combi units and went back to the separate units. Seems like this was a good move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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