The continental fixed bed layout gets some novel tweaks in this latest model from Germany’s leading campervan brand
Words & pictures ❚ Peter Vaughan
REVIEWED
If you’re after a Fiat/Peugeot panel van conversion with a fixed bed, there’s a huge amount of choice. Most of the major European motorhome brands will have a selection of models in their portfolio – and that’s before you include campervan specialists like Dreamer, Westfalia and, of course, Globecar. Then there’s everything from entry-level models to all-singing premium ’vans, so it’s best to take a look at a few before you decide.
In the UK, Globecar already has its Elegance and Summit Prime ranges, with the Summit Shine further increasing choice.
The new line-up includes medium-wheelbase, long and extra-long Ducatos. We’re testing the baby of the range, the 5.41m-long 540 – partly because it’s the first to arrive at importer, SMC, in Newark, and partly because the MWB version has fewer direct rivals than the longer 600 and 640 (although there’s also an interesting 600L, which combines the front of the 540 layout with the rear of the 640 to accommodate single beds in the six-metre van).
This new Summit Shine 540 will save you three grand compared with its Summit Prime equivalent, which is useful in these days of high cost of living. It also swaps the Samba interior décor for exotic-sounding Grigio Lucente, but there’s more to the newcomer than that.
What you won’t see here is the feature that’s, perhaps, the Summit Shine’s most unusual aspect – a single rear passenger seat. Instead, SMC has played safe and ordered its stock models with the conventional two-seater bench that’s optional on the Continent. If you’d appreciate the extra floorspace for a four-legged friend, you can still order a three-seater, while another possibility is a removable fifth passenger seat that slots into the side of the half-dinette and fills the aisle.
That’s not the only difference concerning spec, simply because British buyers like all the toys. So, while the UK Comfort Package is listed as a £1,995 option, it’s effectively how SMC equips its vehicles, adding cruise control, Traction+, a black grille and matching headlight surrounds, leather steering wheel, painted front bumper and radio preparation, as well as upgraded heating (Truma’s 6kW Combi with gas and mains operation).
You’ll already know that the Summit Shine is not competing at the ‘value’ end of the
