Twin sliding doors for daily driving, plus an on-board loo when camping
THE Renault Trafic is often overlooked as a base vehicle for small campervans, overshadowed by the Ford Transit Custom as an alternative to the ubiquitous VW. But maybe that’s changing as the new Ford is awaited and both Adria and Bürstner are launching Trafic-based pop-tops in the UK. Those have side kitchen layouts, though, while this new Tour-CL from Concept Multi-Car (CMC) is already on sale and has a totally different, rear kitchen floorplan, as well as an on-board cassette toilet and twin sliding doors. Plus, it still has the Renault’s price advantage – around £6,000 – compared with an equivalent VW T6.1 conversion.
Prices for the Tour-CL start at £67,000, based on a Trafic Extra LWB with 130bhp engine and six-speed manual gearbox – over £12,500 less than a Ford Nugget Plus, which is perhaps its closest rival. And it’s not as if the Renault goes back to basics, as spec includes air-con, rear parking sensors, Easy Link satnav with 8in display, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic lights and wipers, 17in alloy wheels, electric folding mirrors, Active Emergency Braking System, Driver Attention Alert and front fog lights.
As for the size of the ’van, at 5.48m long, the L2 Trafic is longer than long-wheelbase versions of both the T6.1 (5.30m) and Ford Custom (5.34m). At a smidge over 2m high, it may sneak under some height barriers but by no means all.
All of the Tour-CL’s cabinetwork is at the rear, so the pop-top – from Reimo – hinges from the front. When raised, it offers up to 2.30m headroom in the kitchen. But the Tour-CL has another key feature that marks it out from most rivals – twin sliding doors. Not only is this very welcome when camping in hot weather, but it means rear passengers can alight safely onto the pavement wherever you stop.
Those travelling in the back are in for a treat, too, as this HemBil design uses Reimo rear seats instead of the RIB units more commonly seen in this type of layout. They simply seem much better proportioned. Then, turning the lounge into a bedroom really couldn’t be any easier. With the front seats already rotated, the back seats’ squabs flip over and their backrests fold into the space left behind. Your feet go onto the cab chairs where wedge-shaped infills level things off. Both single beds measure 1.88m long and they’re firm but comfy.
Alternatively, of course, you can sleep in the pop-top. Here, the roof bed benefits not only from the long-wheelbase van but also the squarer sides of the Renault compared with a VW; the result
