Buying left-hand drive could save you money…
SOMETIMES, when we’re out and about (no pun intended!), we spot a ’van on a dealer forecourt that just shouts “take a closer look.” That was the case at Choose Leisure, near Canterbury, with this Etrusco campervan.
For a start, it looked really striking and unusual in its all-black livery. Secondly, Etrusco is not the best-known brand in the UK, being relatively new here. And, perhaps most interesting of all, as pointed out by Choose’s new MD, Dave Williams, this example was a left-hooker. Now we photograph plenty of LHD ’vans (at launch events and shows on the Continent), but this one was sitting on UK soil, waiting to wear UK plates. Many dealers here are reluctant to stock anything with the wheel on t’other side but Choose is only about 40 miles from the tunnel, so, for a lot of local buyers, left-hand drive will make perfect sense.
And the argument in favour of LHD is even stronger if it can save you some cash. Chassis manufacturers usually charge more for right-hand drive (citing lower demand) and often there can be further sweeteners to help a left-hooker sell. Certainly, this looked like a lot of campervan for £66,000.
That said, the external appearance might be a bit, well, Marmite. Not only is it black all over (perhaps not the best colour if you’re heading off to the Med), but even the tinted windows ‘disappear’ visually into the bodywork. The lid of the pop-top is black, too, and so are the alloy wheels. Only the chrome strips and chevron logo of the Citroën grille provide some aesthetic relief. If you’re planning some wild camping, though, this ’van is sure to slip under the radar.
It’ll only become obvious that it’s a campervan if you raise the roof, something that’s usually an optional extra on these Etrusco campervans. It turns the CV 640 SB into a practical four-berth, with a really large roof bed measuring 2.12m by 1.43m. Better still, the bed sits on plastic springs, so it’ll be comfy for adults. Unusually, there’s a windup sunroof in the pop-top’s lid, too, so you don’t lose out on daylight when the roof is folded back down.
As you may have surmised from the numbering of this model, it’s based on the extra-long (6.36m) panel van. Etrusco also has 540 and 600 models in its CV range; this is their big brother with the benefit being in the rear bedroom.
Here, you can sleep lengthways – much better for popping to the loo in the night without waking your partner. The beds ar
