The smallest Hymer has been updated
CONTINENTAL campervans generally come in three flavours, all with fixed beds and all linked to the length of the base vehicle. Often you can tell the size by the model numbering system, with anything that has a ‘540’ after its name being the shortest, medium-wheelbase van now available in the Fiat Ducato line-up. Hymer doesn’t make things quite as easy to comprehend, preferring names to numbers, but marque devotees will know the Yellowstone (which we featured in April 2023) as the biggest and this Ayers Rock as the smallest. In fact, if you really and truly believe that smaller is better in the world of leisure vehicles, you’ll not find anything more petite that offers full washroom facilities on board.
Indeed, this is currently the most compact vehicle in the whole Hymer range, so we couldn’t resist taking a closer look at the example we spotted in the glassy, classy showroom of Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld at Stafford. It might have been dwarfed by the A-classes all around it but, loaded with options, the price of just under £104,000 was not for the faint-hearted.
As you’d expect, though, this is very much a premium campervan, with Hymer referring to the top-notch materials used inside – cork, leather, ceramics and solid worktops borrowed from the award-winning Venture S. Its maker also claims that these are fully winterised vehicles designed for off-grid living. The Hymer Smart Battery System 2.0 offers up to 240Ah and the fresh water tank is said to be the biggest in its class, at 110 litres. And details such as the electric waste water drain valve are usually only found on bigger motorhomes.
Externally, the graphics are simple, the wheels are 16in alloys and the habitation windows sit flush with the body. The most notable feature here is the optional pop-top with a three-sided mesh front section for those balmy Mediterranean nights. Of course, thus equipped, the Ayers Rock becomes a four-berth, too.
Down below, it’s the expected half-dinette lounge but there are features you might not anticipate. Despite the pop-top, there’s still an overcab sunroof to flood the area with light. The dining table not only folds in half to form an ideally sized surface for a couple of lattes or a laptop, but it can fold flat against the wall to free up even more space (so important in such a small ’van). The rear travel seat isn’t just an upright bench, either, as it can slide forward and recline for extra comfort (with the table extended). Then, there
