Best motorhome under 7m (seven metres) 2024

If you’re looking for a motorhome under 7m (seven metres), you’ve come to the right place, as the Practical Motorhome Awards 2024 are here to help. We’ve worked tirelessly to use our decades of industry experience to judge the best motorhome under 7 metres, which we reveal here, as well as the shortlisted contenders.

Seven metres is almost the sweet spot for ‘vans. This is because you’re buying a motorhome with the practicality of a relatively short base vehicle, making it easy to drive, while also getting a bit more space than you’d find in smaller options. This gives the designers more room to work with, so extra features can be packed in. A motorhome under 6m would be easier to park up, but a motorhome under seven metres isn’t so long that you’ll have too many difficulties parking either, and should also mean you avoid having to pay a large premium on ferries.

This year, we’ve picked out the Rapido 606F as the best motorhome under seven metres – we really like what has been fitted in, with features including an airy front lounge.

In our guide, you can see what we made of it, as well as the ‘vans we shortlisted, which include models from Dreamer, Chausson and more. You can also see the models that were shortlisted at last year’s Awards, which feature ‘vans from the likes of Elddis, Benimar and Dethleffs.

You can find out more about the various manufacturers in our round-up of the best motorhome brands.

The winner of the best motorhome under 7m is…

Rapido 606F

• Price: £74,800
• Berths: 4
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MiRO TBC
• Payload TBC
• Length 6.69m
• Width: 2.35m

Reasons to buy:

• All that family-friendly space in a relatively short van.

Reasons to avoid:

• You’ve got to like drop-down beds

The French company’s new end washroom layout proved so popular at the Rapido launch this summer that it was quite hard to manage to get a proper view of it. It’s not hard to see why.

Within a length of just 6.69m (so possibly just still not too much trouble to park) you get a large airy front lounge with face-to-face seats, a side kitchen that should suit most of your needs en route, and an enormous rear washroom that gives you access to an equally capacious garage behind it. And you can sleep four people in here, thanks to the bed that drops down from above the bed you make up with the settees and table. Those settees can also be folded up to make two travel seats, so four people can travel in this vehicle too.

This layout, of course, is not unique to Rapido. But this is a great example of how it can be realised.

We also shortlisted the following for best motorhome under 7m…

There are some other standout models on the market that made the shortlist – we round them up here. You can also take a look at our guide to the best motorhomes for more ‘van inspiration.

Dreamer Select D68+

• Price: £67,300
• Berths: 3
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MiRO: TBC
• Payload: TBC
• Length: 6.36m
• Width: 2.05m

Reasons to buy:

• A van with really sporty look, and so many extras thrown in

Reasons to avoid:

• It’s not the roomiest on interiors

The D68, a 6.3m-long van with single beds in the back that currently runs on a Peugeot Boxer, has always been one of Dreamer’s best selling models for some years now. This year it gets a little boost and comes as the Select D68+.

This gives you 16-inch alloy wheels, iron grey or artense grey bodywork and a Skyview window, while inside you have a natural wood finish combined with matt black switches, taps and handles. The exclusive Dakota upholstery has a more automotive look with black piping, and partly quilted cushions. One other benefit is that Dreamer’s Comfort+ pack comes as standard.

This gives you extra driving safety features, two armrests on the cab seats, a DAB multimedia system with a 6.8in screen and a reversing camera, living room and bedroom speakers, a flyscreen on the door, and an automatic inverter so you can drive with the gas heating on.

Pilote Atlas A656D

• Price: £84,500
• Berths: 4
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MiRO: 3015kg
• Payload: 485kg
• Length: 6.60m
• Width: 2.20m

Reasons to buy:

• A vehicle that can handle even the poorest of tracks, but is still comfortable inside

Reasons to avoid:

• Its relatively high price really only makes it of interest to people who do want to go off-road.

Like the Rapido, the second model in Pilote’s new Atlas range includes a spacious rear washroom and a face-to-face lounge with a drop-down bed in the ceiling. We like the van’s chunky looks, in particular the decals designed to imitate the luton, and its very masculine interior.

Its slightly higher price, at least when compared to the similar size Rapido, is probably down to it being based on the new Ford Transit Trail, a chassis equipped with limited slip differential. This is not quite all-wheel drive, but it should make it easier for you to reach those slightly more out of the way off-road places you have always wanted to visit in a motorhome.

Full review: Pilote Atlas A656D

Chausson X650

• Price: £76,990
• Berths: 4
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MiRO: TBC
• Payload: TBC
• Length: 6.36m
• Width: 2.1m

Reasons to buy:

• You get a comfy lounge and enough space to dress completely in private – all in less than 7m

Reasons to avoid:

• One more moving platform is of course one more thing to get jammed

The X650 is the second model launched in Chausson’s X range, designed to be a crossover (hence the name) between a low-profile and a van conversion. Whatever you think of that, it is remarkable what it manages to include in less than 6.5m of length.

You get a large front lounge with face-to-face settees, a drop-down bed over it, a good size kitchen and washroom, and even, at the back, a garage that doubles up as a dressing room when it is not needed as a garage (ie when you are on site – see our best motorhome sites guide if you’re looking for some inspiration).

All you do is flick a switch, and the cupboard with shelves at the back slowly extends all the way to the floor, leaving you loads of space to get dressed in privacy. It certainly impressed us enough to shortlist the ‘van for our best motorhome for innovation category too.

The van’s narrower-than-usual width means you should be able to get around those windy lanes or tight city streets more easily too.

These are the ‘vans we shortlisted for the best motorhome under 7m last year:

These are the ‘vans that were shortlisted for the category at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2023. The category was ultimately won by the Elddis Autoquest 115, with its comfortable spacious lounge and end kitchen just two of the factors that helped it secure top spot.

Elddis Autoquest 115

• Price: £62,889
• Berths: 2
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MIRO: 2619kg
• Payload: 881kg
• Length: 6.6m
• Width: 2.2m

Reason to buy:

• Great, spacious bright lounge, useful end kitchen

Reason to avoid:

• No permanent fixed bed

You could say it is the difference between Continentals and Brits, but when Erwin Hymer UK redesigned its end kitchen two-berth to fit on a slightly longer chassis this season, what use did the designers make of the extra 45cm that gave them in our winner of the best motorhome under 7m at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2023? They didn’t, as some might expect, expand the corner washroom. The motorhome still has a shower that shares space with the washbasin area. Instead they have lengthened the parallel settees.

When you think about it, that makes perfect sense. It means you have more room to entertain your friends, and it’s great news for the taller ones amongst us if you prefer to keep the settees as single beds. But even if you make up the double, this arrangement means there are still two seats each side that remain as seats. As these seats are the right side for the kitchen, they make a perfect place for whichever one of you is the early riser to perch and have a cup of tea. But it could even mean that, if you want to, you can leave the bed made up all day and still have a place to sit.

Not expanding the shower also means this motorhome’s ample wardrobe remains intact, so you can bring along pretty much any clothes you want.

This year there’s a larger rooflight too, and you get the option of a solar panel on top.

Full review: Elddis Autoquest 115

Benimar Tessoro 483

• Price: £69,995
• Berths: 4
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MiRO: 3049kg
• Payload: 451kg
• Length: 6.70m
• Width: 2.30m

Reason to buy:

• Great garage and wardrobe, high level of kit, spacious end washroom

Reason to avoid:

• No internal access to garage

This popular motorhome is also one that really impressed our judges.

It’s a ‘van which comes with a high level of kit, with highlights including a solar panel, and exterior BBQ and shower points.

A sunroof and eight LEDs create a well-lit interior, no matter the time of day. We really liked the big pedestal table – this can move in most directions, rising and falling at the flick of a switch.

The well-equipped kitchen is ideal for cooking too. You get a three-burner gas hob, a combined oven/grill and a 145-litre AES fridge-freezer, as well as a microwave and an extractor fan.

The spacious end washroom is also excellent, coming with a window and providing room to get dressed in.

The comfortable drop-down bed can be lowered to just above the travel seats, with access provided by a ladder. Another bed can be made by using two infill cushions.

Storage is good too, with a vast wardrobe going across the back of the ‘van, providing both shelves and a hanging rail. We also like the size of the rear garage too.

Full review: Benimar Tessoro 483

Dethleffs Just Go T6905

• Price: TBC
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MIRO: 2968kg
• Payload: TBC
• Length: 6.99m
• Width: 2.33m

Reason to buy:

• Great shower, spacious kitchen

Reason to avoid:

• Not always a popular layout

Just making it under the the 7m borderline, the T6905 is part of Dethleff’s new, entry level and simple to understand Just Go range, based on a Ford Transit. This one features a French bed with a corner washroom. Such motorhome layouts have not always proved very popular in Britain, but this one might cause some people to think again. Not having the central area divided up by any partitions means you get a huge feeling of space in the front dinette and the L-shaped kitchen, and in this interior the bright upholstery and warm wood feels cheerful too.

And while unusually the shower in the corner washroom is in front of the loo, the designers have cleverly separated the two not with a curtain or concertina doors but with a partition that swings over to leave you with a completely clear showering space.

Carthago c-compactline I 143 LE

• Price: £103,890
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• MIRO: 2955kg
• Payload: 545kg
• Length: 6.95m
• Width: 2.12m

Reason to buy:

• Great washroom, build quality

Reason to avoid:

• The price

If you need a motorhome that is under a certain length, you don’t need to restrict yourself to budget models. This fixed single bed model is actually only the third shortest in German luxury motorhome manufacturer Carthago’s c-compactline range, but it still comes in (just) at under 7m. We like it because that little bit of extra space pays dividends. You get a significantly larger washroom with a separate shower cubicle and a wider kitchen, with more space in the aisle in between them to get dressed in the morning.

The c-compactline, as its name implies, is also designed to be narrower than usual – this model is just 2.12m wide, so it should be able to get down more windy country lanes. Last year the range was reengineered to take weight out of it so that all models have a MIRO of less than 3000kg, thus increasing your payload. This year the interiors have been given a complete redesign, with noble cherry woodwork and high gloss ivory on locker doors.

How we pick the best motorhome under 7m

When we’re looking at this category, we consider a range of factors, including the value for money the motorhome offers and the space it provides.

Ever since Practical Motorhome launched in 2001, we’ve been regularly putting the latest ‘vans to the test, many of which can be found in our motorhome reviews section. Every review we carry out is fair, and we make sure we highlight both the pros and cons of each ‘van. Our About Us page reveals more about our testing process.

Combining this with our Owner Satisfaction Survey, where our readers reveal how they got on when buying their ‘van, puts us in a strong place to begin to create a shortlist, which we then begin to whittle down, until we reach our final list.

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