Those looking to buy the best budget motorhome will find they are spoiled for choice, as there are some fantastic models available – and you may be surprised by the spec they come with too.
For those who are looking for the best motorhome at the budget end of the market, you will find there are practical layouts that can provide all that you need for an enjoyable touring experience.
Our expert panel have used our years of collective industry experience to choose the winner, as well as highlighting the ‘vans which were highly commended at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2025. We’ve set the criteria for our pick of the budget motorhomes for the 2025 season as being under £65,000. You can also see the options from last year’s Awards, as well as some of our top budget picks from recent years, with vans from some of the best motorhome manufacturers including Chausson, Swift, Pilote, and more all appearing.
This year, the Etrusco V6.8SCF was our pick for the best budget motorhome on the market – we really like how it has a good spec, yet at a price that is cheaper than average.
The best budget motorhomes
Shortlisted at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2025
Etrusco V6.8SCF
Chausson S695 First Line
Roller Team Kronos Compact 590
Our top picks from recent years
Itineo PS700
Chausson S514 Sport Line
Chausson 520
Swift Edge 494
Pilote Pacific 696D Essentiel
Swift Edge 486
The best budget motorhome
Etrusco V6.8SCF
- Price: £61,700
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 4
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 2674kg
- Payload: 462kg
- Length: 6.83m
- Width: 2.14m
- Base vehicle: Ford Transit
Reason to buy:
- Compact, cheaper than average, and well specced.
Reason to avoid:
- The small kitchen could annoy serious chefs.
The best budget motorhome at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2025
Compact low-profiles – narrower and usually shorter than average – have become something of a trend in recent years, but few seem as well thought out and put together as this little number – and at such a decent price too.
For just over £60,000 you get a van that comes in at a perfectly manageable 6.83m in length. But it still manages to include two fixed single beds which are very nearly 2m long, and a comfortable front lounge with sociable parallel seating and a pedestal table that can be folded to allow a maximum gateway through to the cab.
The washroom includes a partition that swings to reveal a shower, and while the side kitchen may be a little cramped, Etrusco has made clever use of clip on shelving to maximise workspace.
Etrusco was founded less than a decade ago by its owner the Erwin Hymer Group as a means of bringing together a bit of Italian flair with German engineering. If this is the result, it is impressive indeed.
Chausson S695 First Line
- Price: £57,790
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 4
- MTPLM: 3500
- MIRO: 2643
- Payload: 857kg
- Length: 6.59m
- Width: 2.1m
- Base vehicle: Ford Transit
Reason to buy:
- There’s loads of space for you to get up in here.
Reason to avoid:
- It could be cramped if there is more than two of you for long.
Highly commended at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2025
Chasson usually does well under any “budget” or “innovation” category, and this season is no exception. Its compact “S” range started out with two models, one with a traverse bed and one with two single beds.
It returned last year after a brief hiatus caused by supply chain issues and this year has been expanded with this innovative French bed model. It’s a French bed, yes, but lift it up and you have an enormous hanging wardrobe, and enough space around it to create a great dressing area. You get a spacious side kitchen, a swinging partition washroom and a comfy front dinette too – all in just over six and a half metres.
First Line is the more basic option when it comes to cab and chassis spec. So you don’t get alloy wheels, for example. But you still get a skylight, cab blinds, cab air conditioning, cruise control and automatic headlights.
Roller Team Kronos Compact 590
- Price: £57,990
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: TBC
- Payload: TBC
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 2
- Length: TBC
- Width: 2.15m
- Base vehicle: Ford Transit
Reason to buy:
- Great spec at a good price.
Reason to avoid:
- Extra travel seats are a cost option.
Highly commended at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2025
The 590 is the first in what is promised to be a new compact range of low profiles from Roller Team, and very impressive it looks too. For £57,990 and in just 6.39m??? you get a end washroom model that still boasts a large face-to-face lounge with a drop-down bed above it.
Storage is impressive too: with an end washroom there won’t be a lounge, as such, but you do get a large cupboard on the nearside rear corner that can be accessed externally and partly internally. Kitchen workspace is good too, while the washroom boasts a separate shower cubicle and a sturdy basin. You might need to like the colour red, however: there is a lot of it in this van.
Itineo PS700
- Price: £61,800
- Berths: 6
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: TBC
- Payload: TBC
- Length: 6.99m
- Width: 2.23m
Reasons to buy:
- Spacious inside, plenty of room for a family to relax
Reasons to avoid:
- Sixth travel seat is only an optional extra
Itineo, owned by Rapido, made a reputation for producing budget-priced A-class motorhomes before it moved into low-profiles. But this new model for the 2024 season is something of a novelty too because it is the first time the company has offered a six-berth motorhome in its low profile range.
And the good thing with our pick for the best budget motorhome is that it doesn’t feel like your average six-berth, with everyone getting on top of one another. With two bunks stashed away at the back, there is enough room for a huge front lounge with parallel settees around a large table where all the family can get together.
The table and settees then make up into a huge double bed for the adults, with another drop down bed above it.
And best of all, you can get all of this, with spec that includes Truma Combi 4 heating, a two-burner hob, a 136-litre fridge and a 136cm-high garage, for only a little over £60,000 brand new. As standard you even get five travel seats and you only have to pay extra if you really need a sixth one.
Full review: Itineo Cozi PS700
Chausson S514 Sport Line
- Price: £56,990
- Berths: 2/3
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 2600kg
- Payload: 900kg
- Length: 5.99m
- Width: 2.10m
Reason to buy:
- Great exterior, clever storage options
Reason to avoid:
- Limited kitchen
Looking for a coachbuilt motorhome in this price bracket usually means settling for a white box that doesn’t really inspire great excitement with anyone. Not so with the newly revised S514 from Chausson. You get an exterior that instantly sets you apart from everyone else on the caravan park because it’s grey, and grey all over, not just on the sides. (It’s a unique colour in the motorhome market too.)
With the black alloys as well, and the black edging to the locker doors, people will more likely think you are in some sort of sophisticated adventure vehicle than in a plain old transverse bed van conversion.
But there’s cleverness on the inside too, which again you wouldn’t expect at this price. The way the “butterfly bed” folds up when you don’t need it means you have space to store an upright bicycle at the back and still have space to get dressed further front – quite a consideration in any van that is less than 6m long. And yet the front dinette is not uncomfortable either, and provides an occasional extra berth.
Full review: Chausson S514 Sport Line
Chausson 520
- Year: 2020
- Layout: Rear washroom
- Sleeps: 4
- Travel seats: 4
- MTLPM: 3500kg
- Length: 5.99m
Reason to buy:
- Incredibly spacious, luxurious washroom
Reason to avoid:
- No large garage
If your idea of one of the best small motorhomes will be one with the Maxi Lounge layout, the 2020 Chausson 520 could be the option for you. It not only provides brilliant design in a length of only 5.99m, but manages to do so without compromising on luxury either – impressive.
The Maxi Lounge layout is simple – it sees two facing settees sitting beneath a drop-bed. Then, at the rear, you’ll find a spacious washroom and dressing room. What impressed us the most with this option is how the sense of roominess that this layout provides is still achieved in the 520, despite it being less than six metres. You still get a remarkable feeling of space when the fixed bed is tucked away – in fact, it feels like the type of lounge that would be an enjoyable space to pass a wet afternoon in.
The washroom feels open and luxurious too.
Full review: https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/reviews/motorhome-of-the-year-awards-chausson-520Chausson 520
Swift Edge 494
- Year: 2020
- Layout: Transverse rear island bed
- Sleeps: 4
- Travel seats: 4
- MTLPM: 3500kg
- Length: 7.32m
Reason to buy:
- Comfortable island bed, great value – perfect for first-timers
Reason to avoid:
- Other options have a better payload
This four-berth was named Best Budget Motorhome in our 2020 Motorhome of the Year awards where our judging panel was impressed by how the spacious interior and excellent kit.
If you’re a first-time buyer and are looking at buying a used motorhome which is budget-friendly, we’d say consider the 494. It’s a model which combines entry-level touches with a floorplan that is luxurious, with a large transverse bed extending across the rear and space throughout. At the time, we said, “you’ll find everything you could need here, but you won’t feel as though you’ve paid for anything you’re not likely to use.”
The level of kit provided impressed us too, with a spec including Truma Combi heating, a Dometic 8-series fridge, an oven and grill, cab air-conditioning, Duvalay mattresses on the beds, pleated blinds on the windows… and the list goes on.
Ideally, you get a decent payload of 525kg to maximise the amount of storage on offer too.
Full review: Swift Edge 494
Pilote Pacific 696D Essentiel
- Year: 2020
- Layout: Rear washroom
- Sleeps: 2
- Travel seats: 4
- MTLPM: 3500kg
- Length: 6.99m
Reason to buy:
- Comfortable finish, generous headroom
Reason to avoid:
- Variety of packs and accessories can put the price up considerably
Usefully coming with two fold-out travel seats as standard means that while this is a two-berth as standard (at the time of its release, an additional double was a £340 option), you can transport four.
You’ll find there’s room for six around the table, and, despite the drop-down bed, headroom impresses. It’s also good to see that the bed doesn’t overly obscure daylight either – instead, light can stream through the windows. We liked how easy the drop-down bed was to lower too. If you find your ‘van comes with the extra double bed, you’ll be pleased to hear how easy it is to set up – even once you’ve done so, there’s a small seating area! At the rear, there is also a huge washroom.
A large garage can also be found outside, which we reckon would be big enough for a couple of bikes – helpfully, there are holds to secure them too.
Full review: Pilote Pacific 696D Essentiel
Swift Edge 486
- Year: 2020
- Layout: Rear lounge
- Sleeps 6
- Travel seats: 6
- MTLPM: 3500kg
- Length: 7.32m
Reason to buy:
- Plenty of workspace in kitchen, layout offers zones for adults and children
Reason to avoid:
- Not the cheapest of 6-berth models
The Edge 486 so impressed our judges, it won Best family motorhome for 2020. It’s a six-berth, with six belted seats; ideal, then, for transporting a large family. The layout is well designed for six occupants: it has various ‘zones’ that allow the adults to escape from the youngsters during the evening, and children can make the mid-dinette their base for the duration. The rear lounge is certain to appeal to adults we reckon, combining a good size with plenty of windows to allow lots of light to stream in.
For a ‘van which sleeps six, you’re always going to need a kitchen of a decent size. That’s certainly something seen in this six berth, with an ample amount of work surface, plus the option of using a foldaway flap to achieve more.
The smallest of the three double beds is found in the rear lounge, but even here, we think it’s a good size – they’re all 2.14 x 1.31m upwards. Another is found in the overcab area, while the final one is made in the dinette. We think this is an impressive ‘van, to the extent that we also picked it as one of the best used motorhomes.
Full review: Swift Edge 486
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There are some fantastic models in this price bracket offering different layouts and features