What should you be considering when choosing the best family motorhome? The Practical Motorhome Awards 2023 are on hand to help, as our judging panel pick out the winner of the best motorhome for families category, as well as revealing the shortlist, with vehicles from Rapido, Coachman, Rimor and more all featuring.

We also reveal some of our top recommendations for family vans from recent years too, with some of the best motorhome manufacturers appearing, including Auto-Trail, Swift and Chausson.

A large van with a huge overcab bed big enough for at least children is probably everyone’s idea of a motorhome (as opposed to a campervan).

In reality, the market has shifted very much more towards low profiles these days, and many of those are aimed more at couples who occasionally take children with them, rather than big roaring families.

Still, there is a market out there for families of four or more who want to go travelling, as we reveal here – you can also take a look at our best motorhome round-up for more inspiration.

This year’s winner – and our pick for the best family motorhome on the market – is the Rapido 854F; our judges loved its group friendly layout.

The winner of the best motorhome for families is…

Rapido 854F

The Rapido 854F 
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: TBC
  • MIRO: TBC
  • Length: 6.7m
  • Width: 2.35m

Reason to buy:

  • Family or group friendly layout

Reason to avoid:

  • Only four travel seats

Family motorhomes need to have enough space for everyone to get together. So a good rear lounge layout should fit the bill nicely. That is what the Rapido 854F has, especially for models produced this season. Why? Because the French manufacturer has ditched the recliner that previously formed the offside of this rear lounge. Instead you now get a proper settee. That means you can easily fit at least six around the table at the back of this motorhome, possibly more. Six matches the number of people who can sleep in it, if, in addition to the bed you make by lowering the table and the cab bed you also go for the optional drop-down bed here.

The lounge of the Rapido 854F 

This motorhome is ideally suited for family life in other ways too, even if it does have only four travel seats. There is heaps of storage, enhanced this year, in particular a huge wardrobe behind that rear lounge, with a full height hanging space. Also included within this section is an illuminated wine rack – a useful addition if the family you are travelling with is mainly adults. And this storage has been improved further this year with a retractable shelf behind the passenger seat.

There’s a good size washroom with a swinging partition, a kitchen worktop that is large enough to prepare family meals, and, perhaps most importantly, a good range of USB ports and other sockets for charging devices, all conveniently located.

Also shortlisted for the best motorhome for families are:

Coachman Travelmaster 565

The lounge of the Coachman Travel Master 565
  • Price: £122,000
  • Berths: 4
  • MTPLM: 4500kg
  • MiRO: 3650kg
  • Length: 8.06m

Reasons to buy:

  • Great spec, comfortable, luxurious interior

Reasons to avoid:

  • Requires a C1 licence, pricey

One of the things that can really lift a good family tour to a great family tour is being in a motorhome that offers plenty of kit – with everything you need at your fingertips, dealing with the ups and downs of family life is easy.

That’s what you’ll find in the Coachman Travel Master 565, which is rammed with gadgets to help make your tours more comfortable. The spec list includes a 140W solar panel, an electrically operated drop-down bed over the front lounge, stain-resistant carpet, and a practical, 850kg payload. The adults in the party (who’ll need to have a C1 category licence) will thoroughly enjoy driving it too, thanks to the Mercedes-Benz 170 HP Sprinter engine and nine-speed automatic gearbox.

Full review: Coachman Travel Master TM 565

Itineo SB740 Spirit Edition 

The Itineo SB740 Spirit Edition 

 

  • Price: £77,300.00
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 443kg
  • MIRO: 3057kg
  • Length: 7.42m
  • Width: 2.34m

Reasons to buy:

  • Special children’s area close to the washroom, spacious front lounge with proper family size table

Reasons to avoid:

  • Children’s lounge will be largely redundant once they have flown the nest

If ever there was a motorhome designed for children, it’s the SB740. It’s not just the bunk beds at the back. It’s the small children’s lounge next to them where two kids can easily while away a wet afternoon drawing or playing games. This converts into an extension of the bottom bunk to make it into a double if you actually have three children to find space for.

The central washroom next to this straddles the whole van. This means that they can potentially shut themselves off from the adult world, while also providing easy access to the loo if they need to get up in the middle of the night.

The lounge of the Itineo SB740 Spirit Edition 

All that means that you as adults could potentially have the spacious front lounge to yourselves, except of course for family mealtimes, when you can easily bring six people to sit around the pedestal table. The comfy overcab double bed, meanwhile, is positioned far enough away from the kids’ hustle and bustle for the two of you to get some peace.

The motorhome is well kitted out for a family holiday too. You get five travel seats fitted as standard, with Isofix fittings where appropriate. You get a 145-litre fridge, two large wardrobes, and yes, the option of an oven in the kitchen. And yet the overall MTPLM is still 3500kg, so anyone can drive this vehicle.

And this season this model comes as a special edition Spirit Edition too, so you get exclusive magnetic grey upholstery and other extras such as a leather steering wheel and black Fiat alloy wheels on the outside.

Rimor Kilig 9

The Rimor Kilig 9
  • Price: £59,495
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: TBC
  • MIRO: TBC
  • Length: 6.97m
  • Width: 2.34m

Reason to buy:

  • Great price for a family motorhome, lots of space to move about.

Reason to avoid:

  • With this layout, kids don’t really have daytime space of their own.

Italian brand Rimor has a strong reputation for building reasonably priced family-focused motorhomes. its new “entry-level” Kilig range, which runs on a Ford base vehicle, carries on this tradition. The Kilig 9 has no fewer than six travel seats, four of them contained within the double dinette you get in the front lounge. That leaves enough space for everyone to get along, even on a wet November afternoon in Bridlington.

The kid’s bunks at the back are placed right next to the washroom, so they should have no trouble finding the loo at night or early in the morning without disturbing you.

The motorhome has a good level of spec for a family too, with a 141-litre fridge with separate freezer, a three-burner hob, and plenty of that all essential wardrobe space. Yet overall the vehicle is still less than 7m long, so you won’t feel as if you are lumbering around driving it. At a pinch, with those four seat belts in the back, you could even use it to ferry your kids and their friends to school every morning.

Swift Voyager 584

The Swift Voyager 584
  • Price: £67,495
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: TBC
  • MIRO: TBC
  • Length: 7.85m
  • Width: 2.37m

Reasons to buy:

  • Great familiar Swift design, comfy lounge, huge garage

Reasons to avoid:

  • Cassette loo is on nearside, so access would fall within any awning.

The 584 is the first model to be launched in Swift’s new Ford-based range, and it should work fine as a motorhome for a smaller family. When you are travelling you can fold out two travel seats in the front lounge. Unlike many such seats they are easy to assemble without trapping your finger, and provide each seat occupant with a good amount of leg room and, perhaps most importantly, a view through each side window.

The interior of the Swift Voyager 584

Then when you arrive on site, it’s very easy to put everything back together and create a friendly lounge with a pedestal table and enough leg room for everyone to sit around it comfortably. This table can then be lowered electronically at night to make a large double for two kids while the adults get the large singles at the back.

In between these two bedrooms is a large washroom spread across the van, while the kitchen includes a two-way opening 133 litre fridge, a four-burner dual fuel hob, and a combined oven and grill. A flatbed (plateless) microwave is a dealer-fitted option.

Full review: Swift Voyager 584

These are the family motorhomes we shortlisted last year:

Last year, our judges picked the Adria Matrix Supreme 670 SL as the best family motorhome on the market; a combination of the excellent kitchen and the bright lounge helped it secure top spot. Here, you can see what we made of it, and the other shortlisted ‘vans.

Adria Matrix Supreme 670 SL

Interior photo of the living area in a Adria Matrix Supreme 670SL, winner of the best motorhome for families
  • Price: £75,895
  • Berths: 4
  • MTPLM: 3650kg
  • MIRO: 3150kg
  • Shipping length: 7.48m

Reasons to buy:

  • Bright lounge
  • Decent kitchen

Reasons to avoid:

  • No microwave
  • Toilet hatch likely to be accessed from within the awning if you have one

With its fixed single beds over a huge garage at the rear and a drop-down double over the front lounge, the Matrix has always seemed very much in the Continental style, and so perhaps not in favour with British families who prefer a cosy rear lounge.

For those with a sense of adventure, however, it is hard to beat, and it’s this which helped it take top spot and win the best motorhome for families category at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2022. With an enlarged sunroof that lets light flood in even with that drop-down bed, it now comes with a flat floor throughout courtesy of the new double floor that houses an expanded 115-litre water tank. So you shouldn’t need to fill up so often.

The side kitchen includes an Adria three-burner line hob, with a rectangular sink sitting on the left. There’s also a Duplex combined oven and grill, along with a 142-litre fridge, although we did note there isn’t a microwave.

The central washroom is split across the ‘van – on the offside, you’ll find a sizeable shower, while on the nearside, there’s a room that includes a salad-bowl-style handbasin. One thing to note with this layout is that the toilet is on the same side as the awning, meaning you’d most likely be accessing the hatch from within the awning.

Outside by the habitation door you will also find a clever little compartment that, besides enclosing the hook-up connection, also provides a space where you can easily store the hook-up cable, levelling blocks and anything else you need to set up camp quickly and easily.

The extra length of the 670 model means that as a family you shouldn’t be tripping over each other so frequently. That drop-down bed also fits much more seamlessly into the ceiling too, so tall people can avoid bumping their heads.

The Matrix also made it onto our best motorhome round-up, where we picked out the top models on the market.

Read our full review: Adria Matrix Supreme 670 SL

Elddis Autoquest 150

Elddis Autoquest 150 on a white background, shortlisted for best motorhome for families
  • Price: £51,969
  • Berths: 4
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • MiRO: 2909kg
  • Shipping length: 7.34m

Reasons to buy:

  • Roomy and light interior
  • Open central kitchen

Reasons to avoid:

  • Couple of redundant storage spaces

This island bed model feels much more spacious than its 7.34m length thanks to a clever design that leaves the central kitchen feeling very open. The partition also shuts off the front lounge, so kids can be put to bed there and adults shouldn’t disturb them.

You will find the interior is lovely and bright, thanks to three Hekis – the large mirror opposite the door then helps to spread this around. The design choice of not having the 95-litre fridge and freezer by the door helps to create a spacious feeling too.

We like the large rectangular sink you get in the kitchen, while the workspace is practical. As well as this, you’ll find a separate oven and grill, along with three large drawers under the sink. However, we did notice the shelf on the left is a bit redundant, while the pan locker beneath the oven has a wheel arch that takes up some of the space.

The washroom is well-lit, thanks to another Heki, with a large mirror repeating the trick from the lounge. We thought the salad-bowl-style basin is a bit on the small side though.

Something we really like is how you can use the concertina partition to close off the front of the ‘van, instead of the back – this is ideal when touring with toddlers, so you can put them to bed and close off the section. As a result, you then have the rest of the living space to relax in, as well as a second TV socket, if you want to watch TV in your motorhome. If you’re looking for the right product, be sure to have a look at our guide to the best motorhome TVs too.

Read our full review: Elddis Autoquest 150

Elddis Autoquest CV80

Elddis Autoquest CV80 on a white background
  • Price: £50,469
  • Berth: 4
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • MiRO: 3101kg
  • Shipping length: 5.99m

Reasons to buy:

  • Comfortable roof bed

Reasons to avoid:

  • Kitchen narrows by combined oven and grill

The first ever Elddis van conversion with a raising roof builds on an already solid design, with plenty of light coming through well placed rooflights and a well equipped upper storey so your kids shouldn’t feel shortchanged.

The family-friendly van has rear settees that, while not long enough to make two single beds, could be turned into a double. The roof bed – over 2m and sitting on slatted beams – is incredibly comfortable and our reviewer said it was a “real plus”. 

The lounge is a nice, roomy space, with four spotlights allowing ambient lighting. A nice touch is the shelf beneath the TV bracket – this would be a good place for cups of tea, although a folding table is also stored under here if you need something else.

The washroom door will open to seal off the area, providing some privacy; however, doing this may not be appreciated by anyone who’s cooking, as the fridge is on the ‘wrong’ side of the door.

In the kitchen, you’ll find a three-burner gas hob, complete with a Thetford Triplex combined oven and grill. As this is at the narrowest point of the galley, we found you will have to ensure no one barges past when someone is cooking. A large window and two LEDs provide plenty of light in here, while an extension will give additional space. 

The washroom itself has a small salad-bowl-style basin, complete with a tap that is pulled out and then hooked onto the wall when you want to shower. An opaque window ensures the area is nicely lit, but the shower tray only has a single drainage hole.

Full review: Elddis Autoquest CV80

Itineo Nomad CS660

Itineo Nomad CS660 on a white background
  • Price: £58,000

One of a range of new compact A-classes from Itineo that are just 6.61m long and 2.19m wide, this model still manages to include a lounge in the back for the kids that converts into a double and a bunk. And there’s an option of a fifth travel seat.

Dethleffs Globetrotter XLi-7850-2 DBM

Dethleffs Globetrotter XLi-7850-2 DBM parked on gravel by a building
  • Price: £119,990

This big bold A-class comes with a really flexible front lounge that with can either be a place for family TV viewing or somewhere even more of you can gather around for a great family meal.

Chausson Exclusive Line 660

Chausson Exclusive Line 660 on a white background
  • Price: £57,890

Like the Dethleffs, this new model includes a front lounge geared around a space where you can house a 32-inch TV – or you can use it for extended family get-togethers. Then at the back the kitchen leads straight back to a garage with external access – perfect for bikes.

Rimor Seal 12P

Rimor Seal 12P parked by trees
  • Price: £52,495

There are no fewer than six travel seats in this four-berth, so your kids could bring along extra friends for the day or to camp outside. In just 6.48m, there’s still room for a fixed adult bed and a separate shower too!

We also recommend the following best motorhomes for families…

Swift Edge 486

Swift Edge 486 on a red background
Swift Edge 486
  • Price: £48,255
  • Berths: 6
  • Belts: 6
  • L/W/H: 7.32/2.39/2.98m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre, 120bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 509kg

You would hope that the 2020 winner of the Best Family Motorhome category would make it into this list, and it does.

The 486 is part of the new budget-priced Edge brand launched at the start of the 2020 season. Its appearance means you can once again get a six-berth and six-belts Swift for under £50,000, which is good – although it is not the cheapest six-berth out there.

The interior excels in having room for everyone. The adults can retreat into the roomy and light-filled rear lounge, leaving the middle dinette completely free for the kids.

There is plenty of bed space too – in fact three doubles, made up from the rear lounge, the dinette, and the overcab. All are over 2m in length: the rear lounge bed is actually the smallest.

You don’t get a separate shower cubicle in the washroom, but it is still a good size. And the kitchen is large enough to include everything you should need for a large family. If you have an appropriate licence, you might want to go for the chassis upgrade too.

BUY IF… You have a big, bustling family

PROS
Big double beds throughout

CONS
No separate shower cubicle in washroom.

Read our Swift Edge 486 review

Sun Living S70 SP

Sun Living S70 SP parked up near trees

  • Price: £52,865
  • Berths: 5
  • BeltB :5
  • L/W/H: 6.99/2.29/2.88m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre 120bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 549kg

Adria’s budget range went through something of a transformation in the 2018 season with a completely new modern look inside and out and a whole host of innovations including a washroom that effectively disappears behind a rolling tambour door when you don’t need it. This, and an interior headroom of 2.10m, helps to create a really roomy interior. That means this van can easily accommodate five people in less than 7m without you feeling that you are tripping over one another. No wonder it won the Best Innovation category at our Motorhome of the Year awards that year.

To be fair, it can only accommodate so many in such a relatively short space by having a transverse bed over the rear. The other two doubles are a drop-down bed over the lounge (which does slightly reduce headroom there), and a bed you make up from the settees and table underneath, although this only measures 90cm wide, so is probably only for smaller children.

But that transverse bed means there is also a huge garage included in this motorhome, that is easily large enough for bicycles. It is also directly accessible from inside the motorhome, so acts as one very handy storage area.

The interior style, including the overhead locker with holes instead of handles, is probably more a matter of personal taste.

BUY IF… You like roomy interiors

PROS
Masses of interior space, good storage

CONS
Lower bed is a bit narrow

Read our 2018 Sun Living S70 SP review

Auto-Trail Frontier Scout

Auto-Trail Frontier Scout parked on gravel
Auto-Trail Frontier Scout
  • Price: £75,650 ex works
  • Berths: 4-6
  • Belts: 4-6
  • L/W/H: 8.04/2.77/3.10m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 4500kg
  • Payload: 780kg

With a choice of two large lounges, the Scout, revamped in 2017, has more than enough space for all the family, even on a wet British afternoon. There is a choice of belts and berths because you can opt for the lo-lline or hi-line option, and the latter includes an overcab bed. While both options cost the same, extra travel seats to bring the tally up to six are a cost option.

There is ample storage both inside and outside the van to take advantage of that large payload.
The kitchen straddles both sides of the aisle, and is well equipped, although workspace is perhaps at a premium. The washroom is well equipped too.

The only snag is that with all this included and a length of over 8m, you will need a C1 licence to drive this motorhome. Still, if you have that, this motorhome from an established British brand is not one to miss.

BUY IF… You want loads of interior space.

PROS
Roomy lounges, good choice of beds.

CONS
Kitchen workspace limited.

Read our 2017 Auto-Trail Frontier Scout review

Itineo SLB700

Itineo SLB700 parked
Itineo SLB700
  • Price: £59,100
  • Berths: 5
  • Belts: 4
  • L/W/H: 6.99/2.35/2.89m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 490kg

Itineo, which is part of Rapido, is most familiar to the UK as a manufacturer of budget-priced A-classes (although it does also do low profiles), so a larger model should be ideal for the family looking for a bit of style.

The SLB700 was also launched very much as a children’s model: in the back, opposite a pair of longitudinal bunks, it has a children’s dinette that converts into fifth bed and comes with a jigsaw-shaped carpet.

Such decor might begin to age as your children get older, but the bunks will stiff suffice: they are each 1.95m long.

Because the washroom is slung across the middle of the motorhome, with a partition door on the rear, this area can also be completely shut off if the children want to be on their own.

But there is still plenty of room around the front lounge in front of the L-shaped kitchen. There is plenty of storage too, with a large wardrobe right at the rear. The bottom bunk can also be folded up to allow more bulky items to be stowed.

BUY IF... You really want to entertain the kids.

PROS
Two lounges in less than 7m

CONS
You may need a payload upgrade

Read our 2018 Itineo SLB700 review

Swift Kon-tiki 675 Dynamic

Swift Kon-tiki 675 Dynamic parked on gravel near trees
Swift Kon-tiki
  • Price: £146,490
  • Berths: 6
  • Belts: 6
  • L/W/H: 9.04/2.35/3.24m
  • Base vehicle: Iveco Daily
  • Engine: 3.0-litre, 180bhp
  • MTPLM: 7200kg
  • Payload: 2105kg

This is really only one for families with serious money – and a C1 licence – and perhaps an interest in motorsports. The Kon-tiki Dynamic is an upgrading of Swift’s already upmarket Kon-tiki range, which is also ideal for families. Available exclusively through Brownhills, it is also currently Swift’s only motorhome range that doesn’t sit on Fiat Ducato. Swift has gone for the mightier Iveco Daily with an MTPLM of 7200kg so that it can provide a garage in here that is strong enough to hold a motorbike. Thanks to the extra payload you also get a 70-litre underslung LPG tank and a generator powered either by a 120W solar panel in the roof or its own 25-litre petrol tank. There’s also a battery charger, a 230-litre fresh water tank and a 145-litre waste water tank.

In short, even if you’re not necessarily mad keen on motorsports events, it’s still a great vehicle to take on a family adventure off-road somewhere. With two fixed beds at the back, it includes an overcab bed that the kids will love because it can be completely zipped away, and a front lounge that can either have parallel settees and two four travel seats in tola or a full pullman dinette with six seats.

BUY IF… You really want to go off-grid

PROS
Loads of tech to help you survive off-grid

CONS
The price

Rear our 2019 Swift Kon-tiki 675 Dynamic review

Chausson 634

Chausson 634 parked with a tennis court in the background
Chausson 634
  • Price: £46,980
  • Berths: 5
  • Belts: 5
  • L/W/H: 6.39/2.35/2.92m
  • Base vehicle: Ford Transit/Fiat Ducato
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 632kg

Chausson is an ideal brand for families because it is keenly priced, while many of its designs are hugely innovative and so allow a large number of people to be accommodated in a relatively small space.

The 634 is no exception. It has two lounges within its 6.34m of length. Although neither of them are particularly large, they do provide you with separate areas where adults and kids can relax. Then at night time two bunks come down over the front lounge – without obstructing the door – so larger children can go in there. The adults get to enjoy a double that drops down just behind the rear lounge, while the fifth and smallest bed is made up from the rear lounge itself and is a perfect place for the youngest in the family who may still want to be near his or her parents.

Storage at the back here is more than you might need for a family too. And that’s partly because when you raise that bed back up again, you get access to a 300-litre storage area right across the back of the van – a system Chausson calls Easy Box. This can also be raised and lowered itself, to make more room in the already capacious garage below.

The only downside to this ingenious motorhome is a rather cramped kitchen.

BUY IF… You like to see every bit of space count in a motorhome.

PROS
Everyone gets a fixed bed.

CONS
Kitchen is a bit cramped.

Read our 2019 Chausson 634 Flash review

Bailey Advance 70-6

Bailey Advance 70-6 parked with a house in the background
Bailey Advance 70-6
  • Price: £50,129
  • Berths: 6
  • Belts: 6
  • L/W/H: 6.96/2.49/2.28M
  • Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer
  • Engine: 2.2-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 610kg

Previously known as the Advance 665, this best selling motorhome made it through the revamp that Bailey’s most budget-price range went through in 2018.

It sits on Al-Ko’s low chassis, so everyone should be able to get in, and inside they will find a very UK-friendly layout with a large rear lounge and a large front dinette opposite the kitchen, which is now even brighter thanks to the inclusion of a rooflight. This arrangement means there are six travel seats, so everyone can come with you.

Both lounges make into large and comfortable double beds, while a drop-down bed sits over the front lounge to complete the picture.

You don’t get a separate shower in the washroom (this is a budget van, and anyway not having one allows you to have more room for everyone inside).

BUY IF… You want a tried and tested family layout.

PROS
Large beds, loads of space.

CONS
No separate shower, and payload may be a bit tight for six.

Read our 2018 Bailey Advance 70-6 review

Chausson 711 Travel Line

Chausson 711 Travel Line parked on grass
Chausson 711
  • Price: £56,750
  • Berths: 4
  • Belts: 4
  • L/W/H: 7.46/2.92/2.35m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 426kg

Travel anywhere with a family long distance in one of today’s coachbuilt motorhomes, with their bench-style travel seats in the back, and you are soon likely to hear an ongoing refrain about such seats being uncomfortable. Travel anywhere in Europe with a UK-built motorhome and you may also be worried about everyone always having to get in and out using a habitation door that is on the wrong side when you park on a roadside.

The Chausson 711 Travel Line gets around both these issues by only having cab-style seats in the back, and by having a habitation door on either side. So wherever you park, you can do so knowing that you should be able to get out in safety. Surprisingly, this extra bit of engineering doesn’t seem to have sent the price of the motorhome rocketing up too much either – not if you compare it to similar-sized Chausson vans.

These two rear cab-style seats, together with the swivelled front cab seats, can make a useful front dinette with a pedestal table. But there is still room for a more homely style lounge in the rear with a large round table. A double bed drops down over each lounge.

The central washroom even manages to have room for a central shower. The kitchen opposite it would be cramped if you try to include an oven, however, and because of the rear cab seats, the extra door and the drop-down bed, the front area is limited when it comes to storage.

Still, this motorhome should provide you with miles of complaint-free touring ahead.

BUY IF… You are likely to do a lot of long-distance touring, particularly in Europe.

PROS
Everyone has a fixed bed and can travel in comfort.

CONS
Storage up front is limited.

Read our 2018 Chausson Welcome 711 Travel Line review

Auto-Trail Imala 732

Auto-Trail Imala 732 parked up
Auto-Trail Imala
  • Price: £55,140
  • Berths: 4-6
  • Belts: 2-4

Introduced in 2018 to bring a luxurious rear transverse island bed model into Auto-Trail’s most affordable coachbuilt range, the 732 is a great choice for a family – as long as you include the £825 option pack that gets you two forward facing travel seats. With the hi-line option this motorhome could potentially sleep six, but there is no option to increase the number of seats again, so if you are sleeping that many, two will have to travel separately.

Still, it’s a great option because this layout brings you somewhere the parents can retreat to for a bit of luxurious privacy, plus a large front lounge with plenty of room for everyone. There is also a great amount of storage too, even if you do go for the hi-line option, where the inclusion of the overcab means you don’t get so many overhead lockers up front.

The washroom comes with a separate shower cubicle, and there may have been some thought to family equality here, because it is accessible from the front even when the rear bedroom is partitioned off.

BUY IF
You want to go with the family, but need privacy too

PROS
Great front lounge and storage

CONS
There is only a maximum of four travel seats

Read our 2018 Auto-trail Imala 732 review

Adria Coral Supreme 670 SLT

Adria Coral Supreme 670 SLT parked on gravel with a caravan in the background
Adria Coral Supreme 670 SLT
  • Price: £68,865
  • Berths: 3
  • Belts: 5
  • L/W/H: 7.5/2.3/2.85m
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.3-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • Payload: 333kg

Since the 2018 season Adria Corals have come with double skylights that make the interior feel incredibly roomy, even with a family on board. This motorhome also comes with three travel seats in the back, because along with the two that form part of the L-shaped settee on the nearside of the front dinette, the offside small settee also converts into a backwards-facing travel seat.

That said, the bed that is made up out of this dinette is really only big enough for one, so if you are coming with a larger family you might want to bring an awning too with a bedroom inner, or encourage the kids to bring a tent.

The real plus point here is the room that is left to the parents in the rear: two single beds that are each 6ft 8in long and can be pulled up at the top for comfortable reading. Because they are single they also allow access to what is a huge rear washroom.

Since 2018 Corals have also come with a 10-year water ingress guarantee, so this investment, while substantial, should prove long-lasting.

BUY IF… You as parents need somewhere to relax in

PROS
Airy front lounge, huge bed

CONS
Second bed is not particularly big

Read our 2018 Adria Coral Supreme 670 SLT review

How we choose the best motorhome for families

When you’re touring with your family, you’ll want a ‘van that will give everyone a comfortable experience. As a result, when we’re picking the standout options on the market, we make sure we look for the things that will meet the needs of day-to-day on tour life. These include the space it gives you all, how easy the washroom and kitchen are to use, and the value for money it provides, amongst other things.

We’re in a good position to assess these things – between us, our expert team has decades of industry experience, and we’ve developed a good sense of what to look out for when picking out the best family motorhomes.

We’re regularly putting ‘vans to the test too, with hundreds of these included in our motorhome reviews section – more are added all the time. We provide honest feedback on each ‘van, highlighting the pros and cons – you can find out more about our testing process on our About Us page.

Our Owner Satisfaction Awards also provide a useful insight into the experience our readers are having.

Combining this lets us start to draw up a preliminary list of the ‘vans that could be worth including, which we then whittle down to create a final shortlist. We’ll explain why they’re among the best motorhomes for families, as well as highlighting the pros and cons of each ‘van.

You can find more motorhome reviews in our Motorhome Buying Guides – check out Best A-class motorhomes and Best 4-berth motorhomes. You can also take a look at our best campervan guide, to help you find the ‘van for you.

You can also find out more about the different manufacturers out there by reading our guide to the best motorhome brands.


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