Hobby is launching a budget range for the 2020 season, while the line-up of compact low-profiles that it launched earlier this year is also being expanded with a new model.

Elsewhere, the overall number of models available from the German company has shrunk slightly across the ranges, although UK prices have only slightly edged up.

A Hobby under £50,000

In recent years, Hobby motorhomes have seemed to be pricier than models of similar spec from other manufacturers. So fans of the brand should be pleased to discover that all four motorhomes in the new range, the Optima On Tour, cost less than £50,000 ex-works.

This includes the 6.99m-long T 65 GE with fixed single beds, or the T 65 FL with a French bed.

The latter is also available as the T 65 HFL with bunk beds in the back. The final model in the new range, the T 65 HKM, features a full dinette in the front with a drop-down bed, and a two-tier bunk at the back. This is a new layout for Hobby, and provides a total of six berths.

All four models, which are based on a 120bhp Euro 6d-TEMP Citroën Relay, feature a compact kitchen with an extension and a 140-litre fridge.

The budget range still manages to include a handy pull-out tray for the bottle in the gas locker, while the waste-water tank is insulated and heated to prevent it from freezing, and the GRP floor comes with XPS heat insulation. All garages are also heated and insulated, and come with industrial-style flooring. These ‘vans also have a very impressive internal headroom of 2.05m.

Addition to the Edition

Hobby launched its compact On Tour Edition range, which is 2.16m wide, at the CMT show in Stuttgart back in February, and the company claims it has already become a best-seller.

The new layout for the season is the V65 GQ island-bed model – a relative rarity among compact motorhomes. The bed itself is adjustable, with a large storage space underneath.

With an optional third berth made up from the front dinette, the ‘van provides a compact kitchen with an extension, 140-litre slimline fridge, pull-out shelf in the gas bottle locker, and a heated and insulated garage and waste-water tank. It also has four travel seats and a GRP floor with XPS heat insulation.

The new ‘van joins the V 65 GE and V 65 GF models with, respectively, fixed single beds and a transverse bed. All are based on the Citroën Relay, and have the same 2.20-litre, 120bhp Euro 6d-TEMP engines as the On Tours.

The new model costs £51,900 (the other two are £51,600) and Hobby has been keen to keep pricing simple. So you won’t find any option packs. There is, however, a long list of extras, including an external shower (£192) and gas socket (£226), a TFT control panel (£372), and Truma Combi 6E heating instead of Combi 6 (£624).

Looking wider

In total, Hobby is making 26 different models for the UK market, divided between the three Vantana van conversion ranges, four Optima low-profile ranges and the Siesta De Luxe overcab range.

Four models have been deleted from the firm’s mid-market Optima De Luxe line-up – the T 70 E, GQ and HGQ and the T 75 HGE. A similar number have gone from the more upmarket Optima Premium – the T 65 FL and HFL, the T 70 F and the T 75 HF.

For the 2020 season, both Optima De Luxe and Optima Premium are based on a Fiat Ducato with a 140bhp engine as standard.

There remain six Vantanas – two each in On Tour, De Luxe and Premium – and three Siesta De Luxe models.

The Vantana models now come with a handy light in the underbed storage area, while there is new grey upholstery in the On Tour models and beige/grey in the Premiums.

Only the Vantana On Tour models are fitted with Fiat’s new 120bhp Euro 6d-TEMP engine – the other two ranges gain the 140bhp version.

There’s also a new beige upholstery colour scheme in the Optima De Luxe models, and grey for the Optima Premium range.

All of the overcab Siesta De Luxe models now come with striking anthracite upholstery, although they have only a 120bhp Euro 6d-TEMP Fiat engine as standard.

UK prices for continuing models have generally increased by less than £1000, the company says.

Our pick: On Tour Edition V 65 GQ

Compact motorhomes are very much a focus of attention in the market these days, so it is good to see that Hobby’s designers still manage to produce one that has the luxury of an island bed. With internal headroom well over 2m, you shouldn’t feel too cramped in this well-planned motorhome, even if the narrower overall width means that you can get down some smaller city streets and country lanes.