Today, German premium motorhome manufacturer Hymer has revealed a brand new model – and it is coming to the UK.
Practical Motorhome’s Test Editor Mike Le Caplain was at Hymer’s exclusive launch event in Stuttgart, where the covers were pulled off this new A-class for the first time.
Prices will start at €85,000 (around £67,000) and at first there will be two model variants, the ML-I 560 and the ML-I 580. The former features a transverse rear double bed, while the latter (pictured) has twin rear single beds.
This pair of new Hymer motorhomes will weigh in at between 3500 and 4200kg, with payloads of up to 200kg.
The base vehicle for both these A-classes will be the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, powered by a 129bhp engine as standard, 163bhp and 190bhp power units available as options. And, as you might expect given the base vehicle, it’s packed with high tech safety features, such as ABS, traction control, ESP, brake assist, hill start assist, electric brakeforce distribution, trailer stability and twin airbags – and these will all be fitted as standard.
The new Hymer ML-I 560 and the ML-I 580 will be available in the UK next April. This new integrated range (Hymer’s name for A-class motorhomes – the ‘I’ stands for ‘integrated’) follows the Hymer ML-T line-up, which launched earlier this year with the same base vehicle and model numbers. This was the first of Hymer’s 2015 ’vans to break cover and offered a real point of difference to the rest of the market.
For a start, the new range was an all-German affair, so buyers could expect impeccable engineering from both the base vehicle and the habitation areas, and a perfect fusion of the two parts. Given the closeness of the two celebrated manufacturers, both geographically and in cultural terms, a high degree of collaboration between the two companies was to be expected, meaning an excellent product for the end user.
We tested the ML-T last spring and found nothing to dispel this view. The base vehicle is excellent to drive, with comfort and refinement in equal measure. Being rear-wheel-drive, handling is different from Hymer’s usual chassis partner, the front-wheel-drive Fiat Ducato, and we particularly enjoyed the 3.0-litre engine upgrade fitted to our test ’van.
As it sports the same underpinnings as the ML-T, the new ML-I range will benefit from the very latest emissions standards courtesy of Euro 6 engines, which puts Hymer at the head of the pack (the sixth-generation Fiat Ducato and its Peugeot Boxer sister are powered by Euro 5 units).
It seems clear that Hymer has enjoyed sales success with the ML-T range and aims to take it one stage further by offering its A-class customer base the benefits of another Made in Germany collaboration. A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis fully integrated with a top-quality habitation area carrying two on-trend layouts at launch? There really doesn’t seem much to dislike.
So if you’re scouring the new motorhomes for sale pages and an A-class might be your cup of tea, you’ve now got two new and apparently very appealing options to choose from, from one of the best established brands on the market.
One model will have a transverse rear double bed, while the other has twin rear single beds