Auto-Sleeper Nuevo - Practical Motorhome

Verdict

Great standard specification, attractive inside and out but probably a little too small for long-term touring.

Pros

Good standard specification
Large washroom for size of ‘van.

Cons

Small sofas and bed
Expensive for size

Living

Auto-Sleepers has provided an end-kitchen arrangement with the habitation door at the rear nearside. While this creates a nice end-kitchen layout, freeing up more space in the lounge, it makes entering the motorhome a bit tight, and moving around the kitchen is awkward if more than two people are on board.
Kitchen space feels limited. The interior is helped, though, by the abundance of roof lights and windows which combine to flood the ‘van with natural light and so make it feel more spacious than it is.
With the floorplan of the ’van focused on providing a comfortable lounge spaces, it’s no surprise that it’s better equipped for lounging than dining. There’s room for four to dine at a freestanding table, and room for four to lounge on the facing sofa, or six with the cab seats swivelled.
A Beko flatscreen TV, fitted on an adjustable arm, is standard – it sits above the worksurface on the nearside.

Kitchen

Being British, an oven and grill is standard. It also has a three-burner hob with one electric hotplate and adjustable mixer tap in the sink and a bin built into the habitation doors. There’s also a splashguard by the hob.
One of the Nuevo’s best features is the recessed metal drainer which is part of the sink unit. Unlike the flimsy plastic drainers present in many ‘vans, this one does the job and needn’t be dried after use. Extra work surface comes from popping a glass cover over the sink.
The main section of work surface is above the 86-litre Dometic fridge and has an extra slide-out section. The slide-out adds 52 x 47cm to the existing 63 x 51cm worksurface, which is handy, although when pulled out nobody can walk past it.

Washroom

The washroom features a movable wall that swings out to form one of the shower doors, which also has the sink and cupboard attached. Another door swings out from the wall opposite to section off the shower.
The shower has a large head and a refillable, pump-action soap dispenser on the shower wall, which can also be accessed when washing your hands in the sink. Other nice features include a door through to the motorhome’s main cupboard which enables you to get to your clothes, and a recessed pocket in the back of the swing-out wall, which holds toiletries.

Beds

The lounge doubles as the sleeping space, so the facing sofas can be used as two single beds, or assembled to make one double bed.
The assembly mechanism in the Auto-Sleeper is beautifully simple: simply depress two black buttons and the sofa bases and backs collapse. The cushions fit perfectly and the bed assembles in ten seconds. It has its drawbacks, though: the sofa cushions have boards built into their backs so that they can slide into place, but it means that there’s no slatted base, so condensation could be a problem. Also, because the Nuevo is shorter than some rivals, the bed is shorter because the offside wardrobe cuts into it. Still, the double bed stretches across the width of the vehicle to easily accommodate people who are more than six feet tall.

Storage

There’s plenty of interior storage space but exterior storage is a little lacking. Still, there are two nearside exterior lockers (one a wet locker), and supports to hold up the sofa bases. However, the exterior locker is only 30cm deep and the narrow opening under the sofas makes loading bulky gear a struggle.
Inside, there are four lockers on either side of the lounge and a main offside wardrobe which is tall enough for hanging suits and dresses.