Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus 2025

The Nuevo EK has been a popular fixture of the Auto-Sleepers line-up for some years now. But this year, the whole range has been given a new look inside and out, and perhaps more importantly, Auto-Sleepers as a brand has become the first manufacturer in the world to fit Truma’s new CombiNeo heater, offering continuous hot water, as standard on all its 2025 models.

Go for any other brand (even one from Truma’s home German market) and you will have to wait until at least 2026 for that particular luxury. This is something of a coup for us here in the UK.

But what does all that mean for a two-berth end-kitchen model such as the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus, whose other benefits include being fitted with an Al-Ko chassis to provide a lower centre of gravity and more stability when you’re on the road? Does it offer what you would expect in the best two-berth motorhomes?

I picked up a 2025 Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus from Marquis Suffolk and took it on a short trip to Run Cottage Touring Park, near Woodbridge, to find out.

Exterior and cab

There are smart new graphics on the Nuevo EK Plus this year, in a coppery brown colour that goes well with the vehicle’s silver side panels.

Thanks to the lower Al-Ko chassis, there is room for an extremely useful skirting locker on the outside of the motorhome, which is in addition to the handy external access to the nearside underseat area.

The external barbecue point and mains socket are right where you need them to be, underneath where any awning might be placed, while the cassette access (not forgetting to make sure you know how to empty a motorhome cassette toilet, first!) and mains hook-up are helpfully on the other side.

Most unusually, given that this is a motorhome under 6m long (5.99m) and without an especially long rear overhang, it comes with two corner steadies, both of which are easily accessible through dedicated holes in the fairing.

Apparently, Auto-Sleepers’ buyers like to have the reassurance such extra support should bring to the rear section of the motorhome.

The cab is standard Fiat Ducato fare, with central drinks holders and well-decked-out captain’s seats. They are the only travelling seats available in here, though. Fold-out travel seats in the back are not available, even as an option.

My test model did come fitted with the welcome optional addition of an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

It also had the Premium Pack, a £3350 option that eats 40kg into your payload. Inside the cab, this will get you air conditioning, cruise control, a colour reversing camera, an integrated touchscreen control that includes DAB radio as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and cab blinds that you pull up rather than across, in place of cab curtains.

On the outside, the pack includes alloy wheels, a spare wheel and carrier, a 100W solar panel, heater blankets for the fresh- and waste-water tanks, wheel arch insulation blankets, and a roll-out Thule awning.

Another important point to note here is that this thoughtfully designed motorhome includes an underslung 25-litre gas tank. That should allow for much more storage capacity in a 5.99m-long vehicle, where space for your kit is always going to be at a bit of a premium when you’re loading your motorhome.

Lounging and dining in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

The Al-Ko chassis of the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus means there is a completely flat floor in here, so no step down from the cab.

A comfortable lounge is always a hallmark of the best motorhomes, and here, the cab seats swivel and with the long, comfortable settees, I think you could easily seat eight in the lounge.

There are six new upholstery options this year: three grey leather shades (costing £4000 extra), a half leather option (an additional £2000) and two fabric choices, including Como Oro, which my test model had.

This provides four very smart scatter cushions, two of which double up as bolsters on the side in the lounge.

However, they are sadly not quite as large as Auto-Sleepers’ scatter cushions used to be in the past, when you probably didn’t need to bring any pillows on tour with you, because they served just as well.

There are coordinating curtains, too. Your children or grandchildren might take a shine to the holds these come with, which close magnetically. They look remarkably like the kind of thing teenagers like to adorn their wrists with. You have been warned!

You get a choice of tables here – the standard foldaway table, with space for at least four places, and a pedestal table near the cab seats, for when it is just the two of you and you are really only after a snack. Both of these tables are stored in the wardrobe nearby.

The opening sunroof up front, the rooflight in the ceiling and the large windows all let in plenty of daylight.

At night, there is good ambient light behind the lockers, as well as lights on either side of the rooflight, and movable spotlights under the lockers. But although there are also six small spotlights high in the housing for the sunroof, rather annoyingly, there are no lights next to the cab seats, which are the best place for reading at night.

Owners of the best motorhome TV will be pleased to hear you get sockets for a TV at the rear of the passenger side settee, and more USB and USB-C ports, as well as a mains socket, under the other settee.

Kitchen in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

End kitchens motorhome layouts are usually popular with anyone who enjoys cooking in their ‘van, but this kitchen goes way beyond the average here, particularly when it comes to the provision of workspace.

Not only is there a small amount by the rectangular sink, but just across the doorway, there’s a sizeable worktop at a similar height above the fridge.

This has two extensions, one coming out to the centre and another taking up some settee space – although given that it will mostly just be the two of you here, this is hardly going to be much of a sacrifice, unless you choose to site a TV there. The keen cook could almost shut themselves off for a real Masterchef display.

The main kitchen unit comes with a dual-fuel four-burner hob, complete with a domestic-style trivet, and an extractor fan above. Below is a separate oven and grill, and above, a Dometic microwave. The fridge isn’t one of Dometic’s two-way opening models, and it’s only half-height. But I’d say that is probably enough for two on tour.

Washroom in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

Roll back the tambour door and you will find a corner washroom that feels homely, thanks to the domestic-style tiling in the shower cubicle at the back. Unusually, the basin is also in here, partly because the tap doubles up as the shower head. You might not expect that in an £80,000 motorhome, but it does help to save space.

Outside the cubicle, the toilet has been positioned in front of an opaque window. There is a mirror on the front wall, lit by the rooflight in the daytime and a ceiling light at night.

The space here feels larger than you would expect for this size of motorhome, so perhaps having the handbasin in the shower cubicle is an advantage.

Sleeping in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

Auto-Sleepers says that both of the settees can be made up into single beds that are over 2.13m long; this involves swivelling the cab seats right round and creating extensions that way. If you prefer your bed in one piece and solid, as singles, both settees are under 2m.

Still, it doesn’t take much effort to pull out the platforms and make a large, comfortable double. I reckon you might have to turn over the cushions to lessen the impact of the knee roll. But all of the light switches are close at hand when you tuck yourselves up for the night.

Storage in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

Whether you’re buying a new or a used motorhome, storage is always going to be important.

In the case of the Nuevo EK Plus, the skirt locker and the external access to the underseat area mean that there should be plenty of space to store outdoor furniture where it can easily be retrieved when needed.

The bed platforms make it a little trickier to reach the underseat areas from the inside – there are no internal access flaps. But if you remove the base cushions on the settees, the slats stay up on their own.

The passenger side area is completely clear, and there’s much more space than usual underneath the other settee, even with the heater positioned there, because the new CombiNeo heater is much smaller than its predecessors.

There are two well-placed overhead lockers on the driver side and three down the passenger side, in each case with some open shelving in between.

These are all a generous size, with push-button catches in the handles, and their doors slant backwards, so they won’t fly open en route.

The almost full-height cupboard is more than enough for two, although you might have to navigate getting the table out at mealtimes.

Above the fridge is a glazed cabinet, housing Auto-Sleepers’ traditional set of wine glasses. There’s also a handy storage slot for magazines, brochures and so on, just by the door.

The kitchen includes a tall cupboard on the right and some small but sturdy drawers and lockers, which will be useful when you’re kitting out your motorhome – those near the bottom large enough for big pans, even if they are a stretch to reach.

Thanks to the microwave, there is only one overhead locker here, but there are two cubbyholes on the right, a useful place for keys and fobs. The washroom has two small cupboards.

Equipment in the Auto-Sleeper Nuevo EK Plus

The unique selling point in this vehicle, at least for this year, has got to be the CombiNeo heating system. It really does make using the shower or washing up much less of a hit and miss experience, and because it takes up relatively little room, you have a great deal more storage space. But I should also flag up the new control panel that comes with it.

This is far more user-friendly than its predecessors. You don’t have to wonder so often whether a flashing icon means off or on, and far more is spelled out in easy-to-read, clear text.

That aside, the equipment here is fairly standard for a motorhome of this price, although customers might possibly expect the reversing camera to be fitted as standard, rather than as part of an optional pack.

Buy if…

You are sure that it will only ever be the two of you using this vehicle, whether for work or leisure, and you love to cook while you are on tour.

Alternatives to consider

It may not have the CombiNeo system seen in the EK Plus, but I thought the Ford-based Auto-Trail Excel 620S would work well for couples, coming with a spacious lounge and a well-designed kitchen.

For couples with a grandchild, the Benimar Tessoro 840 could be another to consider – it’s a smartly designed three-berth which has an impressive washroom, good garage storage, and a bright lounge.

Technical data

Technical spec

• Price: £87,500 OTR
• Sleeps: 2
• Belts: 2
• Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
• Engine: 2.2-litre 140bhp turbodiesel
• Length/width/height: 5.99/2.32/2.87m
• MTPLM: 3500kg
• Payload: 581kg
• Water (fresh/waste): 102/71 litres
• Leisure battery: 100Ah lithium
• Gas: 25 litres underslung
• Contact: auto-sleepers.com

Base vehicle

• Chassis: Fiat Ducato
• Engine: 2.2-litre 140bhp
• Power: 140bhp @ 3500rpm
• Torque: 350Nm @ 1400rpm
• Transmission: Six-speed manual (optional eight-speed automatic)

Conversion

Fiat Ducato base with Al-Ko chassis, colour-coordinated front bumper and door handles, scratch- and impact-resistant GRP body with platinum sides, including GRP rear panel with Hella LED lights, aluminium skirts with skirt locker, double-glazed opening windows with blinds and flyscreens, rear corner steadies, external access to nearside seating, opening sunroof, external BBQ point, mains and TV socket, Metalarte exterior door with sliding flyscreen and central locking, 25-litre underslung gas tank

Lounging and dining

Privacy blinds and flyscreens to all windows, choice of leather or fabric upholstery, LED spotlights, roof lighting and ambient lighting, seat tops on gas struts, freestanding folding table, pedestal table, MPK rooflights with LEDs

In the kitchen

Dual-fuel four-burner hob with separate oven and grill, Dometic microwave oven, 12V extractor fan with lights, kitchen roll holder, melamine crockery set

Sleeping

Front double: 2.12 x 1.63m, or two singles: 2.13 x 0.7m

Equipment includes

Truma CombiNeo heater with continuous hot water, mains sockets, 12V sockets, Truma iNet control panel, Sargent EC700 electrical system with EC900 LCD control panel

If you’re interested in a pre-owned option from the same brand, take a look at what Gentleman Jack had to say about a used Auto-Sleeper Custom Air, a campervan which a sophisticated road manner and a well-equipped galley.

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