Verdict
The Ford Transit-based Benimar Tessoro 494 is a dream to drive, with a cab that feels comfortably like a car’s, and a very powerful engine.
Thanks to the automatic gearbox, you’re sure to enjoy a smooth ride, too.
It’s also a dream to sleep in, whether there are two or four of you: bed space – both in the island bed and the drop-down example – is very generous.
The cook hasn’t been forgotten, either: there’s a high-spec kitchen, and this area feels well-planned and designed.
The two-part washroom is also practical and spacious.
There are only two niggles you might encounter: the 320kg payload, and the small dinette.
If you can live with both of these, the Benimar Tessoro 494 should be on your must-see list.
And to see other Benimar motorhomes for sale, click here.
Pros
It is a great ’van to drive with a very automotive cab – and we liked the £1750 automatic gearbox
There’s loads of space in the rear bedroom and lots of storage, too
Cons
The dinette is the one area that feels tight for space – make sure there is enough room for you
Be sure that you can live with the 320kg payload
Benimar makes motorhomes in sunny Peñíscola, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
It’s the kind of place where many a motorcaravanner might like to see out the worst months of winter.
So it seems fitting that the motorhomes produced there have made such an impact in the UK.
Since they were reintroduced in an exclusive deal with Marquis Leisure two years ago (and flipped to a UK-friendly orientation) they have proved a great success, with the dealership introducing new models and ranges every year.
It started out with the Fiat Ducato-based Mileo line-up, but recently added the Ford Transit-based Tessoros, with a cab designed to look and feel more like that of a car.
Our test model – the Tessoro 494 – has a rear island bed and central washroom.
It also has the £1750 option of a six-speed SelectShift automatic gearbox, which allows you to change to manual if you prefer, and to lock gears.
We tested the ’van out in the dead of winter, and on two different occasions at opposite ends of the country, with a long and varied drive in between.
You shouldn’t be pushed for storage space anywhere in this motorhome
Living
Inside the accommodation door there’s a grab handle, and you find controls for the electrics just above you, plus two pockets for keys.
The Benimar Tessoro 494 features a front lounge, but it’s not the biggest that we’ve encountered.
Unlike in British motorhomes, Continental designers tend to prioritise space elsewhere, assuming that the ’van’s occupants will be more tempted to dine outdoors, because the weather is that much better.
As such, lounges in Continental motorhomes can seem a little small for our tastes.
That’s the case here: you can seat four adults to dine, but it does feel a little squashed.
The situation is vastly improved if you’re travelling as a couple; in that case, there’s plenty of space here for you both to spread out and relax.
A fixed pedestal table sits between the sofas and the cab seats – it’s set quite high, so small children may need a booster seat to allow them to reach it.
The table top can be rotated by 90°, allowing for real flexibility. It can also be folded in half, so occupants can get in and out of the lounge to the kitchen area with ease.
The area is really well-lit, too, even with the drop-down bed above, thanks to the good-sized sunroof.
LED lighting (including a snazzy panel down the side of the kitchen partition), two spotlights from the cab and ambient lighting help brighten up the evenings.
There are speakers in the lounge for the cab stereo, and there is a TV and mains socket in the panel behind the driver.
Kitchen
The Benimar’s kitchen is L-shaped, so the chef can continue to chat to occupants sitting in the lounge – it’s a great space and the design feels very well thought out.
There’s workspace available near the sockets, and a spice shelf in the corner between the rectangular stainless-steel sink and the four-burner dual-fuel hob.
The latter has a transparent cover, so daylight still comes through the window, even when the hob lid has been lifted.
The rooflight over the aisle also has an extractor fan.
There’s only one overhead locker here, which is also compromised by having a vent for an extractor fan.
What looks like a sizeable cupboard under the combi-oven below the hob turns out to be just a couple of small shelves, because of the gas bottle locker’s location.
But underneath the sink there are three large soft-close drawers, the top one designed for cutlery and the bottom one easily big enough for pots and pans.
On the nearside, above the 145-litre AES fridge and microwave, there is another locker that you could use for food, although it is a bit of a stretch up.
This also contains the Truma iNet and solar panel box, and, bizarrely, a roof vent.
We assumed that this was due to layout ‘mirroring’ in order to meet UK expectations.
Washroom
The design of the washroom, spread across the centre of the ’van, places the toilet on the UK nearside.
That does mean you’ll probably have to go into any awning you have fitted to empty the cassette.
The toilet itself is also set high, partly to get over the wheel arch. Small children would almost certainly have to dangle their feet.
That aside, this is a great washroom and another improvement on the front-lounge area.
There is a good-sized handbasin, with an unshelved cupboard underneath, and another shelved cupboard above the toilet.
There is also a long mirror, and both a soapdish and a toothbrush holder.
The whole room is well lit, both day and night, and even with the door closed, there is room to get around.
The shower room on the other side is also partly taken up by the wheel arch, but that doesn’t really pose too much of a problem because there is still room to move – and the arch provides a useful platform on which you can rest shampoo and shower gel bottles.
Here you also get two drainage holes, a chrome riser bar, lighting and an additional rooflight featuring a flyscreen.
Beds
When you step back into the rear bedroom in the Benimar Tessoro 494, you realise why there’s a bit less space available up front in this motorhome.
This area really is super-comfortable, and, thanks to judicious spacing of heating vents, very cosy, too.
There’s plenty of room to walk around and get dressed here, even before you take advantage of the rather complicated system that allows you to roll the bed back to create a daybed, and access the two large drawers underneath.
There is a step up to both sides of the bed, but here you’ll also find two wardrobes (the offside one is for hanging, while the nearside one has shelves), and a pair of bedside tables, with two USB sockets handily included in the offside one.
There are small unshelved lockers over the bed.
The 1.90m x 1.39m (6’2” x 4’6”) bed itself is extremely comfortable, and the whole area is well lit, with two large windows and a rooflight.
If there are more than two of you on tour, the other double bed drops down easily over the front dinette – it also measures 1.90m x 1.39m (6’2” x 4’6”).
Although it can be lowered to different heights, you don’t have to remove any headrests for even the lowest of them.
However, the ladder to reach the bed is something of an exact fit in terms of length.
Once you are up there, you might find headroom a little restricted, even with the bed set in the lowest position.
But the bed itself is perfectly adequate, and there is a handy striplight for reading.
There are curtains both sides for privacy and to keep out the light, although the cab also has blinds.
Storage
The garage at the back of the Benimar Tessoro 494 isn’t really tall enough for you to store bikes upright.
But you could probably manage to get a couple of fold-up models in here, along with your outdoor furniture.
Do check your weights, however, because the Tessoro 494’s 320kg overall payload isn’t wildly generous for a family of four, especially if the kids are teenagers.
Because of the drop-down bed, the overhead lockers in the front dinette are a limited size.
Kitchen storage, however, is fine once you get used to it, and there is sufficient space in the rear bedroom for you to store enough clothes for a world tour.
You shouldn’t be pushed for storage space anywhere in this motorhome.
Technical Specifications
| Payload | 320 kg |
| MTPLM | 3500 kg |
| Shipping Length | 7.38 m |
| Width | 2.30 m |
