Trying to fit two adult-size beds lengthways into a vehicle that’s less than 6m long, yet still managing to package a decent washroom and kitchen, is clearly something that gets campervan designers’ creative juices going. Many brands have brought out new ’vans based on this idea in recent years, some more successful than others.

The latest is German brand Bürstner with its new Habiton campervan, launched this year as part of a major overhaul of the brand. The designers here are working on the assumption that you won’t need both beds during the daytime, and won’t need all of the front lounge during the night.

So the washroom that sits between these two areas slides forward at night, giving you two full-size beds, and back again during the day, giving you enough space to open out the front lounge fully. This all sounds great, of course, but does it work smoothly in practice and should it be in the discussion for one of the best campervans?

Well, the Habiton is initially available in two formats, both based on a Mercedes Sprinter: Habiton X, which we named the best 2 berth campervan with a shower and toilet, and is slightly more geared towards the off-road market (and over £12,000 more expensive), and standard Habiton. I went to see the latter at TMD Motorhomes near Redditch.

The cab and lounge in the Bürstner Habiton 6

The cab is standard sleek Mercedes, and Bürstner has done much to continue this automotive style in the front lounge, with a continuous rear bench all in the same charcoal grey with red honeycomb piping.

The cab in the Habiton 6
Mercedes Sprinter cab is suitably plush and well laid out

The clip-on table rests on just one leg, so felt just a little bit unstable, although that does mean it’s easily folded away up against the wall if you don’t need it.

The lounge
Cab and lounge is a perfectly comfortable place to relax and eat off the clip-on table

When you come to slide the washroom forward, you will find USB, USB-C and mains sockets easily accessible here for any of those campervan gadgets.

The kitchen in the Bürstner Habiton 6

The kitchen only has a tiny amount of workspace on the raised section between it and the bed. With the door swung back fully the two-burner hob is more than usually exposed to the outside, so it’s good to see that both the hob and the sink have covers that double up as windbreaks.

The kitchen in the Habiton
Lifted covers also double as windbreaks for exposed hob (left); two-burner hob is minimal and there’s not much worktop (right)

The campervan fridge sits at the end of the peninsula, so can easily be reached from both inside and outside, ideal if you’re relaxing in one of the best camping chairs on your pitch. There is useful strip lighting here, too.

The washroom in the Habiton 6

As mentioned, the washroom slides forwards and backwards depending where you are in the day. This is a relatively straightforward process, because the bench seat is easily released with a lever and slides along a rail to give room for the washroom to take up the space behind it.

The washroom
The sink folds up and the loo slides out. The washroom also has two very shallow cupboards

Bürstner also provides you with a toilet that slides into a cupboard and a large washbasin that folds up above it, so you have an unusually large amount of space to shower in for a campervan (although the tap doubles up as the showerhead).

Beds in the Bürstner Habiton 6

With the washroom in its forward position, you then have room to extend the nearside bed into something that would suit an adult. For all that palaver it’s not quite as long as we were expecting it to be – just 1.73m, so well short of 6ft.

Sleeping in the Burstner
With the beds folded up there’s a decent amount of space in the back to sit or store items (left); Six-footers on one side only, but infill cushions easily convert twin beds into a comfy double (right)

But the offside bed is almost two metres long, and you can easily make the two singles into a double by using the infill cushions.

Our test model came with a fixed roof, but an optional pop-top roof is available for £6130.

Decided you’re looking for ways to improve the sleeping experience in your current ‘van? Then don’t miss our tips on making a campervan bed more comfortable.

Storage in the Bürstner Habiton 6

For storage, the front lounge only comes with two open shelves and a forward-facing overhead locker.

The overhead locker in the front lounge
There’s a good-size overhead locker above the front lounge

There are two cupboards under the nearside bed, but some of this area would be partly compromised by the washroom moving back and forwards.

The lockers running down the offside
Four decent lockers run down the offside over the kitchen and bed

However, the beds do fold up to allow for a huge amount of open space for storage when you are on the move. We didn’t have access to the ’van’s confirmed payload figure, but it should be at least 375kg.

One gadget you may be wondering about taking on tour with you is a power bank. If you’re still in two minds, see what we have to say when we consider “is it worth buying a portable power station?”

Alternatives to consider

You could take a look at the Malibu Relax 640 LE R, an innovative campervan which offers value for money and a clever washroom.

Or how about the Auto-Sleepers Active FG635? It’s a versatile campervan which provides a good kitchen and washroom, as well as coming with an optional pop-up roof.

Technical specification

  • Price: From £71,295
  • Sleeps: 2
  • Belts: 2
  • Base vehicle: Mercedes Sprinter
  • Engine: 2.0-litre, 150hp turbodiesel
  • Length/width/height: 5.93/2.04/2.73m (19’4”/6’6”/8’9”)
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • MiRO: 2830kg
  • Payload: At least 375kg
  • Water (fresh/waste): 110/90 litres
  • Leisure battery: 95Ah
  • Gas: 1 x 2.75kg

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