Verdict
The Esprit T7150 DBM’s crowning glory is its king-sized island rear bed. Each occupant gets a wardrobe, bedside table and reading light, plus three pinlights sunk into the pelmet overhead. It’s well-lit by a pair of large windows and a rooflight, and there’s ample walk-around space – with the washroom doors open.
Best of all, the fixed island bed measures 1.98m x 1.45m (6ft 6in by 4ft 9in), so a good night’s sleep should be guaranteed.
Pros
Huge fixed island bed in the rear of the ‘van
Two wardrobes
Lounge for five
Half dinette turns into a single bed
Looks classy
Separate shower cubicle
Great value for all this luxury
Ideal for couples
Cons
Cutlery drawer is at floor level beneath the oven in UK models
Very little kitchen worktop area
Restricted leg room around the toilet
Dethleffs’ annual model launch is always a daunting prospect, thanks to the sheer breadth of models that the German manufacturer offers. The middle-ranking Esprit is a case in point: while most producers are content with a straightforward model range, Esprit offers four layouts, in a choice of either low-profile or A-class guise.
We went to Lowdham Leisureworld in Gunthorpe, Nottingham, to test the attractive Dethleffs Esprit T7150 DBM, a low-profile coachbuilt launched for the 2015 season.
The Esprit T7150 DBM’s crowning glory is its king-sized island rear bed
Living
Entry is straight into the warm and welcoming forward lounge area. Wisely, Dethleffs has eschewed the familiar L-shaped offside settee arrangement and stuck with a more space-efficient half-dinette affair, complemented by a plump two-seater settee just inside the door and a pair of swivel cab seats. The floor is flat from cab to conversion, so headroom is a little above average, and the acres of rich, mid-toned wood, duo-tone locker doors and chrome-effect catches are set off by an array of lights. It’s well-lit by day, too, thanks to a large rooflight and a large opening window just aft of the cab area.
The TV – and, to judge by the profusion of adjacent sockets, central gadget charging area – lives just inside the door above a shelf that’s just the right size for a digi box or DVD player and, lower down, a couple of handy shoe drawers. The drinks locker sits above.
Nearby, classy barometer-style analogue controls – in lieu of the usual LEDs – cluster above the door, adjacent to the less aesthetically pleasing LCD Truma control panel.
Kitchen
The chef’s area – which Dethleffs calls a ‘Gourmet Centre’ – lives just behind the lounge. As is often the case with Continental L-shaped kitchens, worktop space is sparse, but it has the oven (a Thetford Duplex) that’s so often missing from European ’vans. The sink is part of a single unit with the three-burner hob.
Storage seems a bit meagre, but there are a couple of good-sized shelves and veggie wire racks to the right of the oven, a huge cutlery drawer (albeit located near the floor), three good-sized cupboards at eye level and – above the 190-litre fridge-freezer opposite – a locker that looks big enough to swallow cereal boxes.
Washroom
There’s a step up into the rear bedroom area, but it doesn’t feel like the narrow corridor that sometimes blights ’vans of this design. As you enter, the washroom is split left to right behind floor-to-ceiling tambour doors, with the shower on the right (as you look back) and the toilet/washbasin area to the left.
The toilet might feel on the small side with the door pulled across, but at least there’s a wooden door partition to close the bedroom off by day.
There’s a small amount of wheelarch intrusion into the cylindrical shower cubicle, but it scores highly for its twin tray drains, roof vent, twin light and bottle stowage.
Beds
The Esprit’s crowning glory is its king-sized island rear bed. Each occupant gets a wardrobe, bedside table and reading light, plus three pinlights sunk into the pelmet overhead. It’s well-lit by a pair of large windows and a rooflight, and there’s ample walk-around space – with the washroom doors open. Best of all, the bed measures 1.98m x 1.45m (6ft 6in by 4ft 9in), so a good night’s sleep should be guaranteed.
It is possible to turn the seats in the lounge into a single bed measuring 2.1m x 1.15m tapering to 0.95m (6’10” x 3’9″/3’1″), but we anticipate that this motorhome will mostly be used by couples.
Storage
Storage is excellent in this Dethleffs Esprit – you’ll find shelved roof lockers, a dedicated shoe cupboard, a huge cupboard with four shelves in the washroom, a cocktail cabinet, kitchen cupboards with a wire vegetable basket, cutlery drawer and all the usual under-seat lockers. The bedroom offers two wardrobes. There’s external access to the garage storage area, beneath the bed, too.
Technical Specifications
| Payload | 413 kg |
| MTPLM | 3500 kg |
| Shipping Length | 7.58 m |
| Width | 2.33 m |
| Engine Size | 2300 cc |
