Auto-Sleepers is celebrated for its coachbuilt motorhomes and panel van conversions, many of which feature in our annual Motorhome of the Year awards. It also builds a popular campervan – the VW-based Topaz – which has been in production for 19 years on the VW T4, and currently, the T5. 

Auto-Sleepers followers were perhaps surprised when the Cotswolds-based firm turned its attentions to a different base vehicle last summer, launching a new camper on the Mercedes-Benz Vito. A relationship with Mercedes is nothing new, of course, as Auto-Sleepers currently builds six coachbuilt motorhomes on the Sprinter chassis. 

The new Wave, though, is a different beast from these flagship offerings, but it also combines the finesse of desirable Mercedes-Benz underpinnings with the build quality and durability of an Auto-Sleeper conversion. 

Both the Wave, on test here, and its Wave HL (high line) variant, offer the flexibility of a vehicle that can double as a daily drive and capable camper. To see how well the Wave performs in both roles, we took our long-term test unit to an award-winning campsite, Broadhembury Caravan and Camping Park near Ashford in Kent, which was a finalist in our Top 100 Sites Awards in 2015.