Roller Team Pegaso 590 - Practical Motorhome

The attractive Italian Pegaso 590 A-class is a good looking motorhome and has a price tag that's hugely competitive - but how does it fare day to day?

Verdict

The new Roller Team Pegaso 590 is clear proof that you can get an excellent A-class in a sub-six-metre bodyshell. Cleverly designed, it will provide everything you need for a comfortable tour – and it looks fantastic into the bargain. The second double bed isn’t the most comfortable that we’ve tested, but it should be fine for occasional use – and the inclusion of that pair of belted seats means that a couple can easily take guests with them from time to time.

Roller Team always used to be known as a budget brand. While the low price tag remains, the classy Pegaso 590 demonstrates that the manufacturer can now compete with much more expensive names.

Pros

An immediately obvious plus point is the cab door on the driver’s side
The lounge is incredibly roomy, with a large pedestal table that can be moved about

Cons

Making up the second double bed feels a little complicated, so it’s not something you’d necessarily want to be doing every night

Until very recently, if you said the word ‘”A-class”, what sprang to mind – apart from a beautifully sculpted front panel – was a gas-guzzling behemoth. One that only serious motorcaravanners, or at least those with a C1 license and a huge amount of money, could drive.

But things are changing. Itineo and Mobilvetta have been at the fore in offering cheaper A-class models, while Hymer and Carthago have been working on getting the weight down.

Now, Roller Team is also challenging the idea that A-classes have to be long – at 5.99m, its new Pegaso 590 is shorter than many van conversions. And at £59,990 OTR – about the same price as the highest-spec VW California Ocean camper – it seems an attainable price. But does it stack up in real life? We took it away to see.

In all Pegaso models, the Roller Team Driver's Pack - which would otherwise cost £1250 - comes as standard

Living

There is a bit of a step up into the front lounge from the habitation door, along with a usefully large mirror and grab handle.

There is also a step down if you are coming from the cab, but it is an incredibly roomy lounge, with a large pedestal table that can be moved about.

With the L-shaped sofa, another side sofa and the swivelled cab seats, you would probably have room for eight here. But only shorter people would be really happy sitting on the sideways-facing part of the L-shaped sofa, because the housing for the blind makes sitting back a touch uncomfortable for those occupants who are taller.

The whole area is really snug, with a heating vent from the powerful Truma 6 boiler on both sides.

There’s a mains socket under the nearside sofa and, with that USB socket already mentioned, you should be well connected. A TV bracket above the mirror by the door slides out to a position where all but those in the travel seats could easily see the set.

The lounge does look a bit minimalist, with its eco-leather upholstery in tones of grey and white locker doors – at the same time, it does feel very modern, however.

There is one light under the drop-down bed, another by the rooflight and ambient lighting under the lockers, but no spotlights.

There is also no carpet fitted as standard – although that is likely to suit those who leave theirs at home anyway. If you want one, it is a £200 cost option.

Kitchen

The L-shaped kitchen includes a fair amount of workspace, which is well lit by striplights and a window.

The hob has three gas burners, shifted into the corner to allow for more work surface. But you do get a Thetford Duplex oven underneath this.

Food storage is reasonable in a motorhome of this size, with two of the three overhead lockers on the offside easily accessible from the kitchen, and a 142-litre fridge (huge if there are just the two of you) on the nearside. It comes complete with a removable freezer and a separate lower section for storing drinks.

There is a series of pull-out basket shelves next to this, but they are a bit narrow, so wouldn’t be suitable for larger items. The same applies to the slim cupboard to the right of the oven. It is a bit tricky to open, and really only useful for narrower detergent bottles.

Storage for large pans could be more problematic. What appears to be a locker under the oven only really provides you with access to the gas taps and fuses. There is no storage under the fridge and, although there is a small locker above, it’s so high that it would be out of reach for most people. In addition, putting anything in this locker obscures the iNet sensor and the solar panel display.

The pull-out basket shelf below the sink, and the space underneath, would hold medium-sized pans and kettles. But frying pans would have to be stacked side-on in the space next to this. They could at least be easily retrieved, thanks to a second door by the oven.

Washroom

Unusually, the washroom door includes not just an elegant handle, but also a separate lock, so you are assured total privacy. Once inside, there’s plenty of room to move around, and to make use of the wardrobe, which has a half-height hanging area on one side.

If you’re not using the other section to store large items, you can fold down the shelves for more clothes storage there.

The washroom is also well lit, with an opaque window to provide privacy, its own rooflight and an LED light.

As for storing soaps and shampoos: there is a shelf below the window, a locker above it and a cupboard underneath the medium-sized mirror.

You also get a large mirror located behind the handbasin. The shower cubicle on the offside is large and has two drainage holes to allow water to flow out more easily. It has its own LED light, but no rooflight.

Beds

The extremely comfortable manual drop-down bed lowers easily and is accessed via a small ladder. Although you don’t get any rooflights or windows up here, there is at least a light to read by.

So far so good – if it’s just the two of you. But the 590 is technically a four-berth, and there is another double bed below, which you make up by lowering the pedestal table and aligning it with the L-shaped sofa.

However, we found this whole process a bit complicated; partly because to make the bed into a full double, you will also have to retrieve an extension that is housed in the wardrobe in the washroom.

Once you’ve done that, you’re left with a double bed that’s not as comfortable as the one above, and that also prevents you from using the ladder to reach the drop-down bed with the maximum of ease.

We think most people will use this ‘van as a two-berth, reserving the bottom bed for occasional guests.

Storage

The Pegaso 590 includes an onboard water tank housed under the travel seats, so that area is completely taken up when it comes to storage.

The space underneath the side sofa is also partly taken up by the useful outside wet locker, although there is a drawer included in the rest of this area where you could store small items.

Lifting up the cushions to access these underseat areas is a little tricky: they are rather heavy and come with a lip around the edges to make them look smart.

However, you still get that huge wardrobe at the end, and the overhead lockers are a good size for other clothes and books. Food storage in the kitchen is excellent, and there is space for all but the largest kitchenware items.