Verdict
Good in most areas, although its small bed is a major negative for an A-class ’van.
Pros
Classy washroom; large rear bedroom area; decent specification
Cons
Small bed
Living
The Rapido’s lounge has twin sofas, and when the cab seats are swivelled it can house six (at a pinch). The cab seats are attractive Isringhausen units with levers, for swivelling and tilting the backrests, that sit flush with the bottom front corners of the seat bases – an aesthetically pleasing touch but one that falls short in terms of function since you have to bend all the way over to the corners of the seats in order to reach the levers.
The lounge table folds and rotates to allow movement through the ’van but this means you’ll find it difficult to reach the cab from the living area once you’ve laid out dinner.
The big roof light over the lounge is a welcome touch, and so is the TV cabinet built into the wall to the left of the habitation door as it allows visibility from any point in the lounge.
The two individual belted rear travel seats are either side of the lounge – a good arrangement for those with kids who are liable to get scrappy if sitting side by side for too long.
Kitchen
The L-shaped kitchen provides a lot of moving and passing space, which is crucial since it sits between the lounge and washroom. However, there’s a shortage of workspace. It’s all located at the outer corner of the L-shape, making it difficult to reach.
As a clear indication of its French heritage, Rapido has usefully included two wine racks in the kitchen, which will allow you to store up to seven wine bottles.
Washroom
The washroom is the real party piece, and performs very well. The small shower cubicle is, by necessity, a plastic capsule. The toilet area is excellent, with lots of storage space and classy use of wood-and-leather effect surfaces. It even has a locking toilet door and the sink has stainless steel fittings.
Beds
The washroom is split into two cubicles and positioned just in front of the beds, and the rear section can be cordoned off to create a little en-suite bedroom area.
The rear bedroom area is spacious, but the trade-off for this space is a narrower bed (130cm, or 4ft 3ins, at its widest point and 108cm, or 3ft 6.5ins, at its narrowest). This small bed is a disappointment since these rear bedroom areas are the big selling points for these types of motorhome.
The pull-down bed up front measures 134 x 187cm, and is comfortable and easy to set up.
Storage
There’s a sizeable garage, with doors on both sides as standard, and a waste-water drain valve handle inside. You can’t access the garage from within the vehicle, though.
Being a double-floor model, the Rapido gets between-floor lockers, which are handy for storing sundry items such as chocks and wellies.
The roomy, full-length, lit wardrobe is just forward from one of the washroom cubicles, and within the partitioned bedroom area.
Technical Specifications
| Payload | 280 kg |
| MTPLM | 3500 kg |
| Shipping Length | 7.39 m |
| Width | 2.31 m |
