Elddis majestic 194
A sociable side settee layout, or rear travel seats for the grandchildren? With this Elddis you don’t have to choose...
Few would argue that the most convivial layout for a motorhome lounge is to have a couple of long side facing settees facing each other. Loads of people can relax on them and chat facing each other. Plus, if you need to head to the kitchen to grab another cold one, everyone has equal access to the central walkway. And, when there’s just two of you, you can have a sofa each and put your feet up.
The downside to having a twin side settee layout was usually that you’d only have two travel seats (those in the cab). Alternatively, the common half dinette layout allows you to have two more belted seats, but they tend to be rather upright and result in a less sociable lounge. If only someone could invent a travel seat system that didn’t compromise those comfy side settees... Well, several companies have, of course, including Elddis with its Autoquest 194, from which this Majestic dealer special is derived.
Comfy lounge with twin side settees? Tick. Rear twin fixed beds? Tick. Four travel seats? Tick. Modern low profile body style? Tick.
FULLY LOADED
As a dealer special for Marquis Leisure, the Majestic comes crammed with a host of extras for a £6,046 premium over the equivalent standard Autoquest. And these aren’t just detail differences, such as alternative fabrics and different decals, but real tangible stuff.
For starters, the Peugeot Boxer’s Euro VI engine gets upgraded from the 130bhp engine to the flagship 160bhp engine, which makes it far more relaxing to drive without making any major impact on economy. According to Peugeot’s price list this is worth about £1,100 and it isn’t even listed as an option for the Autoquest.
Then there’s cab air conditioning, cruise control and a passenger airbag (£1,218 from Elddis) and it’s worth noting that the air conditioning here isn’t the manual on/off system but the more sophisticated automatic version that allows you to set a desired temperature.
The cab also gets built in blinds as part of the Marquis upgrade (worth £450), together with a mirrormounted screen for the rear view camera (usually £365), which can be left permanently on to give a handy rear view on the road.
Best of all you also get a built in TomTom sat nav as well as Bluetooth integration for your mobile phone and a DAB radio.
So far, we’ve totted up £3,133 of goodies and we’ve not even mentioned the built in alarm, standard fit GPS Tracker, the solar panel, massive overcab rooflight, kitchen ceiling fan and the external barbecue point. Not to mention the silver paintwork to the cab. But you get the point. With all the extra kit, the screen price of £50,995 seems reasonable for a fully loaded 7.34m low profile. Unusually for a test vehicle, it didn’t come with any options fitted it already has all the toys as standard.
SMOOTH OPERATOR
Loading the ’van proved easy, thanks to the spacious rear garage that’s been fitted with large doors on either side. On the road the 7.34m length didn’t prove to be much of an issue and, with the elephant’s ear sized mirrors and the rear view camera, it was easy to position on the road, even around the narrow streets of Tewkesbury.
The 160bhp engine is matched to the vehicle size perfectly and the new AdBlue snorting 2 litre engine is smoother and slightly quieter than its 2.3 litre Ducato cousin, too.
With standard fit sat nav (and a decent TomTom system at that), cruise control and an extra airbag to protect your loved one, there’s little to complain about in the cab. Except for the steering wheel and gearknob, which are the basic plastic items rather than the much more tactile leather clad versions that would seem more in keeping with the aspirations of this motorhome.
Both cab seats are fitted with a pair of adjustable armrests and, despite their swivel bases, are not uncomfortably high. The Marquis seat trim is a bit beige for my taste but it’s inoffensive and the colouring helps to lighten the cab.
ON SITE SURPRISES
With both cab seats swivelled around on site (with only a minor adjustment of the driver’s seat needed to clear the steering wheel), it’s time to check out the lounge. To keep it on the same level as the cab, the floor here is raised and there’s a small step down to the central kitchen washroom area. Even with this raised floor, though, there’s still 1.93m of headroom, rising to 2.03m in the kitchen area.
You could probably seat eight people in the lounge, or six with bags of room, so it’s a great social space and, thanks to radiused edges on the underside of the four roof lockers, head/furniture interfacing is minimised. A free standing table (which lives in the wardrobe) fits between the sofas at dining time and is large enough for four.
With two large side windows, a wind up sunroof over the cab and a large Heki rooflight overhead, there’s plenty of light flowing into the lounge.
However, it’s underneath the side settees that you get two pleasant surprises. With all the cushions removed (they can be stored on top of the rear fixed bed), the settee bases lift and fold flush to the sidewalls. Nestled under each settee is a foldup Aguti travel seat, complete with a beefy steel frame and a built in three point seatbelt. They unfurl like something out of a Transformers film. Smaller kids might struggle to look out of the side windows but, overall, these seats work really well. I’d have liked some shoulder padding on the folded settee front, but this could easily be added (closed cell foam wrapped in matching vinyl and attached with Velcro). For seats that will only get used occasionally when the grandkids are on board it’s a great solution and gives you a completely uncompromised side settee lounge (although there is, of course, some loss of under seat storage).
ALL THAT CHEF STUFF
Speaking personally, it’s always a mystery why anyone would choose to cook in a motorhome when they’re on holiday. That’s what gastro pubs are for! But few people share this view and keen chefs will be impressed by the level of standard kit here.
As well as a three burner gas hob with piezo ignition, there’s also a handy 800W mains hotplate to help you conserve gas when hooked up. A fold down glass cover adds extra worktop space when the hob isn’t in use and also features a built in shutoff valve for extra safety.
Also finished in a matching black enamel is an inset sink with a smoked glass cover, and there’s a reasonable amount of worktop space surrounding the hob and sink, plus an additional flip up worktop section in front of the Hartal entrance door.
Underneath the counter is a Thetford grill and oven, together with a three way fridge that has a useful removable freezer box if you’d rather have more cooling space. At 85 litres, it’s quite small for a four berth, though, especially compared with the tall fridge freezers seen in most continental ’vans.
Completing the grub heating kit is an 800W microwave that’s built into a locker above the hob. Next to the microwave are a couple of roof lockers with plate and mug holders. Thoughtfully, there’s a roof vent with an extractor fan above the galley, too.
Pots and pans can be stored beneath the oven, while a quartet of small drawers can consume your cutlery and other chef ’s implements.
SCRUBBING UP
Opposite the galley is the washroom, which is accessed via a rather flimsy door with an equally flimsy lock mechanism. Inside, there’s a bit of wheelarch intrusion, but the shower base has been moulded around this and the basin sits on an L shaped worktop to make good use of the space. It would have been better to have had a vanity unit between the wheelarch and the washbasin, though as the space can’t really be used for anything else.
The basin itself is an attractive standalone bowl, fed by a decentquality Caraflo swan neck tap, and there’s plenty of worktop for your toiletries. On the road, you’ll store your bits and bobs in the doubledoored locker above the loo. Next to this are a couple of towel hooks.
A Thetford swivel bowl toilet sits alongside the shower tray. A shower curtain slides across the loo area to keep the spray off it. Pleasingly, the shower has a separate tap and there’s 2.00m of height between the shower tray and the overhead steam vent. It also has an Ecocamel shower head to help conserve water from the 100 litre underslung tank.
Hot water is supplied from a Whale system that holds eight litres and can be heated by either gas or via a mains hook up. But, if you shower regularly in your motorhome, it’s worth noting that most imported rivals have a separate shower that won’t need mopping down, or require you to use a shower curtain.
NIGHTY NIGHT
When it’s time to retire, the cab is sealed off with Remis blinds, while sprung cassette type blinds cover the side windows. I’d have preferred to see the concertina versions, which are less prone to springing up when they get old. But that’s nitpicking these do the job perfectly well.
The front bed is a decent double and is intuitive to make up there’s no cushion Jenga here as you simply lift up the two settee bases and pull them together to meet in the middle. The backrests then fill the central hole, forming a generously long (2.07m) transverse bed.
The fixed rear beds will be the first choice, though, and these longitudinal twin berths are accessed via a couple of steps (with shoe storage cupboard built into the treads). The beds themselves are 1.81m and 1.79m long, so my 1.88m frame didn’t fit especially as there’s a wall at each end so no room for feet to overhang. Thankfully, there are no roof lockers above, so you can sit up in bed.
There’s also a bridging infill section, so you also can alternatively sleep transversely and use the bed as a double, but that rather defeats the object of this layout, and you’ll have to climb over your partner to get out.
Under the beds are his and her wardrobes, with a third wardrobe sandwiched between the bed and washroom. At the base of that one is a bank of 12V fuses and the mains consumer unit an excellent location that makes it easy to get to the electrics. The rest of the services are located under the first step to the rear bed and include the water pump, drain down taps and gas taps, all in one handy locker.