Line judge

Take a popular floorplan and make it better. That seems to have been Auto-Trail’s aim when creating the new Ford-based F-Line F67, which carries on where the Excel 675B left off. Except the F67 is wider, which means a drop-down bed makes it onto the options list. Prices start at just under £70k, but this example comes in at £79,426 – arguably more representative of the figure that prospective owners will have to pay.

For starters, this example came loaded with Auto-Trail’s ‘Drivers’ (15 items) and ‘Lux’ (eight) packs, upgrades to the 165bhp engine and automatic transmission, black alloy wheels and carpet sections throughout the living area. Plus that electric, drop-down double bed. Between them, the added options steal 99kg of payload, but that still leaves around 500kg for you to play with.

Build quality – 80%

At Auto-Trail, the coachbuilt body and all its fixtures and fittings are completed before the whole unit is lifted and lowered into the chassis. It’s a process the company has employed for more than three decades, with current models backed by five-year warranties for the all-GRP bodywork as well as the whole conversion. The Ford side of things is also covered by a three-year warranty.

Handy exterior features range from a 200W solar panel to the nearside locker and the gas outlet to the garage. Note also the opening over-cab sunroof and semi-recessed windows in the living quarters. The 40cm step-in height at the habitation door might not suit everyone – there are no grab handles here, either. Auto-Trail offers a choice of five cab colours at no extra cost, including the Magnetic Grey on show here.

Driving – 78%

Cab view

I went away for five nights and covered some 400 miles with this model. Personally, I might hesitate to pay for the more powerful engine option, but I’d go straight for automatic transmission (both are on this example). It’s a very pleasant vehicle to drive, especially as it stretches to just 6.69m.

The car-like, padded steering wheel with controls and cab seats with plenty of adjustment – including height – contribute to a comfortable cockpit, but the Ford base with its extra-wide chassis also offers a particularly forgiving ride and handles well.

You also have those Drivers and Lux packs to thank for what is a very well-appointed vehicle – the 12in touchscreen Ford infotainment system (Lux) and heated windscreen, upgraded headlights, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, tyre pressure monitoring and all manner of safety systems (Drivers).

Daytime – 78%

Lounge with freestanding table

My partner loved the lounge – we had seven adults sitting comfortably here one evening using the two settees with the cab seats swivelled. There’s a free-standing table that has its own locker for safe travel. And with all seating at the front, it’s an easy walk-through to the kitchen and washroom.

Upholstery is in a cream faux leather (Auto-Trail doesn’t offer any alternatives), while there are a couple of scatter cushions.

Heating and hot water come courtesy of Whale systems, with outlets for the former in the washroom, kitchen and lounge (two). Controls for both are easy to operate, as is Auto-Trail’s main touchscreen – all conveniently located over the habitation doorway.

Night-time – 79%

Drop-down double bed

Surely you’ll want that drop-down bed – it’s so comfortable. And easy to use, lowering into place at the turn of a key and press of a button. The one-piece, 1.93m (6ft 4in) x 1.23m (4ft) mattress is on a sprung slatted base. There are net retainers each side, while the ledge and cubby holes over the cab are close enough to keep things easy to hand at night. There’s a single strip light for reading and a large rooflight which is great for night-time ventilation. You just need to remember to close it before putting the bed back up.

Bedmaking using the lounge seating is trickier; you need to ensure the seat base supports are engaged and the backrest sections are relocated, before flipping over the main cushions and adding a filler strip. It does make for a particularly large, transverse sleeping area (maximum dimensions 2.11m (6ft 11in) x 1.49m (4ft 11in)).

To bring the vehicle up to full four-berth status, a change to the lounge arrangement with a double travel seat (and related weight increase) is on the options list.

Kitchen – 74%

L-shaped kitchen

The workspace in the offside L-shaped kitchen can be extended with a section that drops into the slide-out open framework over the cutlery drawer. The cooker – a Thetford Triplex model with three gas rings and a combined oven and grill – is complemented by a Russell Hobbs microwave oven with a traditional revolving glass plate.

Aside from the drawer (large enough to take all our cutlery and more), there’s an array of kitchen storage – double overhead locker adjacent to the microwave, shelved lockers under the drawer and to the right of the cooker. Cook also benefits from an Omnivent. Across the corridor sits a big Thetford compressor fridge with freezer – 150-litres total capacity.

Washroom – 74%

Washroom – shower is opposite

The washroom is spacious enough for a shower cubicle on the offside plus dressing space, and a swivel-bowl toilet and part-recessed, fixed handbasin on the near, where you also get a nice big mirror. An MPK rooflight provides ventilation.

The shower cubicle is plastic lined with access via double folding doors. There’s just a single plughole and no riser bar for the showerhead, but the F67 makes up for this with excellent storage. There’s a half-height wardrobe across the back which includes two drawers, a large cubby hole nearside and a second cubby on the off. Plus there are three coat/clothes hooks and a towel holder.

Details – 75%

The garage is larger on the offside – you could find a way of storing bikes on this side, although fixings for an external rack are also supplied. I’d have liked at least one more mains socket (there are two – both in the kitchen, but one is for the microwave) and maybe a couple more USB ports (there’s a double in the living area, two more in the cab).

The one-piece habitation door with window and concertina blind has a full flyscreen, while a branded umbrella with holder is a neat, practical finishing touch.