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Don’t be fooled by the conventional floorplan... there is something special about this Knaus, says Nick Harding

Here’s a really well-made, Fiat-based, low-profile coachbuilt motorhome with a generous specification and more than a bit of style – and it isn’t as expensive as you might expect. Prices for the Knaus L!ve Ti 650 MEG Platinum Selection start at £74,845, but there are some £6,036 of optional extras here, taking it up to a still attractive £80,881.

Build quality – 90%

Built on the wide-track Ducato chassis-cab, it’s quite a surprise to find the coachbuilt bodywork’s exterior sides are aluminium, although the roof is GRP and the back wall is plastic. Windows are aluminium-framed and flush-fitting.

The Knaus Premium habitation door – an extra £641 – is that bit wider with some rather neat touches: a full flyscreen, a canvas bag with handles and a magnet to hold it in place, plus a slim slot that will hold a small umbrella or shoehorn. It’s on the UK offside.

The cab in ‘Lanzarote Grey’ accounts for another £513 and the full LED front lighting is £1,026, while at the back there’s a large garage capable of taking 150kg (or 250kg as an option). It is suitable for bikes, with adjustable lashing points along the floor, and also features shelving, lights on both sides, a blown air outlet and double locking points to both doors.

The awning (accompanied by a motion sensor light) is standard, as is the electric step. The star bodywork feature, however, is the ‘ServiceBox’ – a locker offering access to the fresh water tank (for filling and cleaning), inlet for the mains hook-up (which you thread up through the floor), dump valve for the Truma hot water system and release handles for the fresh and waste water tanks – how sensible, how easy.

Knaus backs its build with a 10-year bodywork integrity warranty.

Driving – 85%

The £3,179 automatic transmission is the pricey option here. I didn’t spend much time behind the wheel of this particular vehicle, but I’ve used this 138bhp engine/automatic transmission combination many times. It’s great, especially thanks to the smoothness of the latest eight-speed auto, and it’s fairly frugal – careful drivers will aim to push through the 30mpg barrier.

It’s all set up for four travellers. The rear seat has Isofix as well as three-point belts.

There are holes in the rear seat backrest metalwork, so that head restraints can be fitted for taller passengers.

The cab includes Fiat’s Techno dashboard along with the usual cup holder centre console, but a notable highlight is the Pioneer infotainment system, which includes a colour reversing camera and a full heads-up display in front of the driver.

Daytime – 80%

Lounge in daytime mode

A familiar floorplan starts with a front lounge with L-shaped settee-cum-double travel seat and a single, inward-facing seat just behind the driver, plus – as ever – swivelling cab seats with height adjustment. Upholstery is a ‘vegan leather’. There is an alternative in the extensive list of optional extras.

Truma’s Combi 6E, with CP-Plus control, provides the heating and hot water, and three of the outlets for the former serve the lounge.

A flatscreen TV holder slides into place from behind the travel seat. All windows in the living quarters have concertina blinds and flyscreens, and the large, wind-up rooflight over the lounge area is a £185 extra worth considering. The other options here are carpet sections for the living quarters (£408) and branded cab floor mats (£84).

Night-time – 80%

The EvoPoreHRC mattresses are comfortable and supportive; the washroom contains bench toilet

The EvoPoreHRC mattresses are comfortable and supportive, with infills available should you want to transform the two single beds into a 6ft 9in x 5ft 1in transverse double. If you do, the lack of window on the nearside means you can sit upright, but the reading lights are set for singles. There’s a wardrobe in the offside bed base, and the bedroom area is pre-wired for a TV.

A further single bed can be made by lowering the table and swivelling the cab passenger seat – probably more suitable for a child.

Washroom – 79%

Pull back the tambour door and it’s a surprise to see a bench toilet rather than the near-ubiquitous swivel-bowl. It is much easier to clean around this type. To the right of the toilet – as you’re sitting – is a good-sized locker with three fixed shelves, plus open shelving adjacent. The high level of the warm air outlet is a potential talking point.

The handbasin is on a hinged wall/bulkhead – pull it around and you create an enclosed area for showering using the tap extended from the basin and relocated to the riser bar. A rooflight provides the only ventilation, but it’s good to see two diametrically opposed plug holes and a nice deep shower tray. Handily, the toilet roll holder is under the basin, so there’s no chance of it getting wet when the shower is in use.

Kitchen – 75%

Kitchen features handy flip-up extension

There is some compromise in the cooking quarters. There’s a three-ring gas hob, aided by a Thetford Duplex oven and grill combination, but the latter is set almost at floor level (there’s the tiniest of lockers below it), so access isn’t that easy. Also, the circular sink (accompanied by a black mixer tap) isn’t the largest.

The full-width drawer directly under the worktop features a large cutlery tray, while it is easy to get to the isolator taps for the gas appliances. There’s also a second drawer, plus a floor locker. Handy fittings include a fold-up worktop extension and two overhead lockers. Catches are easy to use. You’ll also appreciate the Thetford slimline fridge – capacity is 142 litres, including freezer compartment, and it has automatic energy selection.