Le Voyageur boasts a lounge/dining room that can seat six people in comfort. Photo / Deluxe RV Group
Is it a house? Is it a five-star hotel? No - for a million dollars, these are the most high-end campervans that money can buy, writes Ewan McDonald.
For $1 million, you can buy a decent house in most New Zealand neighbourhoods - an architect-designed three-bedroom bungalow in a desirable Christchurch suburb, a four-bedroom ditto in Whangārei, a historic five-bedroom homestead with half an acre of gardens in Southland.
Or you could pick up a motorhome and drive off the lot to visit all those other places. Yes, you’re reading it right. A million bucks is top dollar for the most expensive house on wheels available in Aotearoa these days.
Let’s be clear: we are not talking about a 1960s VW Kombi with a couple of bunks built into the back of your uncle’s DIY job on a Toyota Hiace.
In the trade, they’re known as A-grade motorhomes, and there are a surprising number of brands and models for sale nationwide. The sticker prices in this category start at $250,000 and head north.
As with cars, each model has a range of variations - which leads to an alphabet soup of designations like LVXH 8.7 CF - and, usually, owners can look at the basic offers like satellite dishes, smart TVs, 360-degree cameras, solar power plus battery options, designer fabrics, electric drop-down beds, rain showerheads, gas hobs and ovens, coffee machine, and customise their new toy for a few dollars more.
For these mostly two-berth vehicles, it’s a rarefied market. As an industry insider told me, “When you get to this level, they’d be lucky to sell one or two a year of these.” And of our highest-end choice, he suggested, “That’s a bit rich for the New Zealand market - especially in its current state.”
But we’re here to sell the dream, so let’s hit the road with some of the flashest campers - oops, A-grade motorhomes - on the yards.
It’s Kiwi through and through and we can mention the $320,000 price tag because they’d prefer you don’t add your own toys, mainly because they’re unlikely to come up to the maker’s standards. Not that you’re likely to want to.
Steve Ward runs Design Coach and Body in Christchurch, and its bread and butter is building motorhomes and campervans for Pacific Horizon’s rental fleet. They also repair and redesign motorhomes and build special vehicles for equestrians and adventurers.
Their bespoke Lincoln is an 8m-long, luxuriously fitted-out, two-berth motorhome based on the 3-litre V6, rear-drive version of the Mercedes Sprinter, bedrock of New Zealand’s fleets for many years.
Ward and his 28 staff have designed the Lincoln to be driven straight off the yard. “It’s got everything that we think works for relaxed and comfortable travel and accommodation,” in his view. “Other 8m motorhomes may start at $300,000, but then you have to add all of the extra features or elements you want on top of that. The Lincoln is set up and ready to go at the turn of a key and you never have to plug it in” - to mains power, because of its extensive solar and lithium battery set-up.
You’ve probably twigged this is French. Most truly high-end motorhomes hail from there, Germany and Italy.
Le Voyageur produces precisely 308 hand-crafted vehicles each year, part of the Pilote Group, which also owns Germany’s niche Frankia marque and less-aspirational brands.
Based on a front-wheel drive Mercedes Sprinter, it’s nearly 9m long and has a triple axle, so you won’t be driving it on your everyday car licence. It’s big inside, too, sleeping two and boasting a lounge/dining room that can seat six people in comfort.
Features include “but aren’t limited to” an automatic satellite dish with smart TV, dual solar panels and a large battery, and four exterior cameras providing a 360-degree view for driving safety and security. There’s a Scandi-look blond oak style to the panelling, mock cedar floorboards, leather seating, LED mood lighting and designer soft furnishings.
Blenheim’s family-owned Deluxe RV Group imports Le Voyageur and also handles Lincoln sales. While they reckon the base model covers … well, all the bases for Kiwis, you can specify a custom Le Voyageur. You’ll have to wait eight months for those artisans to build it, though.
Its little brother, the Chic S-Plus, is listed on the local distributor’s site at $525,000; this svelte beast has “POA” beside its specs. It’s aptly named because its interior has a sleek cruise-ship look.
Built on the Fiat Ducato or Iveco Daily platforms and considered one of the most luxurious vehicles going around, the German motorhome differs from most layouts with a spacious, round rear lounge - where the main bedroom is usually - that can also seat six or more around a table.
Up front, twin beds are electrically lowered at night-time; there’s a separate changing room with floor-to-ceiling wardrobe; the bathroom has a rainshower head and the kitchen, rather than the typical stovetop elements, has three gas hobs.
Jonas and Irene Ng import four prestige German motorhome brands to their Zion Motor Homes campus in Pōkeno, a project that is growing just as dramatically as the once-sleepy town.
Out of Dethleffs, Niesmann & Bischoff and Carthago, they describe the relatively young Morelo range as “the most exclusive motorhome brand available in New Zealand”, with options including the Palace, with an on-board garage that really is you can park a small hatchback in it.
That’s not an entirely new feature my insider recalls a similar vehicle coming here 15 years ago but overall, Morelo is one of the most lavishly appointed brands on our roads.
Positively palatial, in fact. A Kiwi reviewer writes: “Step inside and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve walked into a five-star hotel room with such niceties as underfloor heating, a ‘hidden’ smart TV, plush leather upholstery, and a heated towel rail in the luxurious bathroom, all wrapped up in deliciously divine decor.”
Inside, the layout puts the lounge and dining area up front, kitchen in the centre, bathroom, bedroom at the rear. That kitchen features a gas oven and Nespresso machine.
Built on an Iveco Daily chassis and 9.5m long, you’ll need a class 2 driver’s licence. As that reviewer noted, “This may not be the type of motorhome you head away for long weekends in. Rather, it’s a home away from home that allows you to explore a favourite destination, or discover new ones, and make the most of them over a week or more.”
Some domestic regional flights have been affected.