TESTED Rapido C03
WATCH the video!
Slimline, or narrow-bodied, motorhomes appear to be very much en vogue at the moment, with Auto-Trail and Bailey each launching completely new ranges this season. Quelle surprise, you might say, as it's not hard to see the appeal of coachbuilt motorhome insulation and flat sides that create more interior space in combination with near-panel van proportions – especially at a time when campervan sales have been skyrocketing. Where a coachbuilt is usually much broader than a campervan at 2.30m to 2.35m wide (and some are wider still), these slimmer models are only around 2.20m or less. It might not sound a lot – until you're threading yourself down a country lane in Cornwall, wishing that you could do more than just fold in the mirrors…
Seeing a 23-year old Rapido 710F at Wokingham Motorhomes (which supplied our test ‘van) reminded me that the French firm has history in this sector, a part of the market that it returned to in 2021 with its C Series (C for compact). There are now six models in this line-up, including two A-classes – all of them measuring 2.17m in the beam.
The most petite of the Cs is the C03, a new model for 2024 that's just 6.19m long – shorter than an extra-long Fiat or Peugeot panel van. Its layout is almost campervan-esque, too,
