H
ola! That’s just to create a little bit of
Spanish atmosphere, because I reckon
Spain isn’t the first country that comes
to mind when thinking about motorhome
manufacturers. However, it happens to be
where the highly successful Benimar range of
motorhomes comes from. Imported into New
Zealand by TrailLite, the Fiat Ducato-powered
Mileo range has become a familiar sight on Kiwi
roads.
In the middle of last year, TrailLite introduced
the Tessoro range and at the time there were
a couple of major differences: Firstly, a Ford
Transit cab-chassis, and secondly, the entry
door was on the driver’s side. Since then
Benimar has mirrored the Tessoro’s layout, thus
moving the entry door to the kerb side.
Benimar’s focus, well at least those I have seen
in NZ, seems to be on smaller motorhomes,
although there are a couple more than seven
metres long. That means using all the little
tricks the Europeans seem to employ for
getting the most out of available space. So how
does the trickery work on the Tessoro range,
and in particular my review model, the T486?
Read on!
Motive Power
B
efore I get to that, I should mention
the Ford Transit. Although once a
favoured cab-chassis for any number
of motorhome manufacturers, Transits
disappeared for a while but are now making
a slow return. Like many competitors, the
Transit’s cabin is much like a sedan vehicle
in terms of features and comfort – it just sits
a little higher, giving a good view of the road
ahead. Grab handles for both passenger and
driver would be useful, but all the controls and
instrumentation are where you might expect
them to be. However, I presume that being
designed for the British market, the miles-per-
hour speedo readings are much easier to see
than kilometres-per-hour and I found myself
reverting back to the days of remembering the
imperial equivalents to the posted limits!On the road, the 2.0-litre 125 kW turbo-diesel
delivers the goods confidently when the right
foot is pressed. In a previous Tessoro test
drive the Transit came with a six-speed manual
gearbox, which I didn’t mind, but many I know
prefer an auto shift, making for more relaxing
driving. Having now had a test drive, there’s no
doubt that the new six-speed Select Shift autoTested | 57
Ford’s Transit puts on a fresh face and returns as a viable alternative to Fiat’s Ducato and Mercedes’ Sprinter.