1998-2006 AUTOCRUISE VALENTINE & VISTA

Each month we focus on a great secondhand mainstream motorhome. We then tell you which is the best of the bunch, what to pay and which problems to look out for

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There were several incarnations of Autocruise before the one that manufactured our featured vehicles. These were very much the result of Gordon and Richard Bentley's design and build expertise, plus owner John Cockburn's business acumen and limitless enthusiasm for the brand.

Regular readers will be aware of my attitude towards size... it does matter, but not in the way one might think!

Autocruise had already proved themselves to be brilliant at building medium and large coachbuilts, but Valentine and Vista added superb 'shorties' to their portfolio.

All Valentines and Vistas built during the featured timeframe were on the short- wheelbase version of the X/44 Peugeot Boxer chassis-cab - the first generation of SEVEL underpinnings to feature a fascia~mounted gear lever.

Valentine arrived in 1998 and Vista the following year. Both models have the habitation entrance door centrally placed in the rear panel.

Valentine's design brief was to appeal to couples and solo motorcaravanners wanting a compact, manoeuvrable motorhome, but without paring back on comfort or having to put up with a reduced standard specification.

It did shimmy into the sub-17ft cohort - actually stretching the tape to 5.16m/16' 11" - plus it had a better specification than many competitors' flagship 'rolling palaces'.

Cabinetwork oozed quality and the soft furnishing fabrics used for the buttoned upholstery and lined curtains were tightly woven, hardwearing and very appealing.

Galley boasted a domestic-style slot-in cooker with a four-burner hob (later dual-fuel), a separate grill above a commodious oven, and a matching saucepan store at the bottom.