1996-2006 BESSACARR E600 AND E700 SERIES

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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The E600 range was due to launch at the same time as the start of Fiat Ducato. Right-hand-drive models were slow to arrive in Blighty, so the line-up didn't actually appear until the following year (1996).

The E600 and E700 Series were the flagship 'Bessies', so were in direct competition with Swift's Kon-Tiki. Both had very similar specifications and internal layouts, but they had a very different interior ambience, achieved by the designers' clever use of different cabinetwork finishes.

From the off, these were top-tackle offerings, boasting a bonded GRP-clad sandwich construction and extensive use of (in-house) GRP mouldings on the overcab, the interfaces, the skirts and the rear panel.

The high-level specification included Carver heating and a full cooker.

Hardwood-framed Golden Cherry cabinetwork provided a warm and welcoming feel to the interior, further enhanced by the choice of Belgian designer soft furnishing fabrics.

The E600 Series launch offer comprised three models; E600 managed to creep into the important sub-6m sector.

It had a forward lounge housing a nearside inward-facing long settee with double Pullman dinette opposite, all ahead of the rear kitchen, and a washroom in the offside rear corner.

Next up in terms of length was the four-berth/two travel seat 6.4m (21' 0") E625, which featured a rear lounge of two long inward-facing settees separated by a chest of drawers.