Sunliner Euro Isle 2005 Review

By Malcolm Street

It is fascinating to note what various dealers and manufacturers think we RV journos will be interested in when we look over motorhomes. When CW arrived at Australian Motor Homes, Bennetts Green, NSW, to look over the Sunliner Euro Isle based on a Ford Transit, resident Sunliner expert Bert van Leeuwarden said with a grin on his face, “You’ll like this one, it has the new 101kW turbodiesel and it really goes”. When I grinned back and inquired about the motorhome bit, Bert said, “Oh yes, you will probably like that, too”. He was right – on both counts.

Sunliner makes the 24ft (7.25m) Euro Isle motorhome to fit on a variety of cab chassis, Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Fiat Ducato, so there is certainly plenty of choice and in our case it was the Ford Transit.

Turbodiesel technology has come a long way in recent years, especially from European manufacturers – the Transit is no exception. For tech heads, Ford’s 2.4 litre motor is a high pressure common rail turbodiesel and it comes coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox. Ford does make an auto gearbox for its Transits but at present it only comes with the lower rated 92kW intercooled turbodiesel.

It goes, it goes
On the road, as Bert said, the 101kW motor does indeed ‘go’. Although it was a new motor and things were a little stiff, it was quite a smooth performer both around town and on the highway. Certainly it is not going to run off V8s at the lights but who wants to do that anyway? The tandem rear wheels keep sideways rock n’ roll to a minimum and power steering, all round ABS power disc brakes and driver and passenger airbags add the necessary comfort and safety features.

In the driver’s cab, most things are where they are needed and the gear shift isn’t too badly placed for getting to and from the rear. CW always likes the good external remote adjust mirrors with their split flat and convex screens, as they give good rear and side vision.

Also good in the Transit cab are the driver and passenger door pockets, as well as the map compartment that sits mid-dashboard – it holds maps and notebooks securely but readily available. So that it can be used for an extra seat, the passenger seat swivels around 180 degrees. Both it and the driver seat are upholstered to match the rest of the motorhome.

As it’s a B class unit with no Luton Peak, from the front the Euro Isle is quite a trim-looking motorhome. Even around at the rear, the potentially ‘square’ look is softened by the top and bottom fibreglass mouldings, the lower fairing also containing stylish tail lights.

Sunliner has opted to use a Camec triple lock security door in conjunction with large Seitz windows and a Fiamma F45 awning. With the exception of the nearside compartment for the house batteries, the only other storage is a quite large ‘through-boot’ at the rear. With the Truma water heater already in place and a separate compartment for the two 9kg gas cylinders, it still offers a substantial amount of space that is accessible from both sides.

A couple of Sunliner features not seen on most other motorhomes are two stabiliser jacks in the rear corners and halogen downlights that sit above the driver and passenger doors.

Step aboard
Sunliner uses quite large windows and these, combined with the Seitz hatch fitted in the rear of the motorhome and the light-stain wood effect finish, make a light and airy interior. This is enhanced by the fairly open living layout, with the only bulky item being the bathroom, located right behind the driver’s seat.

The ‘cost’ of having a fairly open plan layout is not being able to make full and effective use of the swivelling seats in the driver’s cab, that is, as part of an integrated lounge/dining setup. In motorhomes of 21ft-24ft, I always consider that to be an effective use of space. That said, I realise that people who have sat in the driver’s seat for eight hours may not want to see them for another 16, so the Isle layout is going to appeal.

All the house windows have integrated blinds and screens. Except for the kitchen but including the front cab area, all have curtains. Sunliner cabinetwork looks quite stylish with curved timber locker doors and generally a good finish elsewhere as well.

Comfort zone
Starting in the rear, the 6ft 5in x 5ft (1.95m x 1.52m) bed fully extended is going to be long enough for most people. If the full length is not required, it can be shortened by the removal of a cushion to give more walkaround space.

General storage in the bedroom is quite good with the usual underbed area, cabinets on either side, overhead lockers above and corner cupboards on both sides at the foot.

Lighting is on a par with the storage, a recessed fluorescent in the ceiling plus a halogen reading light on either side of the bed. Being close to the water heater, the hot water control switch and thermostat are on the offside cabinet beside the bed.

At the dining table, three people can sit in reasonable comfort. The contoured cushions are at a reasonable height to support the back and the rear has two seat belts fitted, with one lap/sash seatbelt near the wall.

To avoid sticking out in the walkway, the table is not square but it can still be used when folded down to turn the dinette into a second bed.

Three overhead lockers plus underseat space give good storage, although it is a bit fiddly moving the cushions around to get to that. Again lighting is good with two halogen reading lights and a slimline fluorescent fitting under the lockers. Also under the overhead lockers is a powerpoint if you want 240V at the table.

Fitting between the bathroom and the bedroom along the offside, the kitchen bench has most items you’d need for whipping up a meal: four-burner Spinflo cooktop and grill, Dometic 110 litre fridge, NEC microwave oven and stainless steel sink with drainer. The latter is a relatively small item but it allows for some benchtop working space.

Other kitchen items include a Swift fume extractor, tea towel rail, rotating fluorescent light, 240V powerpoint and 12V socket.

Kitchen storage space is two cutlery-sized drawers, two pots and pan-sized drawers and two overhead lockers.

About the smallest item in the Euro Isle is the bathroom, yet it does have a variable height flexible hose shower, small wash basin, Thetford cassette toilet, mirrored cabinet and towel rails. A twin fluorescent light and fan hatch supply the rest of the utilities.

In addition to the natural ventilation, there is also a Wren roof-mounted air-conditioner unit.
Two recessed fluorescent lights give illumination above the kitchen/dinette area, as well as above the door entrance area. Both driver and passenger seats have individual reading lights.

You might have trouble finding a place for a conventional TV but there is both a 240V powerpoint and antenna connection on the panel above the offside corner cupboard in the bedroom. You could watch a flatscreen from bed.

There’ not much in the area above the driver’s cab, except for a wide shelf big enough for books and papers.

The bottom line
In the Sunliner range there are plenty of layout design choices and if you don’t like one particular setup then it’s more than likely you’ll find one to suit you.

Generally speaking, the Isle is going to appeal particularly to people who like spaciousness around them. Contenders more than likely to choose the Isle would be a couple who want a small to mid-sized motorhome that’s not too much trouble to drive but is still comfortable to live in.

Certainly, as I was advised, the uprated Transit motor goes along very nicely … oh yes, and with its European, well appointed, well fitted Euro look, the motorhome part isn’t too bad either!