Sunliner Twist

In the world of RVs, a motorhome is an investment more than any other. You not only pay for the accommodation — like a caravan or fifth wheeler — but also the cab/chassis that underpins and powers it.

So when you consider the prices asked, you have to remember that a motorhome is like a vehicle and van rolled into one.

It makes sense then that to get a look in for a luxury motorhome you’re going to have to spend more than $150k.

Melbourne manufacturer Sunliner builds motorhomes right in the thick of that competitive price range and its premium model that can be driven on a car licence is the $162,990 Twist (price in NSW and includes on-road costs).

The Twist is a Luton’s peak motorhome with above-cab bed, a centre kitchen and slide-out dining area, a main bed facing east-west towards the rear and a bathroom at the back.

But perhaps the best news for prospective buyers is that it’s based on the latest Iveco Daily cab chassis. Revised for 2015, the Daily 50C17 underpinning the Twist has a lusty 125kW/430Nm 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine paired with the latest eight-speed automatic transmission.

PLENTY OF GRUNT

Diesels are not known for their quietness or smoothness, but this is one of the better ones. It’s about as unobtrusive as they get.

In fact, the powertrain combination is very good; acceleration off the mark is surprisingly eager for a near-four tonne motorhome, and acceleration through the gears isn’t bad, either.

But what really sets the Iveco apart from the pack is its eight-speed transmission. We like the spread of ratios and the shifts are decisive yet smooth.

The only oddity is the transmission selector; its operation is similar to the Magneti Marelli automated manual that the Fiat Chrysler Group like to use (bear in mind that the eight-speed is a conventional hydraulic auto though), and it takes a bit of getting used to.

The selector operates through half of an H-pattern gate — a bit like a manual transmission selector, with Park selected via a push button on the lever.

Inside, the Iveco cab feels spartan; while you can accept this is a commercial base vehicle, it’d be nice to see less black plastic and more bling, even though there are some nice details like chrome dial accents for ventilation controls.

The audio system, for example, is very basic and Sunliner augments this with a windscreen mounted Garmin GPS unit. The rear-vision mirror spot is occupied by a very useful rear view camera screen.

Getting comfortable for a long transport stage is easy in the Iveco though, with height adjustable driver’s seat and reach adjustment for steering.

EASY LIVING

Like most motorhomes, setting up for a stay takes barely a minute or two with the Twist. Simply open up the nearside door, hit the power button for the electric fold-down step and the button for the slide out and you’re pretty much done.

As you take the easy step-up inside, you’re presented with a layout that’s both airy and welcoming.

The nearside door has a window with roll-down blind and a securing latch to keep it open, while the entrance has a hand rail to assist what’s really one of the lower motorhome floors to step onto.

Pivot around once you’re in, and you’ll find an array of readouts on the bulkhead above the door, including the 12v battery state of charge, charger status, water levels status and audio system.

While it appears confusing at first, once you get used to what the various LCD readouts relate to, it’s a useful, well-organized design.

The only thing missing here is the solar regulator readout; this is mounted in a locker above the kitchen. 

The hopper windows in the motorhome are all fitted with a pelmet and curtains and are also screened and meshed via concertina pull-up/pull-down shades.

There’s also a clear pop-up ventilation hatch — with a slide-over screen or mesh if desired — that allows in plenty of natural light towards the centre of the conversion.

While there’s daylight, the motorhome gets lots of light. But as dark rain clouds gathered during our time with the Twist, it seemed as though the internal 12v lighting might be a little brighter, and the lighting is perhaps not as generous as it could be.

It was by no means ‘dark’, and perhaps it was just that the abundant natural light the conversion allows in made for more of a contrast when relying on the LEDs.

DRIVER NEEDS TO TWIST

Towards the front of the conversion is the dining area. The four-seater cafe dinette on the offside opposite the entrance door has a large hopper window adjacent — this is really a great design, allowing you to sit and enjoy the view.

There’s one lap seatbelt fitted on the inboard forward-facing seat at the dinette.

One of the appealing factors of a motorhome is that most have front seats that swivel around to augment the dinette when at camp. The Twist’s driver’s seat is fixed, in that it does not swivel like the passenger seat does.

This is due to the floor-mounted handbrake in the Iveco’s cab, and while other motorhome brands do fit a driver’s swivel seat with such an arrangement, you can see why Sunliner doesn’t.

It’s a shame the Twist doesn’t have the added seating facility at camp, but would mean releasing the park brake to allow the seat the space to swivel, which opens up a whole can of worms regarding safety.

You’d only be relying on the transmission pawl to keep four tonnes from rolling away, and that’s a risk Sunliner sensibly doesn’t want to take.

But if you like cooking, you’ll love the Twist’s kitchen, which has a great deal of storage space and bench space for a motorhome.

The bench is augmented by a fold-down section at the door entrance, which does block the exit but that’s a small sacrifice for the added food prep area it affords.

There’s a stainless-steel single-tub sink with mixer tap, a two burner (plus one electric) hob with exhaust fan above and an oven.

Below the bench there are five cupboards with soft-close drawers and a slide-out pantry, all of a generous size, while above are two large lockers.

Opposite the kitchen on the offside there’s a Dometic 184-litre fridge freezer and microwave sitting above.

SLIDE BENEFITS

One of the compromises of many RVs is that the central walkway is no more than a narrow corridor. Where motorhomes like the Twist are a great point of difference is that once extended there’s a large space that feels much more like a living room at home.

So there’s no ‘excuse me’ moments when your better half is at the kitchen bench and you need to squeeze by to get something from the fridge or need to walk through to the bedroom.

In the Twist, there’s no need. However, the slide out only extends from the dinette to just past the fridge, so walking by the bed end to get to the bathroom requires a crabbing sideways manoeuvre!

This is by no means awkward or indeed unusual in RV design, but it would’ve been great if the slide out extended to the bedroom area.

It would’ve also been good if there was a privacy screen for the bedroom to shutter it off if you felt like a nap while your partner was scratching around in the living area.

However, in fairness to Sunliner, fitting such a screen would present quite a few headaches to make it fit in what is a fairly tight area of the conversion.

MORE STORAGE

The bed lifts on struts to present a storage space, and it has lockers above the bedhead too. There’s also hanging space at the bathroom door.

The bathroom is at the rear of the motorhome and is a generous size. It includes a ceramic bowl sink with mixer tap fitted to a small vanity and a ceramic cassette toilet, while on the offside is the stand-alone shower with adjustable rose and a ventilation hatch, light and exhaust fan.

The Luton Peak provides space for a 1880mm x 1360mm bed with a small hopper window at each end.

As is the norm, the bed is accessed via a small aluminium ladder and has a clip-on netted security rail on the access side.

The bed base is hinged and mounted on gas-assist struts, so that it can be lifted up to provide better headroom to get to and from the cab during transport stages when on tour.

As already alluded to, storage is ample in this motorhome, with multiple lockers below the ceiling and the various kitchen and underbed storage options.

External storage is offered on both the nearside and offside, with one small plastic-moulded locker on each side (making them very easy to wash out), a locker with slide-out tray for a generator, and a large locker that reveals a wide, tall space (this also is accessible internally from under the rear bed).

On the offside there’s also locker storage for the two 4kg gas bottles, the gas/electric heater and the two 100Ah deep-cycle batteries, inverter and charger.

The Thetford toilet cassette is withdrawn from a small hatch at the rear of the motorhome. 

VERDICT

Built by a company that's been in the business for 40 years, the Sunliner Twist is a nicely finished motorhome with plenty of room and features for a not too steep price.

The icing on the cake is the Iveco Daily it’s based on, which is one of the better motorhome platforms now available.

However, keep in mind that the slide out adds considerable weight that cuts into the payload, which at 500kg could be considered marginal for long term touring in remote areas or those wishing to live permanently in the motorhome.

WE LIKED:
>> Spacious living area and bathroom
>> Superb finishes
>> Strong, capable base vehicle

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Driver’s seat doesn’t swivel
>> Could do with longer slide-out
>> ‘Only’ 500kg payload

SUNLINER TWIST

Base vehicle: Iveco Daily 50C17
Tare weight: 3960kg
GVM: 4490kg
Licence: Car
Passengers: Three
Engine: 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Power: 125kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Brakes: ABS discs with ESP
External length: 7.80m (25ft 7in)
External width: 2.50m (8ft 2in) incl. awning
External height: 3.30 (10ft 9in)
Internal height: 2.0m (6ft 6in)
Rear bed size: 1.95 x 1.38m (6ft 4in x 4ft 6in)
Cooktop: Thetford 2 gas/1 electric burner
Fridge: Dometic 184-litre fridge/freezer
Microwave: LG iWave
Lighting: 12V LED
Batteries: 2 x 100A/h deep-cycle
Air-conditioner: Ibis Aircommand
Toilet: Thetford ceramic cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Hot water heater: Gas/electric 22.6L
Fresh water: 100 litres
Grey water: 50 litres
Gas: 2 x 4kg
Price (drive-away, NSW): $162,990
Supplied by: Sydney RV Group, Penrith NSW
More info: Sunliner