COMPACT and great to drive, spacious new REAR LOUNGE Auto-Trail – reviewed before its NEC debut!

Peter Vaughan has an exclusive pre-launch road test of Auto-Trail’s new-for-2024 Excel 690L, based on the Ford Transit. This is a three-berth, sub-7m motorhome that’s narrower than the norm for easier driving. It has a fully spec’d kitchen, four belted travel seats and a super spacious rear lounge for you to relax in.

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◼️ REVIEWED BY: Peter Vaughan, Group Motorhome Road Test Editor for MMM magazine and What Motorhome magazine Editor. Peter has been writing about motorhomes since the age of 14, has a love of touring France and is mad about old Italian sports cars.

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Hello I’m Peter Vaughn and on this gray wet and windy September morning I’m at Hunger Hill CL campsite little farm site near Grimsby with the very very latest from Auto Trail the new XL and this is the 690l model one of four in the range and the one I’ve picked for this full

Review now you may already have watched my overview of the new XL range if not I’ll put a link up here but I’ve chosen this 690 L for a full road test so I’ve been spending a couple of days living in it and well what about EXL well the key

Thing is that it’s a narrower bodied vehicle 2.24 M wide rather than the typical 2.35 M of a standard coachbuilt motor home so just that bit more maneuverable and easier to drive on narrow roads or in town center and the other key thing of course is that it’s

On a Ford Transit and not just any Ford Transit but one with a lowered Chassy and the wide rear track you can see from The Stance at the back of the vehicle that the rear wheels are fully out at the side of the Bodywork if you don’t like the black cab

Don’t worry about that there are other options in fact there’s a silver two Grays and a rather nice metallic blue and those color choices are at no extra cost another thing that doesn’t cost extra is the big overcab sunroof but these Alloys these black Alloys 16 in they are

£995 the price of this model starts at £ 65,562 and some more stats for you well like all XL models it’s a 3 and 1/2 ton maximum gross weight 35 00 kilos and that gives you a payload on this vehicle of 570 kilos width of mentioned is 2.24 M overall height

2.88 M and overall length of course being a 690 it’s 6.9 M long the front fog lights color key bumper and all sorts of other bits and Bobs are contained in the optional driver’s pack which will come on to in more detail later on but the key thing is that the

Styling of this van the new overcab pod the new graphics these poly Vision Windows it’s an all new design from Auto Trail for 2024 these skirts for example they’re new these This Groove in the rear wheel Arch molding so a completely new design as I say just taking a look down the offs

Side here again you can see that there’s not much uh extra width behind the cab youve got your Main’s point there your toilet servicing hatch of course your fresh waterer filler where you can put a pump in there if you uh want to take water from an external

Container if you can’t get to a tap and your external shower Point that’s a standard feature now the other models in the range all have a garage which you don’t get on the 690l but you still get a large external Locker uh that goes right the way through to the other

Side water tanks well they’re both underneath and neither of them are heated or insulated but the freshwater tank well that’s 100 L and the waste water tank is 70 L and now with this nice tea handle for easy emptying and emptying too I think Auto Trail have

Done a particularly neat job of styling the back end of this new van with this new lowlevel bumper molding the round tail lights all looks very attractive I think bike rack mountings are there so if you need a bike rack just get your dealer to fit one and the reversing

Camera color reversing camera that is part of the Lux pack and again we’ll come back to the packs a bit later on looking along the near side of course you’ve got that second identical door into the space under the rear Lounge giving away the layout haven’t I so

Under there that goes full width across the van and at its lowest it’s 30 cm high and at its narrowest 60 cm wide and there’s a main socket in there as well moving down the side barbecue Point that’s part of the Lux pack and then your gas Locker will take

Two 6 kilo cylinders although the one around the corner of course will be slightly more difficult to access habitation door is linked to the central locking but then that again is part of the Lux pack if you have this upgraded door complete with fly screen bin on there and this nice tall grab

Handle and I think we might be needing this Broly today although I might do a merry Poppins and fly away if I Do so on the roof you have a solar panel and the TV areal well you do if you order the Lux pack and then well I think it’s time to go out of this horrible way and inside the warm comfort of the motor home and you’ll notice there’s a nice

Low step for easy access and inside I’ll notice that the wh heating’s on it’s Gas and Electric and up to 4.7 KW maximum output well it’s nice to be inside and over the door not only have you got the whale heater and boiler controls but you’ve got this new autot Trail

Touchcreen and that gives you control over the lighting um you’ve got dimmer variable dimming on the lights there as well you’ve got your water with your pump water heater power shows the condition the battery and then environmental tells me it’s 21° in here and 16 but it feels much colder outside

So up front you have a half donet to give you two belted rear travel seats the table is a touch low if you’ve got larger thighs than mine you might have the table rubbing on your legs but otherwise it’s a decent space you’ve got the two swivel cab seats plenty of light

Because you’ve got that really large overcab sunroof and the big mpk roof light as well and that’s the one where you SL Slide the bar and you can open it as much or as little as you like so that’s a good feature lighting well you’ve got this mood lighting above the top cupboards

Strip lights um One Reading light with a built-in USB but no reading lights in the cab useful coat Hook by the door and then on the Windows you have the Posh pleated blinds and this nice fabric surrounding unusually for a layout like this though you can Stow the table away and it has

Its own coverboard next to the Fridge and now with the table stowed away the front Lounge does feel considerably more spacious you will still note though that these overcab side pockets are well not that useful really because they need a deeper lip or a net or something so that when you go around the first corner you

Don’t get hit on the head by your Caravan Club site handbook or whatever anyway um back to the positives I really like this unusual sort of Tweedy gray fabric with the auto trail logo set into it as well and this is quite a nice little space once you’ve

Got the table removed as for storage well of course you’ve got one big Locker over the uh half dunet but there isn’t really any storage under the half dunet because that’s where the vehicle’s habitation electrics are including a lithium Leisure battery 70 amp and then there’s this drop front door that gives

You access conveniently to your habitation fuses and so on in any case you won’t be wanting to spend much time up front perhaps dining there but then once the plates are cleared away you want to come back into this rear lounge and relax because this is without a doubt the 690 L’s star

Feature it’s a really comfortable and spacious rear lounge with triple glazing but big windows on all three sides and again a large mpk roof light above you got reading lights just in the two back corners and again those have USBS built in TV that’s a420 option but if you have

It it’s nicely position sensible height and it’s a 21 1/2 in screen so a good size but not one of these stupidly large screens that you see in some Vans what else can I tell you well you’ve got the same moer oak furniture of course throughout the vehicle this

Nice Tweedy Fabric and again these fabric surrounds to the windows plenty of artificial lighting these strips under the top lockers yeah it’s just a really comfortable place to relax as for storage well you’ve got these top lockers all the way around the lounge and then your under seat space well part

Of that is your sort of external Locker and that is well that’s not really accessible from inside the motor home but the forward part of both seats is accessible with these drop front doors now unfortunately at the moment they’re mostly full of infill cushions but you

Can leave a lot of those at home if you don’t need the third birth at the front which we’ll show you a bit later on if there’s just two of you then you have the choice back here of single beds or a double now if you want single beds it’s

Simply a matter of getting rid of the back rest cushions now I suspect for most people this would be a matter of just stowing them in the cab fortunately they all press St to their respective wall so they don’t end up in a pile on the floor when you’re driving and

Then you have two single beds each 1.85 M long by 65 cm wide that’s 6’1 by 2T2 should have noticed too that in the daytime when you’re just using this as a lounge you do have these nice little corner shelves for your cup of coffee or you

G&t if you fancy something a bit more cudly at bedtime well just slide out these Caravan style slats pop in the shorter of the two backrest cushions from the side and then you have a transverse double bed 1.91 M long by 1.38 m wide that’s 6’3 by

46 you’ll notice too that you’re not sleeping against any side walls because you’ve got these ventilation panels all the way around you can watch Telly in bed but wouldn’t it be better if these slat came all the way forward and then you’d have an even bigger bed in which you could sleep

Lengthwise yes you can sleep lengthways like this but of course there’s a bit of Gap bit of a gap at the foot so it’s not a full Kings size now this is a three birth van so you also have a single bed up front as standard for travel suits of course remember

Too and these infill cushions which take up rather a lot of space in the underseat storage at the back are required to make up the extra bed I show you how undo this catch and this bolt then slide the seat base forward lift off the cushion so that you

Can flip the base over that cushion then goes back then fold down this support leg at the front then add the table folding out its leg which drops down into the step well and now you just need to add the infill cushions one two three so you now have a single bed

Across the vehicle 1.92 M long by 63 cm wide of the foot and 88 CM up here at shoulder level it’s un reasonable occasional bed but it does block the door which is marked designated emergency exit and if you’re wondering about the cab blinds they’re a £680

Option while we’re on the subject of optional extras I ought to tell you about those packs so we have the driver’s pack at 1,975 lb and that includes power adjustable heated mirrors automatic headlamps front fog lamps body color side moldings heated front windscreen with low washer tank warning the trend

Instrument panel locking glove box colorcoded front bumper cab air conditioning rain sensing wipers and High series headlamps with static bending which I think to you and me are cornering lights that’s one pack the other pack is the Luxe pack and that’s 1500 78 lb and that includes the 9 1/2 in LCD

Touchcreen with radio motor home specific satav so hopefully it won’t take you down roads narrower than this vehicle’s 2.24 M um it also includes the color reversing camera which is selectable so that you can have it showing while you’re driving forwards then there’s the external gas barbecue point the TV aial the solar

Panel the omn vent the upgraded habitation entrance door with fly screen and loose fit carpets cab and living area on top of those features this particular vehicle has the automatic gearbox at 1,860 so if you ordered your XL 690l to match the exact spec of this particular

Vehicle you you’d end up with a total of £ 74,2 35 time now to look at the kitchen and because this is a thoroughly British motor home you have a thoroughly British kitchen and that means three gas rings on this thatford Triplex cooker and of course the combined oven and

Grill other features well you’ve got a reasonable of worktop anyway cuz you’ve got this slot in cover over the sink but then a lot more work toop with this flap by the door and there’s a convenient main socket there as well but that is the only main socket I could

Find anywhere in this van apart from that one under the rear bed in the sort of external Locker would like a few more main sockets maybe one up here one in the front on it one in the rear Lounge at least anyway back to storage and and

You’ve got this large drawer with a sort of two Lev bit for the cut quite like that and then large cupboard down below plenty of room in there for my famous coffee machine big cupboard up top and this new spice rack in Trendy black with the matching matte black tap of course

Moving back also in black is the compressor fridge 149 L and that’s again a fford unit big cupboards under the cooker and under the fridge as well and then over on this side you’ve got a slim wardrobe perfectly adequate for shirts and jackets and so on and then

Underneath that is a shelv cupboard plenty of room in there for more folded clothes so to the washroom which of course is opposite the galley positives first well there’s plenty of room shoulders and leg room on this swivel cassette toilet and for once you don’t need legs like a giraffe cuz

It’s mounted at a sensible height I really like these little shelves too ideal for your shampoo and conditioner and all that sort of stuff you got a really big mirror and an opening window a nice WIP clean walls plenty of room to get your face

Over the Basin what I wasn’t so keen on was when I had a shower this morning to wrap yourself around this curtain does at least keep the L and the furniture alongside dry but it does mean you have a wet FL floor to mop down afterwards and the shower head

Itself pulls out from the tap doesn’t seem particularly ideally placed on it’s well I handheld my shower this morning and then afterwards well you’ve only got one drain in the shower tray so you will need to be parked nice and level it’s not exactly a power shower

Either it could do with better water pressure but I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with power on the next bit because we’re going to try out that Ford 170 horsepower Engine So as I suspected there is absolutely no shortage of performance with 170 Hors power in a 3 and 1/2 ton and relatively compact motor home it’s got strong acceleration it’s nice smooth power unit and the six-speed automatic uh complement it very very well stability well this is an extremely

Windy day and we’ve been out on the uh M180 and it was fine up to 60 65 mph beyond that it was a bit but that’s just the conditions today it’s it does feel very stable without really wide rear track does make a considerable difference and cornering it does feel

Very very stable too so all impressive on the road uh not too firm a ride either definitely feels more absorbent uh more absorbent than the average F du carto based motor home um and your driving position is good too it’s typical Ford you sit a little bit lower

Uh car size steering wheel so it uh it feels easy to drive the door mirrors are a good size for the double lenses of course you’ve got your reversing camera as well and not being quite as wide it does feel a little bit more maneuverable than perhaps your

Typical 7 and 1/2 M and wide bodied coachbuilt motor home on the rattles front it’s pretty good yes you’re probably aware that there is a constant chattering coming from over behind me to the left somewhere I think that it’s uh from the folding worktop which does seem to have

Some movement in it when you when you touch it so I think that’s where the rattle is coming from apart from that there’s really very little conversion noise and all in all as as ever the Ford Transit seems to uh perform well especially with this 70 horsepower

Engine which a lot of other converters charge you extra for to have that as standard as a bonus and the automatic gearbox well at uh just over £1,800 that’s competitively priced too when a lot of uh motor homes the auto option is uh three grand or more time to park up and sum

Up before I conclude this review just a reminder that these videos are brought to you by mmm magazine Britain’s longest established biggest and best motor home magazine which you can buy in digital or print form from our website out andabout live.co.uk but final verdict of course on this Auto tril XL

690l well I really like the fact it’s a bit Slimmer doesn’t seem to notice on the inside but it does notice when you’re driving it I love the Ford Transit too with the 170 horsepower engine and the automatic box and the wide rear track this this is

A great motor home to drive but the star feature of course is this spacious rear Lounge what a lovely place to put your feet up and relax it works quite well as single beds too although perhaps less so as a double and then the other seating area at the

Front well that gives you your two travel seats but it is a bit tight with the table in place just could do with maybe some alteration to the table size or the way it’s mounted or just some detail there in the washroom well yeah it’s a Pity we haven’t got a separate

Shower but there is plenty of space to use the Basin and the L and the kitchen well that’s hard default because you’ve got your oven you grill three burners decent amount of work top and of of course that very large fridge freezer do consider too whether you’d actually use that third birth because

It’s not the best of beds it blocks the door and the infill cushions you need really do take up a lot of storage and otherwise storage would be really good in this van a lot a lot better than most Camper vans and also Trail see this van

As offering a bit more than a camper van but appealing to a similar type of buyer would you consider this as an alternative to a camp van let us know in the comments below