# Chausson Welcome 510



## Hawcara

My brother is looking to buy a Chausson Welcome 510, with anthracite pack (not sure what that is). Van has a drop down bed and rear bathroom.
Does anyone have any experience or thoughts of this van?
Thank you


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## rayc

> Hawcara said:
> 
> 
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> with anthracite pack (not sure what that is).
> 
> 
> 
> It is the colour of the cab as opposed to white plus cab air conditioning and cruise control. I think it may also have metallic trim to the air vents etc and possibly radio/cd with steering wheel remote.
Click to expand...


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## Gordonm

I've just got a Chausson Welcome 610 - we decided to get the 610 rather than the 510 for its additional storage. The 610 has a large inside cupboard at the back of the bathroom (almost full van width and about half the height), and a large boot (garage) with excellent access underneath for the lower half.

This adds a bit to the length, but for us makes a big difference as we are planning to spend several months at a time on the road, and none of the other similar makes had sufficient storage for us.

We've only spent 4 nights away in it at the moment, but once current family issues are resolved we'll be heading for Portugal followed by Spain, Italy, then probably Northern Europe as soon as the weather improves, so storage space is a biggie for us.

We also like the large and very usable full width bathroom, good size and very nice shower, the bed is very comfortable and easy to use, the diesel heating is remarkably efficient and didn't make a dent in the habitation battery and the fuel gauge barely moved after four days in sub-zero New Forest (22 degrees inside the van on half setting) we got the 150bhp engine and it drives very nicely - motorway cruising is relaxing, especially with the cruise control, steering is light, turning circle is very good - a very nice drive.

The only bit of the van we're not impressed with is the fit and finish - seat coverings (cloth) are not even, odd creases here and there - the swivel seats are very poorly finished, also the velcro backing on the seat cushions that need to be removed if the bed is to be dropped down to its lowest level is not likely to last the distance, the edges of shelves, cupboards, light installations etc are not tidy, some of the trim fixing screws have been overtightened and the holes stripped - all little things that make me think I should've bought German instead of French, but as we are looking to keep the van for a long time, I'll be sorting these over time and getting a better finish. To us, practicality and usability are more important, and it does tick all of those boxes more than any other van we looked at. Interestingly the leather finished example in the showroom was finished much better, so if this sort of thing is important insist on an inspection before accepting it - we looked at an example and ordered a completed one of higher spec (apart from the leather) from the factory, all through Premier Motorhomes at Chichester with whom we were very impressed. I know that we could've rejected it, but to us these things were trivial and we'd rather sort them properly ourselves.

That's my version of a quick report, I'll be doing a more thorough one once we've been on the road a few weeks and have really got to know the beast, but I hope it helps. So far though, we're very pleased and impressed.


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## Gordonm

Forgot to say, RayC is spot on - mine is the 'Anthracite' as well and has the dark grey metallic paint - the chrome trim on the dashboard air vents creates distracting reflections in the windscreen and are very likely to be covered over on mine!
Radio/CD/MP3 is very good and has a TomTom satnav built in, which seems to work well.


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## Hawcara

Thank you for that, are your vans on the Ford or Fiat chassis?


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## rayc

> Hawcara said:
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> 
> 
> Thank you for that, are your vans on the Ford or Fiat chassis?
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> 
> I haven't got a Chausson now but had a 2008 Welcome 75. A good middle of the road motorhome the Welcome range being between the Flash and the top of the range Allegro. The range now consists of only the Flash and the Welcome both rising in equipment levels.
Click to expand...


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## Gordonm

Mine is on the Fiat chassis, it wasn't really a choice as the Fiat was available within a couple of weeks whereas the Ford would've been a 5 month wait. If I'd had the choice, I'm not too sure what I'dve gone for, probably the Fiat anyway as I believe that the engine and gearbox is specifically designed for motorhome rather than van use.


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## Agilityman

Gordonm,

If your swivel seats have cloth covers, I think you will find that these are fitted by the dealer. My Chausson Flash didn't have the covers fitted when I picked it up, the dealer, bless him, hadn't fitted them.
If the fit looks bad, perhaps the dealer is to blame?

Paul.


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## premiermotorhomes

Good afternoon Agilityman, 

The seat covers of Chausson Welcome models are factory fitted, however Chausson Flash models are not factory fitted but supplied loose with the motorhome.

@Gordonm, thank you for your kind comments however if there are any issues you would like to discuss please feel free to contact us.

Regards,
Chris


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## Gordonm

Chris - don't worry, we are genuinely delighted with our Chausson and have no regrets with our choice, but with a lifetime of German car ownership, and with Manufacturing Engineering and QA experience I tend to pick up on these things, and it's the sort of thing that some people might consider to be more important than we do - I think that it's only fair to warn a potential buyer to be aware of this when viewing a Chausson, but is overshadowed by the great design and functionality of this model. It strikes me that the designer probably had and extensively used something similar, and created the 610 correcting all of the issues that fell short on theirs. We looked at quite a few makes with a similar internal layout, and the Chausson was, for our purpose and in our opinion, the most practical for everyday usability, and under the circumstances a slightly crooked seam or two pales into insignificance, and is probably not a common occurrence anyway.


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## Bobthebass

premiermotorhomes said:


> Good afternoon Agilityman,
> 
> The seat covers of Chausson Welcome models are factory fitted, however Chausson Flash models are not factory fitted but supplied loose with the motorhome.
> 
> @Gordonm, thank you for your kind comments however if there are any issues you would like to discuss please feel free to contact us.
> 
> Regards,
> Chris


My new last month Welcome 718 came with the seat covers loose. They were fitted by the dealer, and I asked for them to be refitted (no arguments, great dealer) as they were loose and creased. The general finish on ours is excellent, although I agree the upholstery is not the best I have seen.


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## Hawcara

My brother has just seen the 510 and the van is ideal for him. However, when I looked at it,I could not see where one would put a spare wheel. Does anyone have a solution? Can it be under slung for example as the lockers such as they were did not seem big enough.
Thank you


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## zeberdy

Could any one with a Chauasson 510 based on fiat buuld comment on MPG


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