# Pilote city van



## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

does anyone have any experience or information on these compact A class vans.

i have looked at the site but there seems to be limited info on this specific range


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

I seem to remember recently somebody saying they have one. Have you looked in the Pilote section?


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

just looked - there are a few posts - here's the forum link

Pilote forum


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## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

bognormike said:


> I seem to remember recently somebody saying they have one. Have you looked in the Pilote section?


Should have thought to do that !


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## Coulstock (Sep 2, 2008)

There was one (with NL plates) parked beside us at John O Groats in late July -I was quite struck by its look - looked for very functional and compact - I immedately googled it to find more details.

Harry


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## houseboatdream (Apr 21, 2006)

We have one. Exchanged our Adria for it last Oct. Have used it quite a bit this year (4 months in France). What would you like to know?????


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## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

I am \mainly interested in overall quality of interior , and standard fitings and fixtures

Is yours on the X250 Alko chassis, and what length is it 5.7 or 6.0 m

Which engine 2.2 /2.3 or 3.0

Also general comments on usability , our current van is a PVC and we are considering something with a little more space but still enabling us to get into the small villages etc.

basically anything that may help as I cannot find one near enough to have a look at.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

John - I've moved this to the Pilote forum - keeps all the relevant posts together!


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Generally speaking its the width as much as the length that is the important factor when considering access to the small towns and villages you wish to travel. An A class vehicle tends to be wider than conventional vehicles and certainly quite a bit wider than your Panel Van. Although you will get the additional internal space you require, such a vehicle may not give you the ease of access down narrow roads and the less inaccesible areas. 

The small Pilote A Class is a very nice vehicle though; I know someone who has one.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

gelathae said:


> Generally speaking its the width as much as the length that is the important factor when considering access to the small towns and villages you wish to travel. An A class vehicle tends to be wider than conventional vehicles and certainly quite a bit wider than your Panel Van. Although you will get the additional internal space you require, such a vehicle may not give you the ease of access down narrow roads and the less inaccesible areas.
> 
> The small Pilote A Class is a very nice vehicle though; I know someone who has one.


I think width wise, one of the main points about the Cityvan was that it's under 2m wide, rather than the 2.2 which is the norm for most coach built / A class 'vans these days.


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## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

bognormike said:


> gelathae said:
> 
> 
> > Generally speaking its the width as much as the length that is the important factor when considering access to the small towns and villages you wish to travel. An A class vehicle tends to be wider than conventional vehicles and certainly quite a bit wider than your Panel Van. Although you will get the additional internal space you require, such a vehicle may not give you the ease of access down narrow roads and the less inaccesible areas.
> ...


exactly, this is what caught my attention.


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## houseboatdream (Apr 21, 2006)

Well ours is the CV60 H on a Fiat Motorhome x250 Chassis. The handling is excellent, it drives really well so no complaints there. The width does make a big difference as we have driven it places we would never have taken the Adria. It's light and nippy around Town and there is enough power for Motorways it also has great visibility from the nice big front windscreen. It's easy to park although it takes up slightly more than one average parking place. 

The build quality (interior) leaves a bit to be desired. It's no better than the Adria but I cant honestly say that it's up to Hymer standard. But what can one expect for a £40,000 “budget” Motorhome!!!A few cupboard handles have fallen off and the bottom of the lounge cushions have holes worn through from rubbing against a Velcro patch fastener. The Kitchen is small but functional. Storage is good and the Bathroom good too. The bed is ok but not the same as a normal A-class bed as you have to fiddle about with cushions after lowering. It's also very stuffy in hot weather and would benefit from an extra roof light. 

We have have only seen three others on the road and this is probably because of the grey colour and also because from some angles it looks pretty damn ugly. Pilote neglected to put their name on it at least on the first two versions so nobody knows who actually manufactured it. It causes a lot of confusion. We understand that a newer version with the Pilote name proudly on the front is about to be launched.

If you need any more info or photo's just let us know.


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## houseboatdream (Apr 21, 2006)

Forgot to say that ours is the 2.3 version. Silly me.


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## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

thanks HBD that helps.

The other half was concerned about lack of prep area for the kitchen, from the limited pictures it looks as though there is little or none.

Is there a version with a fixed bed or using the sofa area rather than a drop down , do you know?


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

Quite a few...see the brochure and practise your French.


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## houseboatdream (Apr 21, 2006)

Other half of HBD here!

Yes, the kitchen preparation area is small. I use a chopping board across the sink and the table when necessary. Also, as we were away in the summer we cooked outside on the cadac a few times. How much prep area do you have in a PVC?

I have had a look at the 2009 online brochure on Pilote's website. It seems to me that in 2009 they made the drop down bed an option. Ours is a 2008 model.

The brochure seems to imply that on the 2009 models the sofas/ table area can be made into a double bed. I have never been able to work out how you could do that with ours. It might be possible but it never came with a handbook......(another gripe!). We did try sleeping on the sofas a couple of times when it was very hot but gave up and went back "upstairs".

We did notice on the cover of a motorhome magazine we saw in a supermarket the other day something about Pilote rebadging the cityvan as an aventura or something. Unfortunalty we were too mean to buy it so I can't tell you any more. Although the Pilote website says the 2010 catelogue is available I could not get it to download.

HBD.


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## 108370 (Nov 20, 2007)

thanks again other half of HBD,

This is the problem , our current van has very good prep area but not a very good bathroom.

The thought was could we improve the bathroom bit and keep the good kitchen area etc

Our van is a caletta, follow the link and you can see the kitchen area.

http://www.nuventure.co.uk/

Maybe we should just get the bathroom area ripped out and changed, it is not the size but position of the sink and lack of shelf / storage


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