# New 2007 Autotrail - 4500 mile update!



## 102893 (Feb 10, 2007)

Here we are now two months down the road with our new Autotrail Arapaho. We picked it up at the end of March (only one month late!) & apart from some minor snaggings, have to say we are delighted with it.

Firstly the Fiat side, with the upgraded 3.0 litre 160 multijet option, which is extremely good. The engine is powerful and smooth and is fantastic on the motorway, almost as quiet as a car.

On the Autotrail side, after we collected the van, we had a couple of weeks "bedding in" tour before returning the van to our dealer for a week for a few minor snaggings to be sorted out. These included:

Shower rail fitment - loose
Habitation door - needed adjustment
Wardrobe door perspex panel buckled & needed replacement
Waste tank leaking & needed new seal

We had to sort out a few loose screws (over tightened until screw thread had disappeared and made screw loose), oh, and reattach a heating hose to the Truma heater, so we had heat coming from the vent at the front.

Still have one VERY irritating screw, rolling around above the cab somewhere - as yet not found :roll: & the sink in the bathroom is a bit slow to drain when the waste starts to get full, especially if we are a bit nose down.

Other than that, we are very happy indeed with the build quality and comfort of the van. 

We have been on the continent for a month now, 3 more to go before we head home    

So thumbs up to Autotrail from us.


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

Nice to hear somebody else is happy with Autotrail after all the negative reports on here recently. 

We have owned ours nearly 2 years now with no problems at all apart from the Truma gas regulator failing and a little front brake squeal. Still think the interior look of Autotrails takes some beating. The SE pack makes them very well equipped and still one of the very few manufacturers to make a neat job of the awning in its recess. 

OK so the water tanks are a little small and the washroom sink could be a little larger but hey no one has made the "perfect motorhome - yet. :wink: 

Trevor


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## DJP (May 9, 2005)

> Firstly the Fiat side, with the upgraded 3.0 litre 160 multijet option, which is extremely good. The engine is powerful and smooth and is fantastic on the motorway, almost as quiet as a car.


I would be interested to know what the fuel consumption is in the 3.0 ltr.
Talking to another Autotrail owner in France a couple of weeks ago, he was only getting 16mpg. OK it was a Chieftan and he was towing a Matiz behind on an A frame. Even so 16mpg is very low. I get 23/24mpg with my Merc(316dci) based Mohican towing a Matiz.


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## 102893 (Feb 10, 2007)

Well, bearing in mind that the engine is still fairly new and tight, and the weight of the vehicle is around 4.5t fully laden, we have been pleasantly surprised. 

On the motorway, cruising at 70 mph ish we are managing somewhere around 22-23 mpg. On a recent trip from Athens to Delphi, on a mixture of urban, fairly poor national roads and some mountain climbs, we have averaged 21 mpg.

Hopefully as the mileage increases, and the engine loosens up, this mpg will get a bit better.

We are not towing anything, just have a bike rack on the back.


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