# VW Clubman or Peugot Executive?



## 120194

New to MH and love the Autosleeper. Have done lots of trawling on the net and have narrowed selection down to either the VW Clubman or the Peugot Executive. Have heard the VW has the best engine, but think the Executive would probably be the better size as we are 2 with a smallish dog (maybe 2).

Has anyone got any experience of either these 2 vans and their pros and cons. Also what should we look out for before buying - looking at '95 - 98' models with up to about 70k miles.

And... has anyone ever bought anything from Motorlands, Preston

Would really appreciate any advice from those who have gone before!

Many thanks
RubyTuesday


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## Patchworkqueen

Hi We have a Clubman on a T4 2.5 TDi base which we are about to trade in.
We have had it for 18 months and have averaged 35mpg over 5000 miles, which I think is quite good.

We are changing to a new Autosleeper that has 2 single beds because the transverse bed is very inconvenient if you have to get up in the night. ( a problem as you get older). You can make 2 single beds but this is not a very good option because you need to carry extra cushions which take up valuable storage space and the resulting bed is narrow at one end.

The washroom/toilet in the Clubman is quite small, just big enough to use as a toilet but not much else. I am only 5' tall and of slim build and I found it impossible to have a shower in the there.

Kitchen storage / cooking arrangements are fine for 2 people.

Autosleepers are well built and you have the backup of the Autosleeper workshop at Willersey.

Think carefully before you buy as we thought we had the ideal MH for us but the bed arrangement did not suit.

Regards Chris


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## motorhomer2

RubyTuesday said:


> New to MH and love the Autosleeper. Have done lots of trawling on the net and have narrowed selection down to either the VW Clubman or the Peugot Executive. Have heard the VW has the best engine, but think the Executive would probably be the better size as we are 2 with a smallish dog (maybe 2).
> 
> Has anyone got any experience of either these 2 vans and their pros and cons. Also what should we look out for before buying - looking at '95 - 98' models with up to about 70k miles.
> 
> And... has anyone ever bought anything from Motorlands, Preston
> 
> Would really appreciate any advice from those who have gone before!
> 
> Many thanks
> RubyTuesday


Hello

We had an Autosleeper Clubman for about 7 years & were very pleased with it. It was our home while working for the Camping Club. The bed was very comfortable & as I recall we never needed an overlay but we were younger then. We bought it at a year old. The previous owners had had one short trip to Germany in it & found that it was not the right van for them. They had a dog & found that the 2 settee version which we liked did not suit them & their dog. Autosleeper did do similar vans with different outlays ie settee & dinette & were slighter longer but maybe they were diferent base vehicles. I am sure other owners will be along later

Motorhomer


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## Zebedee

Hi Ruby, and welcome to the club.

_Just one point with my Mod's hat on. If you don't get a reply to a post, rather than posting another very similar one, post a "Reply" to yourself and ask an additional question. That will give it a crafty bump   to the top where it will be noticed again. Multiple threads on the same topic make the forum very cluttered and difficult to follow._

To answer your question, or at least to give my opinion - I would go for the Executive.

Just to illustrate the point, Spykal has one which is a few years old now and he has been idly looking round for a replacement. (His post is on here somewhere). Thus far he can't find anything that would suit him and Mrs Spykal better than the Exec - and he really knows about motorhomes!

Hope this helps

Dave


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## 120194

Thank you all very much for your help. 

Also to the moderator for advice - afraid this is the very first time I have ever used a forum and don't really know my way around, so will try not to clutter in future. Just didn't know how to get started.

Very useful advice so far and looking forward to any more to follow.

Many thanks
RubyTuesday


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## Zebedee

RubyTuesday said:


> Also to the moderator for advice - afraid this is the very first time I have ever used a forum and don't really know my way around, so will try not to clutter in future. Just didn't know how to get started.
> RubyTuesday


No probs Ruby.

We are pretty informal here and pride ourselves on being one of the friendliest M/H forums, so if you feel unsure about anything you have only to ask.  

Dave


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## shedbrewer

Hi Rubytuesday, Patty and I have had our 1995 A/S Clubman GL for 18 months now and love it to death, the bed suits us, the loo/shower is ideal, the kitchen is functional, heating cosy, storage perfect, easy to drive, tho we get no more than 30 mpg. Autosleepers are very well built, we have spent two summers of five weeks in France in our own home from home. Personal choice would determine whch layout to go for, either the Clubman or the Executive. Go buy,,,,,Jack & Patty, Cornwall


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## Sgt411

Hi RubyTuesday,

My first motorhome was a 1999 2L petrol Executive. I have had a number of vans since but I still regard the Executive as the best van I have owned. My wife still ribs me for selling it. It never gave me any trouble and was very comfortable and reliable and full of quality. I only sold it as the mpg was not very good - about 20 mpg. I have since bought a number of new diesel engined vans from different manufacturers and yes the economy has been good but the build qualities have been lacking compared with the Executive.

Keith
Sgt411


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## Senator

Well you won't be disappointed with any you buy, as both models you are considering are nice vans and of course have the Autosleeper build quality. You could also consider the Talisman, as this keeps you with the Monochoque (Hopefully that's spelt right) body but has the advantage of providing a table and seating area without limiting your space in the van.

We have the Pollensa which is similar to the Talisman in layout and find it ideal. We can also put a dog crate between the dinette seats for travelling. It's a bit safer than having it in the main companionway.

Mark


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## linal

Hi Ruby tuesday, had an executive gls prior to the Hymer & as far as build quality I rate it as every bit as good.
We found it very comfortable & easy driving in built up areas due to its width.
We really only changed for more room when away for couple of months or so & for inboard tanks if up on the ski slopes.
Enjoy whichever one you go for.

Alex.


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## linal

Hi Ruby tuesday, had an executive gls prior to the Hymer & as far as build quality I rate it as every bit as good.
We found it very comfortable & easy driving in built up areas due to its width.
We really only changed for more room when away for couple of months or so & for inboard tanks if up on the ski slopes.
Enjoy whichever one you go for.

Alex.


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## spykal

Hi RubyTuesday 

I think you will have seen by the previous posts that both the Clubman and the Executive come highly recommended. They would both be suitable but the bit of extra space in the Executive will be good both for you and the dog (s). 

Even second hand they can seem expensive when compared with other similar aged coachbuilt vans .... this is I think due to the build quality and the big following that they have built up over the years.

When we first used our Executive we did make up the huge double bed but as we then had a Labrador that liked sleeping in the cab area we changed to using the two single bed configuration... that allowed me to let the dog out without her having to climb over the bed and it is so much less bother to make up the beds :wink: The dog is no longer with us  but we still sleep in the singles ..it is just more practical.

The Executives were built with various size engines on a Peugeot Boxer chassis ... if you have a choice go for the 2.8 ...having said that ours is only a 2.5 but it runs very sweetly, very quietly and returns 26mpg. They did make a few that were petrol engined ...I think these may be quite a bit more expensive on fuel costs but can often be picked up a bit cheaper than the diesel versions.

The "one piece" monocoque GRP body is brilliant and it can be kept looking good for years and years , the shape seems ageless, ... they have no joins where water can get in and cause damp but occasionally they have been known to get a leak around the large side windows.... so do do some checks for any damp or marks behind the side seats under the windows.. a damp meter is always a good tool to take with you when buying.

Best of Luck.

Mike


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## 120194

*Executive Peugeot engine diesel*

Dear Everyone

Thank you so much for all your advice. We are really looking forward to becoming fully fledged autosleeper owners! We've been looking for over a year now, so it's time to take the plunge.

But, in the meantime the research continues til we do the deal... Does anyone know of any problems with the peugeot boxer diesel engine eg starting problems (1995 models). Someone told us that they can be problematic hence the dilema over the peugeot -v- the vw which is very reliable. We prefer the executive because of the extra space, but because we are not mechanical we are tending to er on the side of caution and go for reliability over the preferred layout.

Difficult choice hence the reason we are asking for your experience.

Many thanks
RubyTuesday


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## bunni

hi can anyone help me ive just bought a 1993 auto sleeper clubman
and iwant to clean behind the fixed sliding window i read in the maual to remove the block in the window rail above to allow the fixed window to slide along i cannot see a block please has someone else had this problem

bunni


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## ramos

Hello. My 2 pennyworth is we bought the clubman a week ago now. I picked it up at Gosport drove it to Clacton and back to south coast about 300 odd miles. It drove like a car no rolling on corners and the 2.5tdi surprised me with its pulling power. Overtaking was a dream. I am only 5.6 and find the toilet/shower adequate. The 2 single beds take a sleeping bag with ease you can pull out the bed a little for more width. The heating both on gas or electric was as good as home. ( monocoque build has no draughts) Storage well for mavis the titanic wouldn't be big enough,but its surprisingly large. loads of cupboards. In a nutshell compared to my autotrail which its replaced its for me brilliant another good decision of mavis`s to change to it.


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## bunni

hi ramos
nice to here you are getting about in the clubman.At the mo i have a little problem i have filled it up with water hence only water comes out of the cold and not the hot someone said it might be a air lock any ideas bunni


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## ramos

Hello Bunny.
Sorry to hear about your air lock problem. It says in the manual that before filling open all taps ie kitchen and bathroom and shower.
I have had this on my Autotrail, I shifted it by running the taps for a while.
Hope this helps Otherwise it looks like a bleed job.


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## williedeliver

Hi we are both in our 60's and own an Autosleeper Executive we found the sleeping lay out of the bed was brilliant (and yes sometimes we did need to get to the loo at night}.....
We have two dogs that sleep in the front seats all night.....
The difference between the Clubman and the Executive is the Executive has 2 three seater couches that makes for a better sleeping layout....... it has a 2.5 Peugot engine and returns and easy 33mpg...... it sits well on the motorway and also handles excellent on the small country roads.......
we Did look at the Clubman but found the prices prohibiting ........
We are now upgrading and ours is up for sale now......with 34000 miles on the clock feel free to contact us...........GD


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