Hymer DuoMobil 634 review

Definitely not your average motorhome, the Hymer DuoMobil 634 contains a mixture of innovation and refinement of detail. The layout provides the first hint that the DuoMobil is different.

Built on a Fiat chassis, it’s powered by Fiat’s 2.3-litre 180hp Euro 6 turbo diesel engine driving the front wheels through a six-speed AMT auto gearbox. It can be driven on a Class 1 (car) licence and can tow up to 1500kg. It features LED daytime running lights, alloy wheels, dual airbags, and a suite of driver assist and safety programmes.

It has a fully integrated body built from stem to stern by Hymer. The vehicle reviewed is white with simple, attractive decals energising what would otherwise be quite a bland body.

It offers a number of externally accessed storage options, the largest being the rear garage with hatches either side of the RV. Amidships is a smaller tunnel locker also with hatches both sides. Kerbside is a small locker. The LPG locker is virtually under the driver’s seat.

Water tanks, batteries, heating equipment, and electrical gear are installed so they are easily accessed and serviced either from inside or outside the vehicle.

Cab

The cab blends in nicely with the rest of the interior. There’s a small step down to the cab but it’s not an issue. The cab seat leather upholstery matches that in the lounge and the floor mats are durable black rubber. Alongside the driver is a timber cabinet that serves as a glove box for all the driver’s bits and pieces. When the roller shutter-style windscreen blind and pleated side curtains are deployed, they provide total privacy from the outside world. All in all, a separate space for a quiet timeout.

Welcome aboard

Hymer believes in making entry and egress as easy as possible. Two extending alloy steps welcome you aboard and two more steps ease you inside. One of these has a lifting lid accessing storage below. To the left are two lower lockers dedicated to shoe storage—the perfect place to change wet, muddy outdoor shoes for warm, dry slippers.

Above is a third locker for bits and pieces and above that again a row of key hooks and a shelf for sunglasses, cameras, etc. The entry door has an insect screen and central locking that is integrated with the vehicle remote locking system, which unlocks the entry door but requires a key to lock it again.

The interior is warm and inviting with rich mid-brown timber cabinetry, cream full leather upholstery, and off-white bench and tabletops.

Kitchen

It has a practical bench-top with the sink on the right, the three-hob cooktop to the left, and working space in between. The sink cover, when reversed, becomes a cutting board that rests in a handy wall bracket when not in use.

The door and drawer fronts are finished in attractive ivory lacquer, with deep overhead lockers ideal for food or crockery. The drawers below are fitted with dividers to keep contents separate. One drawer is dedicated to cutlery and a slide-out to twin rubbish bins. A central locking system locks the drawers shut while travelling. A cabinet suitable for a coffee machine sits above the sink, which can be lowered to a more convenient working height at the press of a button.

Opposite the bench is a Tec Tower 150-litre three-way fridge, freezer, and grill and bake oven. A small pantry-style slide-out beside the fridge houses a pair of rails for hanging tea towels to dry and a single easily cleaned stainless steel bottle rack ideal for oils and dressings.

Rear lounge

There are two features that distinguish the DuoMobil from most other European motorhomes. One feature is a large six seat U-shaped lounge. The other is the apparent lack of the main bedroom.

The lounge is unusual for two reasons, firstly because it’s located at the back of the vehicle, and secondly, because it sits half metre short of the back wall, with a wide shelf bridging the gap. Locating the seating this way, forward of the back wall, allows a couple of pushbikes to be stood for transit in the rear garage.

The seating itself is comfortable and the side seats are long enough that you can put your feet up when relaxing with a book or watching TV. The table (the bed base when the dinette is converted into a bed for guests) is permanently fixed in position. The table-top can be moved in all directions, which is handy when taking your seat. Once everyone has their seat, the table can then be fixed into position. But being locked in behind a table doesn’t suit everyone. It would be interesting to see how the lounge functioned if the fixed table was replaced with a freestanding table that could be removed when not needed.

A hatch in the shelf gives access to a storage space with charging facilities for laptops, cameras, and phones, plus storage space for books and magazines. In each rear corner is a glass cabinet with a small drawer beneath for barman’s accessories—openers, coasters, and corkscrews. Six overhead lockers offer heaps of general storage and there’s more behind the lounge seating curved corner cushions.

Mounted on a pivoting arm beside the fridge, the TV can be viewed from the lounge or the kitchen.

While the rear lounge configuration is foreign to European buyers, it remains a popular one for Kiwi buyers.

Note: by rearranging the seat cushions, two forward facing passenger seats with seatbelts can be created.

Bathroom

The centrepiece has to be the luxurious ‘Cool Glass’ sink elegantly perched in the corner on the bench-top inviting you to refresh yourself after a hard day’s activity walking the sights, seeing what the town has to offer.

A wall cabinet and a host of shelves provide stowage space for personal pills and ointments with room for bulkier items in the cabinet below the bench.

Note the coat hooks and drinking glass holders, the heating vent outlets for when the weather turns cold, and the solid bathroom door also closes off the bathroom from the rest of the motorhome.

Facing the washroom is the separate 700 x 700mm shower stall. Shelves are moulded into one shower wall for storing shampoo, conditioner, liquid soap, and all the other concoctions that have invaded shower shelf space over the years. Above is a clothes hanging rail as well as a ceiling hatch. The shower is closed off with a pair of clear acrylic doors that are fastened back to keep them safe while travelling.

Bedroom

The other feature that distinguishes the DuoMobil from other most European motorhomes is the sleeping arrangements. The DuoMobil doesn’t have a dedicated main bedroom. Instead, by clever use of the bed over the cab, it creates a separate private sleeping space.

Once the cab seatbacks are folded forward, the bed over the cab can be lowered by hand to a height that’s easily accessed from a pair of steps that slide out of the cabinetry when required. The bed is fitted with a cold foam mattress sitting on sprung wooden slats and is supremely comfortable.

Bed occupants can choose to sleep either across the bed (east-west) or along the bed (north-south). Setting up to sleep north-south involves placing two upholstered pads, one on each of the side cabinets for your feet to rest on while you sleep. The pads are half the thickness of the mattress but your feet won’t know the difference. A sliding door closes off the gap to the cab under the bed and the bathroom door closes of the rest of the motorhome giving you total privacy. Adjacent cabinetry provides drawers, a hanging locker, and a full-sized wardrobe for your clothes and other personal belongings.

Privacy curtains drop to enclose the bed. There are ample reading lights—one for each of the twin bedheads, plus two ceiling lights and an opening central ceiling hatch provides ventilation and daylight. The bed can be left made up when it is raised up out of the way in the morning.

Verdict

Hymer has come up with an ingenious way of promoting the bed over the cab to the position of the primary bed in the motorhome. In doing so, they have made space for a large rear lounge, a feature not usually seen in European motorhomes fewer than eight metres in length. By adding in a stylish kitchen, first-class bathroom facilities, and adequate storage they have created an attractive touring package.

As reviewed, the DuoMobil 634 retails for $249,900, including GST and on-road costs. For further information, call the SmartRV sales team on 0800 007 627 (Auckland) or 0800 007 628 (Christchurch) or visit smartrv.co.nz.

Hymer DuoMobil 634 specifications

Hymer DuoMobil 634 price (as reviewed): $249,900, incl. GST and ORC

Plus

• Exciting new interior layout
• Larger kitchen with excellent storage
• Drop-down bed that offers east/west or north/south sleeping options

Minus

• A freestanding dining table instead of a permanently mounted table