Review: Bürstner Lyseo TD 727 G Harmony Line

How does Bürstner fit four beds, a liveable lounge, a large garage, and all the mod-cons into a motorhome measuring 7.49 metres long? Paul Owen samples the clever features of the Lyseo TD 727 G Harmony Line model.

Back in my golden years as a reviewer of all things automotive, I used to measure the decibel levels of a car interior as I drove the vehicle at 100kmh over the same pet stretch of open road sealed by coarse chips. Naturally, brands such as Lexus and Rolls-Royce gave the lowest dB readings as hushed cabin noise is considered an essential value of those brands.

Perhaps the use of a sound meter is something I should consider when driving a motorhome in preparation for writing a review, for my ears have told me that this Bürstner Lyseo TD 727 G Harmony Line has one of the quietest semi-integrated motorhome cabins that I’ve encountered when mobile and it would be nice to reinforce that subjective impression with some cold, hard evidence.

The $259,000 TD 727 G luxury liner gets a couple of head starts when it comes to suppressing cabin noise. It’s based on the latest version of the Fiat Ducato, the Series 8, which means there’s a 160hp version of the new 2.2-litre Multijet 3 turbo-diesel engine under the bonnet. It’s one of the quietest, most refined motors ever fitted to a European light commercial vehicle that’s destined to become a platform for a well-furbished motorhome.

Secondly, it has a double floor, with the gap between the two levels filled with a 41mm thick layer of insulation. As a result, the only mildly intrusive sound I noted when driving the Bürstner was a slight rattle emanating from the wire tray of the separate grille/pizza oven fitted to the kitchen and that’s easily rectified.

Had I stashed that tray in the rear garage, I could have enjoyed near-total aural peace while at the wheel of the TD 727 G and declared it ‘the Rolls-Royce Ghost of motorhomes’ when it comes to cabin noise suppression during transit. By the way, if you think $259,000 is quite a lot to pay for a 7.49-metre motorhome bearing the admittedly prestigious Bürstner badge, consider this: you can buy three TD 727 G Harmony Lines for the price of a single Rolls-Royce Ghost. And there’s nowhere to go to the loo in the latter.

Practice makes perfect

Bürstner began with brand founder, Jakob Bürstner, almost a century ago, a cabinet-maker so skilled that his company was contracted by Deutsche Bahn to fit out Germany’s train stations as well as the houses of railway staff. The journey into making recreational vehicles started with Jakob’s son, Gerhart Bürstner, who produced his first caravan, the Delfin, in 1958.

In 1986, Bürstner made its first motorhome, and two years later, the company kicked off the trend towards semi-integrated versions – where the cab and chassis of a commercial vehicle is retained and joined to a caravan-like structure behind the front seats – when it introduced the T 550, T 610, and T 620 models.

Snapped up by the Erwin Hymer Group (EHG) in 1998, Bürstner continues to innovate. Recent shifting of RV goalposts by the brand includes the clever swivelling wall washroom/toilet/shower area of the TD 690 G Harmony Line (reviewed by MCD in 2021), the inflatable roof area of the radical Lyseo Gallery motorhome, and the first 100% electric campervan in series production, the Lineo T, based on the battery-powered version of the Ford Transit.

No other RV brand has been making semi-integrated motorhomes longer than Bürstner, and the benefits of that experience can be found all over the TD 727 G. Below are some reasons why this Bürstner is one of the best semi-integrated motorhomes in this size bracket, on the market.

Best of all drop-down beds

Back in 2008, Bürstner became the first semi-integrated motorhome manufacturer to offer a drop-down bed above the lounge area when it introduced the Ixeo model. Drop-down beds can be pretty tricky to perfect. The tracks must be robust yet silent in operation and the bed must be held securely in a position where it doesn’t develop any squeaks and rattles. Most of all, it needs to remain up at ceiling level whenever the motorhome is mobile.

No such worries with the secondary double bed fitted to the TD 727 G. Not only is the bed beautifully engineered with its convenient and silent push-button operation, but it can also be locked in the upward position when the Bürstner is on the move. This level of on-the-move drop-down bed security sets a new standard for the RV industry.

Stepping up

Steps are an essential element of motorhome design that’s often overlooked, but Bürstner’s designers, who use the principle of wohnfühlen – home away from home – as the ethos for their work, have created three sets of nicely designed steps for the TD 727 G. The triangular steps on either side of the cab doors are the standout. They’re not only practical for the way they make access and egress to and from the cab easier but also have aesthetic value for the way they make a semi-integrated motorhome look less like an unholy hybrid of a van and a caravan.

The other two sets of steps might appear more ordinary, but they’re beautifully executed. The entry via a side door that’s wider than the semi-integrated motorhome norm begins with the deployment of the powered exterior step that swings out at the push of a button located just inside the door frame. It finishes with two interior steps that are positioned so that each step is no higher or lower than the one that preceded it, making using the steps a smooth and easy action.

Two steps allow access to the twin single beds at the rear and Bürstner has ensured that they can double as storage compartments as well with hinged lids. The bottom one slides away when not required to increase floor space, and this allows easy access to the set of large drawers located to the right of the stairwell. This sliding step is an enabler of the clever bathroom packaging inside the TD 727 G.

Maximising the space used most

Normally, a 7.49-metre motorhome will divide the length of the cabin into equal thirds and devote one section to the main bedroom, another to the lounge/living area up front, and reserve the middle section for the kitchen and bathroom departments. The TD 727 G opts to make the rear bedroom and front lounge a bit more spacious than the floorplan of thirds formula allows yet does it with little compromise to the utility functions of the motorhome.

The rear twin beds are 1.95 and 2.02 metres long respectively and can convert into a king-sized double measuring 2.02 x 2.1 metres. The provision of more lounge area floorspace up front allows gallery seating with two people able to be seated on either side of the large table while two more occupy the swivelling front seats of the TD 727 G. You could easily have a game of blackjack on said table, as it wouldn’t look out of place in a casino. If all of its generous space is surplus to requirements, one of the table’s halves can be quickly folded over the other, improving freedom of movement in the lounge.

The table also provides additional meal prep space to complement that of the kitchen. Most of the bench room is occupied by a three-burner gas hob and a stainless sink and tap, although, there’s a flush-fit cover that can provide extra bench space when these utilities aren’t in use. The kitchen is also served by a 133-litre Dometic absorption fridge with a 12-litre freezer compartment, a modest oven/grille, and an extractor unit that purges the area of cooking aromas. The overhead lockers have soft-close doors as do the large kitchen drawers located on sturdy metal slides.

A high-pressure pump draws freshwater from the 120-litre storage tank, ensuring that the height-adjustable shower on one side of the bathroom delivers a decent spray pattern before the water is collected by the 90-litre greywater tank. On the other side is a compact toilet/washroom area. Need more room in there? Simply use the toilet door to perform its second trick of closing off the corridor between the rear bedroom and front lounge and you’ve got plenty of drying off and dressing up room between the bathroom facilities.

The Italian job

The Lyseo TD 727 G Harmony Line is a 7.49-metre semi-integrated motorhome of the highest quality and is now made using the much-improved eighth-generation Fiat Ducato as its platform. The latest Ducato sets a new standard for driveline efficiency and refinement while matching the likes of the Volkswagen Crafter and Mercedes Sprinter in computer power and the features that it enables. A host of driving aids are now available, thanks to the new electronic architecture of the Fiat, and this Bürstner features a 10-inch touchscreen that enables cell phone projection via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as the automatic engine start/stop system that helps the Series 8 achieve a 10% reduction in fuel over the previous generation Ducato.

There’s also crosswind assist, emergency braking assist, cruise control, ABS, hill start assist, stability control, traction control, and the Ducato will automatically unlock the doors and lower the cab windows after a collision. Bürstner retains most of the Fiat chassis, which will simplify the installation of a tow bar to the TD 727 G. A wider rear axle is fitted for added stability and the motorhome rides over bumpy surfaces graciously. Unladen, the TD 727 G weighs 3330kg, and the useful 920kg payload gives the Bürstner a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) rating of 4250kg.

There’s a two-year warranty on the bits Fiat made for the TD 727 G, matched by Bürstner’s comprehensive two-year warranty on their work, which also has a 10-year impermeability guarantee. Full certification – electrical, gas, and self-containment – is included in the price, along with a 100W factory-fitted solar panel, a 1000W inverter, and two 95Ah batteries.

And did I mention that it’s a quiet motorhome to travel in? That’s due to several factors – the 30mm thick insulation of the side walls and ceiling to match the thicker insulation of the double floor, the sturdy security of the cabinetry, and the increased refinement of Fiat’s latest motorhome platform.