Biggest everyday cars for camping (UK & EU)
This page is for all of you who are looking for the biggest everyday car for camping. You don’t care as much about other criteria like comfort or reversibility (switching between camping and standard 5-7 seats interior easily). The cars I’ve picked from our database have the longest and/or the tallest boot.
These cars are the perfect, spacious candidates for a DIY car camping conversion:
Hyundai Staria – the longest boot
With 242cm boot length, the Staria offers a lot of legroom. It’s also pretty comfortable and also offers one of the tallest boots out there – 136cm boot height (with the seats removed). It’s almost closer to being a Multivan than an MPV.
The seats fold down nicely – making it a perfect ad-hoc camper where you just throw something flat onto the folded seats + a mattress and you’re off. But this also means it’s not the best DIY conversion candidate – it’s an expensive & luxurious car you don’t want to drill into. Perhaps the cargo model is more suited for that purpose and you’ll get an even longer boot.
Note it’s a new car – as of today (April 2022), the only available offers are above 50,000 GBP / 60,000 EUR for the passenger version and 30,000 GBP / 36,000 EUR cargo version .
Fiat Doblo Combi Maxi XL (High Roof) – best price/space ratio
With 217cm boot length and 150cm boot width, you will get plenty room for your buck. Even 2022 models start around 16,000 GBP / 19,000 EUR and 5 year old models go for around 11,000 GBP / 13,000 EUR.
The High Roof version gives you +10cm additional headroom and storage space + windows to let more light in. This is the tallest MPV you’ll find, so if space is your primary criterion, this is the car for you.
VW Caddy Maxi Life – a good mix of size, comfort and reliability
With 225cm boot length (might need to remove the rear seats to achieve that, otherwise still a good 190cm) and 126cm boot width, the Caddy mixes a lot of space with better comfort and reliability. It’s not as affordable as above Doblo at 29,000 GBP / 35,000 EUR new and 5 year old models at around 20,000 GBP / 24,000 EUR. Although the Caddy is a reliable car, so even a 10 year model at around 10,000 GBP / 12,000 EUR will serve you well.
The Caddy is a good compromise between size, reliability and comfort.
Nissan NV200 OR Peugeot Rifter Long – great for size & price
These cars offer about the same boot size, but the Rifter is longer (223cm) but lower (113cm) the NV200 is taller (135cm) but shorter (204cm). The NV200 is most often found as a panel van model (no windows at the back) but you can also look for the Evalia model.
A taller boot is better for bigger camping boxes or DIY camping conversions, which tend to take a lot of room, not leaving that much for sitting on the bed.
Pricewise, a 2021 Nissan NV200 will set you back around 24,000 GBP / 29,000 EUR and a 5 years old one costs around 10,000 GBP / 12,000 EUR.
The Rifter is a new kid on the block with a price tag of 24,000 GBP / 29,000 EUR for a 2021 model and 18,000 GBP / 21,500 EUR for the oldest available model from 2018. You can of course go for its predecessor, the Berlingo – with similar sizes available at lower prices. From 2021, these will be only available as electric vehicles.
Other everyday car campers worth mentioning
- Chrysler Grand Voyager – Big, comfy (at places too much – a fold-up TV isn’t really necessary), but expensive to run, harder to drive.
- Renault Grand Kangoo, Opel (Vauxhall) Combo, Peugeot Partner, Mercedes Citan – they are about the same size as a Peugeot Rifter, as they come from the same base model.
- most of these cars come as panel vans too – which offer a bit more room as there’s less trim and no seats in the back, making them better DIY camping conversion candidates
- VW Sharan & Seat Alhambra – much more comfortable ride, but still close to the above cars in terms of size: 209cm boot length and 113cm boot height. In my opinion, they are the best compromise between comfort and size – the best of both worlds. That’s why I bought a Sharan and made it into a camper for 110 EUR 🙂
Did you find what you were looking for? Or is there a car that’s missing? Let me know in the comments below!
Do you already have your own camper? You can showcase it on this website – let me know!