Inside, it’s what you expect from this company – Practical Motorhome said 'it wouldn’t be a stretch to call Auto-Trail the Jaguar of the motorhome world', because it offers luxurious design that is still distinctively British. The interior colour scheme and the soft furnishings are particularly smart and they offer a very good sense of light and space, neither dark and claustrophobic nor light and cheap-looking.

The lounge has a large rooflight and good electric lighting and it does not suffer from the ‘corridor effect’ where the washroom forms a bulkhead into the living area giving an overpowering sense of an enclosed space or where the wardrobe and washroom face each other on many models of this age. The feeling of spaciousness is amplified by cutaway lounge end panels that make the cab and slide-away bunk more part of the living area.

Everything looks and feels opulent, with wall to wall carpets that go under the furniture, hardwood-framed locker doors and aircraft-style lockers that curve inwards at the top to expose more ceiling and add to the airy feel, this is a common feature in 2017 but even the rest of the Autotrail range at that time still had regular squared cupboards (see brochure below).

Refreshingly the furniture in these models is made from plywood as opposed to MDF and plastics so there is a strong feel to everything that promises longevity.

The lounge comprises two very comfortable, facing settees and a big freestanding table. With the cab seats swivelled it will seat up to six people.

When not in use the solid table stows in a dedicated slot in the large wardrobe and Auto-Trail incorporated an additional smaller round table mounted in a bracket at the front of the nearside lounge settee, and this can be rotated into position so that loungers in both settees can use it for mugs, books and the like. When the lounge is set up for meals, this table provides for diners in the cab seats. When not in use, it can be swung to one side so as not to impede access to the cab, and its sturdy construction means that it can be left in place when you’re travelling.

One thing that’s lacking in some Autotrail lounges is a three-pin power point, not so here, there are three sockets that service the lounge and kitchen area when using mains. A further two matching sockets have been added powered by the battery via an inverter, with several USB charging sockets in the habitation area and cab.

The lounge is a bright, smart, cosy place to sit. In this particular van there is now all-LED lighting, it came with LED spotlights then newer LED units replaced the tubes in the fluorescent light units, which is efficient and sufficiently bright without being harsh.

Gas and Electric central heating is fitted using a Truma dual power unit and blow heater vents from it in the lounge, kitchen and bathroom.

Large lounges, particularly longitudinal ones with facing sofas, as in this Apache 640 mean more often than not designers end up simply squeezing the kitchen in,  which can make a dark space for the chef to operate in.  To solve this problem, Auto-Trail has put a large L shaped worktop area by the sink and cooker for when ingredients need to be immediately to hand. This allows for a large sink with recessed draining board and a glass hinged cover that creates ample amounts of workspace with the larder directly below and a wonderfully situated eye level mains/battery/gas fridge freezer within reach directly behind the chef when cooking.

There’s a full size gas oven with seperate grill, combined four ring electric or gas hob with a fold up glass splash-back and an extractor fan roof vent to remove cooking smells. There is natural light from the window and in the evening there are two lights in the ceiling and a long under cupboard light right above the workspace and sink. There’s also no less than three power sockets in the kitchen area!

In the 640SE using an end toilet and bathing area has made good a chunk of space available for these facilities, allowing for separate shower and toilet areas.

The carpeted toilet area is fitted out in wood, giving the washroom a warm and luxurious feel and banishing the sterile white polycarbonate more common to bathrooms of this era. The shower stall itself is roomy; it has a proper folding screen door instead of a curtain, led lighting and recessed shower rail.

There is ample hardwood storage with lots of space around, and importantly leg room in front, of the toilet. The sink sits in the middle in front of a window and a large mirror swings out from the right to make use of that natural light. There are two pop up vents in the shower and toilet area and an opening window so ventilation is excellent.

The Apache has bucketloads of  storage. It has a battery container recessed out of the way into the locker floor and both large seat-bases are free for storage, but best of all it has a rear ‘boot’/shelved storage locker, with room enough for folding chairs, ramps, hoses, cables, bbq and the like. The spare wheel is held underneath.

The internal wardrobe is big enough for a couple’s clothes for two weeks, and there’s also a shoe cupboard. The aircraft-style lockers look smart and are something even many new vans lack, running the full length of the habitation area on both sides broken only by a roll up wine rack with spring clipped bottle holders. A row of lower lipped shelving is ideal for phones, chargers, books and other, similar items that you need to hand when stopped for longer periods. There are two large seat base lockers, one accessible from outside, two full-sized cutlery and utensil drawers, with a third drawer actually being a disguised drop down cupboard.

An entertainment centre of sorts hides behind a roll around door visible from all the seated areas. This has 12v and 240v power, usb outlets to power speakers and streaming devices and UHF/FM/Satellite connections. It comfortably houses all of this and up to a 24” LED TV which also swings out of the cabinet for more viewing angles. An LED DVB-T2(full HD digital signal) TV that runs on 12v or mains has been fitted with a bluetooth soundbar.

The habitation body, with its bulbous roof and clean lines, is distinctive, with signature thick insulated walls. The Apache 640SE quality is excellent inside and we love some of the clever touches that Auto-Trail incorporates, such as the lipless gas locker, which is set as low as possible in the body with part of side skirt forming the hatch, making exchanging full size gas bottles a painless task.

The balance of the habitation bodies on Autotrails is good, given it uses the full ladder chassis and even when conditions take a turn for the absolute worst,  the high cab aids visibility and the powerful 2.8JTD engine pulls like a train with friendly handling and a relatively short overhang which ensures that driving is never too taxing or stressful. Especially useful is the aftermarket reversing camera integrated into the dashboard. On the road you benefit hugely from Auto-Trail’s standard wall-to-wall carpeting, which is fitted before the furnishings are put in, creating an additional layer of sound-deadening material between the furnishings and the chassis. This one also has as a desirable lowered passenger seat base. The thick GRP rear pillars set its appearance apart from others from this period as being that little bit more crafted. with roof rails making up the side lines to allow a higher over-cab bed area without raising the whole roof. The water tanks are housed under the floor between the chassis rails with a flexible waste hose that unclips from to reach awkward drains.

The SE includes features like a BBQ that uses the motorhome gas via a socket situated beside the door so it can be used under the flush fitting lighted awning, an external hot/cold shower, automatic step, reversing sensors, rear folding ladders, fog lights and the like. Options fitted to this Apache are a Fiamma LIFT77 bike rack that is mounted high up away from the ground and car bonnets, but lowers by way of a crank to bring the bikes down to within easy reach. Cruise control has been fitted on the steering column and an LCD display showing current and total battery consumption etc has been fitted.

I work mainly on alloy and composite bodied cars where you will find steel alloy or stainless fixings combined with aluminum parts, the two metals creating a corrosive , so anything with threaded areas or parts that need to seperate at some time, this will be applied. I of course use the correct oils and greases on moving parts or where specific type has been specified.