Westfalia's half-pop camper bus absorbs a Class A luxury RV into a van

The brand that helped innovate the entire pop-up camper van category is redefining the space once again. With its latest camper van, Westfalia is determined to offer the space and luxury of a high-end Class A motorhome – think something like the Niesmann + Bischoff Flair – inside a very average Fiat Ducato van. The result is a superlative and affordable four-sleeper camper van that offers features usually reserved for much more expensive custom camper van builds.

The European RV industry has long coopted the English word "liner" and reapplied it to refer to a particularly luxurious breed of Class A motorhome. It's a fitting adaptation that we're surprised isn't used more often in actual English RV parlance because it simply extends the definition for a (often large and luxurious) passenger ship or airplane to a large, luxurious motorhome. It's used regularly by the manufacturers of some of Europe's largest, fanciest, most expensive motorhomes, including Niesmann + Bischoff and Morelo. Concorde even uses it as the name of a complete motorhome line.

So when Westfalia introduces a new variant of an existing camper van lineup as a "Liner," you know that's going to be a premium offering of the Columbus family. And that is, indeed, the case with the all-new Columbus Liner, a van meant to "redefine travel in a camper van."

The easiest way to package a liner into a van body would be to work with one of the largest vans available, something measuring 7 meters (23 ft) or more. But that wouldn't be quite as much of an accomplishment as cultivating proper liner-level luxury inside a more average-sized van, something like the 636-cm (250-in) Fiat Ducato.

Using that Ducato model as its starting point, Westfalia splits it into three separate levels. They're not quite as tall or defined as the individual floors of some larger camping vehicles, but the three separate levels do neatly split the concept into discrete spaces.

The first level of that trio is the most basic and familiar, a main floor that starts at a front lounge that brings the driver's area into the fold by way of swiveling cab seats. Here, you'll also find the usual two-seat rear bench equipped with seatbelts and the removable table splitting the two rows of seats. That table provides extra dining space with a swiveling dual-leaf construction.

At night, the entire dining area converts into a 180 x 90-cm (70 x 35-in) bed perfect for sleeping a child or two. Westfalia rates the van a four-berth camper van when equipped with the optional convertible bed, and while that front bed is a little small, the rear bed is oversized enough that young families should be able to accommodate everyone.

Also familiar within the first level layout is the wet bathroom behind the dinette and the kitchen block on the passenger side. In fact, there's nothing really out of the ordinary on the first level – all pretty standard for a Westfalia camper van and dozens upon dozens of other European camper vans.

Level #2 is where things start to stray from the norm. A fixed rear bed to anchor the sleeping accommodations is quite normal – virtually mandatory – for a camper van of this size and style. But Westfalia puts some creativity to work on this version, lifting the bed higher than usual to create a true second level, accessed via three steps. The resulting high-set semi-private sleeping area is similar to the ones we've seen in a few vans with spacious garages down below, a feature also found in the Columbus Liner.

Where Westfalia really evolves the rear-bed design is in adding a "Sky Roof," a clever spin on the pop-up roof for which the brand has been famous for over 70 years. As you notice from outside the van, the pop-up roof is particularly compact, taking up maybe 2/3 the length of the roofline. It isn't meant to house a bed but simply to open up space above the 205 x 186-cm (81 x 73-in) master king bed, creating a more complete bedroom that gives sleepers loads of space to sit up comfortably. It also improves ventilation and breathability.

The Sky Roof also becomes a critical component for the third and final level of the design, a feature usually reserved for custom camper vans and larger motorhomes: a rooftop deck. Westfalia's "Sky Lounge" is even nicer than other rooftop decks we've seen, more akin to the private terrace you'd find in a home or high-end hotel suite, accessed exclusively from the master bedroom through the fabric front door of the pop-up roof.

To create this upper deck, Westfalia installs what appears from outside to be a half-length roof rack in front of the pop-up. Rather than crossbars, that rack comes furnished with a full deck floor designed specifically for scenic lounging. It's a quiet space to have morning coffee and a daytime retreat for sneaking in a few dozen pages of the book you brought along.

Westfalia offers the Sky Lounge as an option, but it looks almost mandatory from the buyer's perspective – it's really the best feature of the whole van, if not Westfalia's entire lineup. A complementary option, the slim Sky Bar with espresso machine fits on a shelf in the master bedroom space itself, allowing owners to brew an early morning espresso to enjoy out on the terrace without ever having to step "downstairs" to the kitchen.

Other smart, thoughtful features are scattered throughout the Columbus Liner interior. The bathroom features a space-optimized layout that uses a slide-away Clesana waterless dry-wrap toilet and fold-away sink to clear out more shower space. The kitchen offers an available dual-burner induction cooktop and a 90-L compressor fridge with two-way door that opens from both outside and inside.

Despite its glamorous high-spec design, the Columbus Liner is also ready to get a little dirty and travel well beyond cosmopolitan city centers and well-equipped campgrounds. It has a full off-grid amenity suite, and buyers can equip it with up to 540 Ah of lithium battery power, a 3,000-W inverter and a 165-W solar panel. A diesel water heater comes standard, piped to a 95-L fresh water tank, while a floor heating system keeps things toasty inside.

The Columbus Liner also comes ready to play, its aforementioned garage sized to easily carry two ebikes or mountain bikes. Depending on the size of the bikes, you might not even have to remove a wheel. The optional Thule VeloSlide system highlighted in the top photo makes for easy bicycle loading and unloading, and the garage is prewired for ebike charging.

Beyond bicycles, the garage can also hold a single scooter or whatever skis, boards, kites and inflatables you need to stuff in to make the most out of every second of the trip.

Westfalia has previewed the Columbus Liner pre-production prototype ahead of an official world premiere at next month's Düsseldorf Caravan Salon. Pricing will start at €83,900 (roughly US$96k) atop a Fiat Ducato with 139-hp 2.2-liter Multijet3 engine and six-speed manual transmission. We plan to attend this year's Caravan Salon and will look to bring back more details, including a breakdown of pricing for the various options, particularly the Sky Lounge.

Source: Westfalia