Automotive

Modular Toyota camper van brilliantly bridges city life and outdoor adventure

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The Crosscamp is built to enable the perfect escape from city life
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Crosscamp is built to enable the perfect escape from city life
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The sporty paint on the Crosscamp pictured helps give it the feel of a versatile city-to-mountain van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Crosscamp rolls out of the garage ... toward downtown or city limits?
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The base-level Crosscamp comes standard with a 118-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Erwin Hymer Group welcomed Crosscamp to its vast portfolio earlier this year
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
With an available spare pair of seats, the Crosscamp can haul seven people – perfect for a large family or group of teammates
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The multipurpose Crosscamp would be particularly useful for US city dwellers looking for a single vehicle to do it all
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The drop-down rear bench fills the cabin out with bed space
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Toyota Proace Verso isn't sold in the US, but the package seems simple enough to adapt to a different small base van, perhaps the Nissan NV200 or Ford Transit Connect
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Crosscamp Toyota Proace Verso camper van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Crosscamp Toyota Proace Verso camper van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Crosscamp measures 1.99 m high when closed so it can park in garages
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Proace Verso has a lift-gate in back
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Independently opening window
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Loading up for the trip
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
At the helm of the Crosscamp van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
A long way from standstill traffic and blaring horns
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
An available refrigerator puts cold storage right next to the kitchen block
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Toyota's navigation system is available optionally
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Cruising the coast in the Crosscamp van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The Crosscamp is an excellent family camper van, for a couple or a family of three or four
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Two people can use the Crosscamp as a spacious two-sleeper adventure van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Despite its non-American-market base van, a Crosscamp-style van seems like a good fit thanks to its efficient packaging and appeal to the type of young, adventurous buyer American RV makers are trying to court
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Inside the main cabin of the Crosscamp camper van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Inside the main cabin of the Crosscamp camper van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
The kitchen has a dual-burner stove and sink below hinged lids
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Rear load area
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
Ready for bed
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group
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The newest member of the Hymer family, Germany's Crosscamp seeks to extend city dwellers' footprints into surrounding mountains, beaches and forests. And we're betting its sporty, compact camper van of the same name will be successful at doing it. Based on the Toyota Proace Verso, this sub-5-m (16.4-ft) camper van transports, sleeps and feeds four people, readily switching over to a cargo van or seven-seat people-mover. Use it to move across town one weekend, take the kids and their friends to football practice during the week, and venture out on an extended road trip the following weekend.

Building a camper that's as suitable for cities as it is for open spaces starts with choosing a compact base van, and Crosscamp strays from usual suspects like the VW T6 or Fiat Talento/Renault Trafic and chooses the 495-cm (195-in) Toyota Proace Verso, building on top of Toyota's unmatched reliability and customer satisfaction. The Proace Verso brings along a trio of available four-cylinder Euro6 diesel engine options, ranging between 118 and 174 hp, each paired with a matching six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

The sporty paint on the Crosscamp pictured helps give it the feel of a versatile city-to-mountain van
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group

Standard assistance features include cruise control, rain sensor, and front and rear parking sensors, while the options list tacks on available Toyota Pro Touch & Go Navigation and Safety Sense bundle with lane departure alert, adaptive cruise control with distance regulation, pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, and other technologies.

The capable little Proace Verso only gets more capable at the hands of Crosscamp, gaining a versatile floor-rail-based conversion that blurs the distinctions between camper, cargo and passenger vans. Central to this versatility is a removable indoor/outdoor kitchen block that can flame and sizzle in the van's midsection or outside under the vast, cloud-smeared sky. Removing it involves loosening a couple screws, detaching a few electrical connections and setting it up with the optional outdoor kit, which includes a 12V extension cord and leveling stand. The kitchen comes stocked with the usual dual-burner stove and sink and also houses drawers, a storage compartment for 2.8-kg propane canister, and 10-L fresh and waste water tanks.

The Toyota Proace Verso isn't sold in the US, but the package seems simple enough to adapt to a different small base van, perhaps the Nissan NV200 or Ford Transit Connect
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group

When the kitchen is inside the van, the removable dining table attaches to the front to put some plate-and-cup surface between the swivel cab seats and rear bench. The dining table can also secure to the kitchen outside, working as extra prep space.

The Crosscamp sleeps up to four people on its folding rear bench and pop-up roof beds. The upper bed measures 120 x 200 cm (47 x 79 in) and features springs for added cushion, and the lower bed measures 114 x 199 cm (45 x 78-in). The roof itself ducks down under the 2-m (6.6-ft) mark when closed, so the Crosscamp can easily navigate parking garages back in the city while still offering more than 2 m of front headroom when popped open at camp.

Ready for bed
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group

Crosscamp puts some storage cabinets at the back of the van and drops an optional compressor fridge between the cabinets and the kitchen block. It can also add a second fridge between the driver and passenger seats for keeping cold drinks at the ready during the ride. The rear cabinets also house the 95-Ah battery and electrical components that run the LED lighting and other equipment.

The multipurpose Crosscamp would be particularly useful for US city dwellers looking for a single vehicle to do it all
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group

Crosscamp doesn't just envision its camper serving as a rolling vacation, or even as a motorhome + secondary household vehicle, but as a fully-functioning everyday driver that can have more fun than the average family car. The van is capable of quickly transforming from work commuter, to errand runner, to small project support vehicle, to family van, to motorhome and back, all thanks to its floor rail mounts. The rear cabinets and fridge remain permanently installed, but the kitchen can be removed to open up space for up to seven seats. All seats can remove just as easily, creating a compact but capable cargo van. Five seats come standard, and buyers can add the two extras optionally.

Between its standard dual side doors, indoor/outdoor kitchen and modular camper/cargo/passenger van interior, the Crosscamp is clearly playing in the same arena as Europe's other ultra-versatile mini-campervan powerhouse, the Pössl Campster. And it seems a very attractive alternative for those that prefer the Toyota badge over a Citroën-based conversion.

A long way from standstill traffic and blaring horns
Crosscamp/Erwin Hymer Group

The Crosscamp starts at €42,999 (approx. US$47,625), and thanks to the long reach of the Hymer Group, the vans are available at a wide variety of motorhome and Toyota dealerships. Options include a cabin heater, an exterior awning and ambient lighting.

Source: Crosscamp

View gallery - 28 images
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