Autocruise Pioneer Jolliet

This review can best be read in conjunction with the excellent report on the Autocruise Starfire entered by Pat Ryan in September 2005.

The Jolliet is in fact a Starfire badged by Autocruise in its Pioneer range. Some of the finishes are different (i.e. colour of worktops, decals, colour coded bumpers with mini Hella headlights etc) but basically it is the same.

The point of my adding this report is in respect of the flexibility of Autocruise in making modifications to their standard ranges.

My wife and I had been searching for some time for a small coachbuilt but with the addition of two forward facing belted passenger seats and of similar quality to our Autosleeper Clubman which of course is legendary in its reputation. The modification led to certain ramifications - it is a cost option at just under £1,000.

To achieve the change you have to lose one of the side facing benches which would have the effect of reducing the storage capacity except that Autocruise have added a fixed LPG Tank above the rear axle thus at a stroke doing away with a gas cupboard and retreiving the storage. The prospect of cheaper gas now obtained at an LPG Service station is a bonus! In addition they upgrade the suspension and add air-rides. There may be a problem for some here as this pushes the MGW to 3700kg which has licensing ramifications for over 70's (well rehearsed from time to time in these forums). It is worth specifying the 2.2 hdi engine. On the road it behaves very well although the firmer rear is noticable after a VW based MH. Having however got the tyre pressures sorted by reference to Michelin there is no noticeable over or under steer and it handles predictably.

In sleeping mode there is now a clever arrangement which allows the belted seats to slide forward and the slatted bench seat opposite joins it; Ok this means there are extra cushions compared with the original set-up of two facing benches but in practise these turn out to be quite comfortable.

All the other features and comments in Pat Ryans report are confimed in particular the Toilet/Shower compartment which is quite superb in this size of MH. Both Space-heating and Water heating and the Cooker are gas and electric which is good when staying on sites.

One downside maybe is that the fresh water storage is only 50 litres and as this serves the loo flushing water as well slightly more trips to the tap are on the cards; there is a supplied Carver hose system with pressure reducer which is maybe a little slower but once you are used to it is fine and in fact Autocruise also supply a submersible pump so it is possible to fill-up from another container - useful if you are not moving off site too often.

Overall we are very satisfied, it ticks all our boxes and the build quality is excellent.

Title: Autocruise Pioneer Jolliet
Category: Low Profile
Sub Category:
Reviewer: David Hayward
Related Link: Company website
Added: August 17th 2006
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