The Nissan Interstar van just isn’t a fairly machine. Some would possibly name it a searing eyesore. So to outfit an Interstar camper van into a spot one may proudly name residence, perhaps even for a full-time van life stint, is kind of a feat. Nissan conversion companion Eiffeland will get it executed, carving out a rustic-modern roaming lodge with excessive mattress, versatile lounge and heat, well-appointed ambiance that may make you neglect you are residing in one of many world’s extra aesthetically challenged automobiles.
What an all-time couple of weeks it has been for RVs from main auto badges. Since final Monday, we have seen a very sudden journey trailer prototype from Honda, a brand new throwback birthday edition Ford Nugget, and a possible Nugget and VW California-fighting Hyundai Staria Camper Concept.
It is no large shock, then, that Nissan turns into the newest main international automaker to make a transfer within the RV market.
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Truly, we must always have been ready for Nissan to get in on the enjoyable. In recent times, the model has toiled with manufacturing and idea campers like few to no different main automakers on this planet. It hasn’t fairly hit an indeniable bullseye with an icon just like the California or Nugget, nevertheless it has completely confirmed itself unafraid to remake its vans into some really distinctive campers.
Nissan’s RV work began decades before the COVID-19 pandemic however accelerated after, encompassing all the pieces from wild ideas just like the 2021 Winter Camper electrical ski hut and 2022 Caravan MyRoom zen van to less complicated, dealership-bound fashions just like the Primastar Seaside by Dethleffs and Vanette MyRoom.
Nissan
Technically, Nissan hasn’t developed the RV bits for the brand new Interstar camper van, nevertheless it did make the announcement, serving to Eiffeland get the phrase out and entice a much bigger crowd to its exhibit at this 12 months’s CMT 2026.
Nissan additionally supplied the clean canvas with which the German conversion specialist did its work: a full-size all-electric Interstar van wearing a relatively unbecoming two-tone paint scheme of white atop one thing of a brown mustard. We suppose it really works properly sufficient in a German expo middle, the place you possibly can hardly flip a nook with out stumbling on one other wurst vendor.
Fortunately, Eiffeland grabbed maintain of the paints and brushes from there, lending a extra clever hand to the inside design with its “Loosen up” conversion package deal. It is given the van a spacious, practical structure for 2 vacationers, putting in a raised 75 x 63-in (190 x 160-cm) double mattress on the rear. The excessive mattress positioning leaves a capacious storage down under for no matter campers are bringing alongside for the experience, and a passthrough door accommodates longer objects like skis or surfboards.
Nissan
Up entrance, the kitchen block simply aft of the driving force’s seat features a dual-burner fuel range and sink built-in into the counter and a compressor fridge subsequent to the drawers under.
As a substitute of putting in the standard entrance dinette, Eiffeland strikes the unit to the middle of the van, splitting the mattress and kitchen areas with a two-seat transverse dinette set. The vis-a-vis bench seats are mounted on both facet of a detachable eating desk.
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The place Eiffeland actually brings the design house is in its complete trim, putting in a plank-style headliner entrance to again, together with actual wooden cabinetry faces, window surrounds and wall trim. Grey furnishings and cloth wall upholstery assist to additional soften away the chilly metallic of the manufacturing unit van’s inside, creating a comfortable, rustic, lodge-like environment.
Whereas the ground plan appears fairly spacious and livable, it is somewhat deceiving as a result of it lacks one essential characteristic: a rest room. That is forgivable on a 204-in-long (517-cm) Volkswagen California and equally sized midsize van campers, nevertheless it’s a lot much less forgivable on a full-size van measuring in at 251 in (638 cm) lengthy, particularly one designed for simply two individuals. That is simply an excessive amount of house to not have a rest room, even when simply one thing easy like a pop-up shower/toilet compartment in a box.
Nissan
The white/mustard camper van featured in Nissan’s announcement is an all-electric Interstar-e with the most important 87-kWh battery offering a good 254 miles (410 km) of estimated driving vary (WLTP). It is powered by a 141-hp electrical drive.
What Nissan did not point out in its announcement is that Eiffeland would even be exhibiting a diesel model of the identical camper van with the identical Loosen up package deal however barely totally different inside decor. That van depends on a 148-hp diesel engine and seven-speed automated transmission.
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The diesel variant wears a sticker of €83,590 (approx. US$98,900), whereas the Interstar-e camper is €86,790 ($102,675). Each embrace a 100-Ah lithium leisure battery and 190-W photo voltaic charging setup.
Sources: Nissan Germany and Eiffeland
