Coachman Veloce (2027): a UK-built Fiat Ducato campervan at £86,500, and who it is for

Coachman has built a campervan on a Fiat Ducato in the UK for the first time, and it costs £86,500. The Veloce comes in two layouts, the VL65 with a rear lounge and the VR65 with a transverse drop-down bed, and both are priced the same. That is a lot of money for a 6.4-metre panel van, so the useful question is not whether it is nice (a premium British maker's van usually is) but what the price includes, what the payload sums look like with four people aboard, and whether it fits the way you tour.

What the Veloce is

The Veloce is a panel-van conversion, which means it keeps the Ducato's own steel body. Coachman's own Veloce page, checked on 10 October 2026, lists both the VL65 and the VR65 at £86,500, including first registration, VED and number plates, effective from 28 August 2026 and excluding Northern Ireland. Both are 6,363 mm long, 2,050 mm wide and 2,655 mm high including air conditioning, with two berths and four travelling seats. Coachman's page describes a Fiat Ducato panel van in Expedition Grey with the 2.2-litre 140hp engine and eight-speed automatic.

Practical Motorhome reported the launch on 19 August 2026 and says it is the first time Coachman has built any vehicle on a Fiat in the UK, with the 2.2-litre 140hp engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard. Launch coverage describes the range as NCC-approved. With two berths and four travelling seats, the right way to read it is as a couple's van: two people sleep, four can travel.

If you are tempted to go and look, Coachman's motorhomes are in Hall 9 at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC from 13 to 18 October 2026. We have not seen which models will be on the stand, so ask whether the Veloce is there before you make the trip.

The two layouts

VL65: rear lounge, no fixed bed

The VL65 has a rear lounge and no fixed bed. Coachman gives the made-up double as 1,840 x 1,540 mm. Practical Motorhome reviewed the VL65 on 5 October 2026, quoting the same £86,500 and four belts, and describing settees that make up into a double. The trade-off with any rear-lounge van is simple: you get a proper sitting-down space in the evening, with light from the back doors, and you pay for it by making the bed every night.

A word of caution here. One dealer, Raymond James Caravans, lists the VL65 with two fixed single beds, while Coachman and Practical Motorhome both describe a double. We have gone with Coachman's own page, but a bed is the thing you will use every single night of ownership, so check it on the van in front of you, not on a listing.

VR65: transverse drop-down bed

The VR65 puts the bed across the rear, as a drop-down double of 1,900 x 1,545 mm according to Coachman. A drop-down bed keeps the floor space usable in the day and gives you a bed that is ready without any cushion shuffling, and 1,900 mm is a decent length for a panel van. The cost is a slightly higher running-order weight (22 kg more than the VL65 on Coachman's figures) and the mechanism itself, which is worth operating a few times at the dealer to see how you get on with it.

What £86,500 includes

The price is the same for both layouts, and on Coachman's page it buys a fairly complete van rather than a base spec with a long options list. From the maker's own spec:

• Fiat 2.2-litre 140hp diesel with eight-speed automatic as standard
• Whale 6kW underfloor blown-air heating and a Whale Expanse water heater
• Sargent 100Ah lithium leisure battery
• 110W flexible solar panel
• Thetford 90-litre fridge
• 90-litre fresh and 45-litre waste tanks, insulated, heated and underslung
• Propex 20-litre underslung LPG tank
• Four belted travel seats, two berths

The quoted height of 2,655 mm is stated as including air conditioning, so ask whether that unit is standard on the exact van you are quoted. Practical Motorhome lists the height as TBC in its review, against Coachman's 2,655 mm; either way, the van sits well under the 3 m threshold above which a vehicle must display its height in the cab, so you will not need a height notice on the dash.

Two things to ask about the LPG tank. A fixed underslung tank means no cylinders rattling in a locker and no lugging a bottle across a campsite, but you need to know how it is filled and where the filler is. Coachman's page gives the capacity as 20 litres; we have not seen details of how or where it is filled, so put that question to the dealer before you buy. The same goes for the fridge: Coachman gives the make and size, but we have not seen whether it is a compressor or an absorption unit, and that changes how you plan a night off grid.

Weights, payload and the licence picture

Coachman has published the numbers that matter. MTPLM (the plated maximum) is 3,500 kg for both vans. Mass in running order is 3,077 kg for the VL65 and 3,099 kg for the VR65, giving personal payloads of 423 kg and 401 kg respectively.

Now do the sum for four people. Coachman has fitted four belted travel seats, and the running-order figure already includes a 75 kg driver. Three passengers at 75 kg each take 225 kg, which leaves 198 kg on the VL65 (423 minus 225) and 176 kg on the VR65 (401 minus 225) for everything else: clothes, food, bikes, chairs, the awning, the dog and the water. Read Coachman's own definition of running order on its spec page before you count that remainder as yours, because if the fresh tank is counted empty, as it is on Coachman's other models, a full 90-litre tank is another 90 kg. For a couple the picture is far more comfortable: one passenger at 75 kg leaves 348 kg on the VL65 and 326 kg on the VR65, which is roomy for a van of this size.

On licences, a 3,500 kg MTPLM means a category B car licence covers it, whenever you passed your test. On tax, a motor caravan at or under 3,500 kg with an engine over 1,549 cc falls into tax class TC11 at £375 a year for 2026 to 2027; check GOV.UK for the live figure, and note that Coachman's price includes the VED at first registration.

One point readers often get wrong: the 3,077 and 3,099 kg running-order figures do not put the Veloce over the 3.05-tonne line that decides motor-caravan speed limits. That line is unladen weight, which excludes the driver and fuel that running order includes, so the unladen figure will be lower. Check the unladen weight on the V5C or certificate of conformity to be sure which limits apply.

Heating, power and going off grid

The Whale 6kW blown-air heater is a strong unit for a van this size, and the insulated, heated, underslung tanks mean the Veloce is set up for winter use rather than fair-weather only. The water heater is a Whale Expanse. Underfloor blown air also saves locker space inside, which is precious in a 2.05-metre-wide body.

The electrical side is more modest. A 100Ah lithium battery and 110W of flexible solar is a sensible, light starting point, and lithium gives you more usable capacity than the same figure in lead acid, but it is not a big off-grid setup. If your touring is mostly campsites with hook-up, it is plenty. If you want several days in a row away from a hook-up, especially outside summer when a 110W panel gives little, ask the dealer what the fridge draws, whether there is a second battery option, and how the van charges from the engine. Those three answers decide whether the standard kit is enough for you.

How it compares with Swift's Fiat campervans

The obvious like-for-like comparisons are the other British-built Fiat panel vans. Swift's website lists its Fiat-based Merlin from £64,190 and its Carrera from £77,790 on the road. That puts the Veloce £22,310 above the Merlin's starting price and £8,710 above the Carrera's.

Those are starting prices, and the Veloce's price includes the automatic gearbox, lithium battery, solar, underslung LPG tank and blown-air heating as standard, so the fair comparison is a dealer quote for each van built to the same specification, not the headline figures. Price up the Carrera or Merlin with the equipment you would want and see how close the gap is. The Veloce's case rests on arriving well equipped from a maker with a premium reputation; the Swift case rests on a lower entry point and the choice of adding only what you need. Both are legitimate ways to spend the money.

Who the Veloce suits

Couples who tour a lot and want it ready to go

This is the core buyer. Two berths, a complete heating and water system, a fixed gas tank and an automatic gearbox add up to a van you can use all year without building it up over time. With one passenger the payload is generous.

Couples who occasionally carry two more

Four belted seats are useful for grandchildren or friends on a day out. Just do the payload sum above, and remember the Veloce sleeps two: the extra seats are for travelling, not for a four-berth holiday.

Drivers who want a van-sized footprint

At 6,363 mm long and 2,050 mm wide, this is a van-sized footprint that is easier to place on narrow lanes and in campsite pitches than a wider coachbuilt. At 2,655 mm tall it is under the 3 m display threshold, but check the height barrier before entering any car park.

Who it does not suit

It does not suit families who need four beds, or anyone who needs a big off-grid electrical system out of the box. Buyers in Northern Ireland should check the local price, as Coachman's quoted figure excludes NI. If you simply want the cheapest route into a Fiat panel van, the starting prices above show there are lower entry points.

What to check at the dealer

1. The bed. Confirm on the van whether the VL65 is a made-up double or two singles, and lie on whichever it is.
2. The LPG tank. How is it filled, where is the filler, and what is the tank's usable capacity?
3. The fridge type. Compressor or absorption changes your battery planning.
4. Air conditioning. The quoted height includes it; is it fitted as standard on your van?
5. Running-order definition. What does Coachman's 3,077 or 3,099 kg include, so you know what the payload has to cover.
6. Unladen weight. Ask for the figure that will appear on the V5C.
7. Delivery timing and the show. Ask whether the Veloce is in Hall 9 at the NEC, and whether what you see there is the production specification.

The bottom line

The Veloce is Coachman's first UK-built Ducato campervan and it is priced above Swift's Fiat-based Merlin and Carrera: £86,500, one price for two layouts, and a standard specification that covers the big-ticket items most buyers would otherwise add. The weights are published and the sums work well for two, less comfortably for four. The electrical kit is adequate rather than ambitious. If you are a couple who want a premium, winter-ready panel van that is ready on day one, it is a serious contender; just verify the bed, the gas filling and the fridge on the van itself before you sign.