WHEN is a mobile home not mobile? The answer, of course, is when it's a static caravan of the sort most of us have spent a childhood holiday in.

True, they can be transported from site to site by low loader, but if you want a real mobile home for your annual holidays, Pilote UK has the rather luxurious answer.

The firm's motorhomes are a far cry from the sparse, cramped and downright unappealing ones of yesteryear.

Their top of the range Pacific 690 boasts a permanent double bed, large lounge area, which converts to a second double, fitted kitchen with hob and grill and shower room and toilet.

Interior fittings are stylish, there is a TV point, excellent lighting and ventilation and occupants are powered along by Peugeot's 2.5 powerful turbo-diesel engine which is more than man enough for the job.

Two adults and two children would be more than comfortable on a two-week holiday and four grown-ups would get along fine, providing none of them suffered from claustrophobia.

If you like camping holidays, but also crave a few home comforts and the freedom to go where you please, Pilote's 690 and the compact Debut 30 are definitely worth a look.

The only niggling reservations are the handling, which can be a touch hair-raising on narrow, winding roads and the 690's price, at around £42,000 is out of reach of all but the most ardent motorhomer.

Rather like

caravans, motorhomes, are an acquired taste.

They tend to be a bit cumbersome and unwieldly and, like caravans, the subject of a certain amount of discontent from other motorists.

However the benefits are many. Once you are on the road you know that on arrival at your destination there will be a minimum of fuss and bother. There's no worries about getting your bed ready for the night or parking up and having a look round.

Our thanks to the Motor-homes Information Centre who

arranged for us to test the Pilote, which was also a back-up vehicle for the Evening Advertiser's Three Peaks Challenge team, and to Hays Leisure of Batheaston near Bath who provided the vehicle.

n Summary: This is luxury motorhoming and for those who can afford it, as good as it gets.