Westfalia opts for MAN TGE as base for new Sven Hedin

• MAN TGE offers huge range of assistance systems and safety equipment
• Westfalia introduces patent-pending pop-out feature, so as to fit transverse bed in rear

The Sven Hedin is Westfalia’s first vehicle to be based on the new MAN TGE. It will be presented to the general public at Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf, which takes place from 31 August to 8 September 2019. "Sven Hedin" is by no means an unfamiliar name in the industry, as Westfalia has been building high-quality box-type vans under this label since the 1970s.

The new MAN TGE-based Sven Hedin impresses both with the innovative manner in which it has been modified into a camping vehicle and through a whole host of improvements to the base vehicle. The vehicle’s high level of safety merits highlighting first and foremost: Sven Hedin is equipped with Emergency Brake Assist, multi-collision brake and crosswind assistant as standard. This ensures the safety of campers in extreme situations. The van also boasts an extensive range of driver assistance systems to ensure safety. MAN TGE vehicles can optionally be equipped with the active Lane Guard System or Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), among other things. When driving at night and with restricted visibility, the optional LED main headlights also add to the level of safety.

For comfort when manoeuvring, the TGE can be equipped with the rear-view camera. Drivers can see what they are doing when reversing. The new, op-tionally available automatic eight-speed transmission, as well as the innova-tive and ergonomically optimised cockpit, are further features that make the TGE so unique as a base vehicle.

The modifications to the Sven Hedin camper van are also worthy of remark. With a patent-pending pop-out system, the developers at Westfalia have managed to devise a two-metre-long transverse bed in the rear, without per-sistently reducing the aerodynamics or altering the silhouette of the vehicle. The pop-out is a separate GRP part, which can be extended outwards when needed to form a bed of approx. two metres in length. Once the bed is no longer required, the pop-out can be retracted again, so that you can’t even tell it’s there.

Westfalia has also revamped all of the elements in the living and kitchen areas. There is a newly developed, narrower compressor fridge, which has enabled the depth of the kitchen block to be reduced. This provides travellers with a greater sense of space inside. The freshwater and waste water tanks are also impressive for a box-type van: thanks to the 100-litre freshwater capacity (84 litres of waste water), even after a good long shower in the Sven Hedin’s enclosed bathroom, you quite literally won’t be left high and dry.