While scrolling through the Winnebago website, one might ask themself, “What Makes the new Winnebago Revel cost as much as a house?”
The answer is, “a lot,” actually.
First thing is first, the Winnebago 4×4 Revel is not a cheap option for someone trying to get into #vanlife for as little money as possible. Nor is it designed with a skilled builder as the ideal customer. Please keep your DM’s to yourself about how much better you could make your ‘92 Chevy Astro van for that much money; this van is not for you.
Winnebago Industries Inc.
This $175,000 van is for someone with the desire to hit the road in style, comfort, and absolute convenience without the need to wait on a build or learn a lot of new skills. The Revel is built on the now-infamous Mercedes Benz Sprinter chassis with a 3.0-liter, 188-horsepower V6 and on-demand four-wheel drive with Hi/Lo. An optional set of BFG All-Terrain KO2s get all of that power and torque to the ground efficiently.
The cockpit is clearly designed with a traveler in mind boasting a plethora of features that make long days in the driver’s seat more comfortable. The entire vehicle is adorned with RAM Tough Track Mounts to position your favorite GPS unit or mobile phone in clear view of the driver. An MBUX infotainment system controls the built-in WiFi hotspot, backup camera, music, and navigation.
The rest of the cockpit features are exactly what you would expect from a $175k adventure mobile including lane assist, brake assist, windshield wiper assist, basically all of the “assists” and some really convenient privacy screens for those nights that you can’t avoid the Wal-Mart parking lot.
The living area is everything that you have come to expect from Winnebago plus much more. It seems like every aspect of the interior build-out was thought through with LED lights throughout, a hydronic heating system and a robust electrical setup. The twin 125-amp-hour lithium batteries provide enough juice to run the optional rear air con with solar panels pre-wired to the roof and a 2000-watt inverter powering all of your 120-volt devices. The 21-gallon fresh and grey water holding tanks are insulated and the five-gallon cassette toilet is tucked into the convertible closet/shower with access from the outside to dump black waste.
Winnebago Industries Inc.
Cooking meals in the kitchen is a cinch with a convection cooktop in the top drawer and a larger compressor fridge by the van door. The space in the kitchen is designed to allow the driver seat to be utilized as one half of the dinette seating with the use of a pull up table. The extra space gained in the kitchen is lavished upon the gear garage, under the bed. The Power Lift bed system stows the bed up high and allows plenty of storage for bikes, boats, backpacks and more down below.
With a sticker price of around $175,000, the Winnebago Revel is dipping its toe in the same price pool as some used dedicated expedition machines from other brands in the overlanding industry. It will be interesting to see how this $12,000 price increase over the previous iteration is received by customers. =
It is no doubt that the 2021 Winnebago Revel is packed with features and has the right configuration to be a serious contender in the adventure van market.
Header image courtesy of Winnebago Industries Inc. Learn more about the 2021 Winnebago Revel at winnebago.com.
