Britz Campervans New Zealand Review

Editors Review

Last Updated 11/12/20

Britz' depot in Auckland is temporarily transferred from Pearse Drive to Puhinui Road after a fire incident last September 2020. Even so, you can still continue with your adventure and rent out one of their vehicles, which include the first-ever electric campervan in NZ named Evolve. This impressive campervan breakthrough is meant to provide a unique and sustainable experience to travellers! Continue reading to know more about this new addition, along with other important info about Britz Campervan Rentals NZ―its fleet, insurance options, and overall reputation.

Britz Campervan Rentals NZ is no doubt a large campervan company offering comfortable campervans from 2-6 berths. They operate in the mid-high budget space, with a quite unsteady reputation despite the dominating presence throughout the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and their new addition—South Africa.

About Britz Campervans New Zealand

Britz was acquired in 1999 by THL, who also operate Maui and Mighty Campers in New Zealand—in fact, THL claim to be the largest RV rental operator in the world, with brands in NZ, the U.K. (Just Go Motorhomes), the US, and Australia, as well as a franchise operation in South Africa. THL also manage several tourism businesses in New Zealand. While some will be concerned about the fact that their money’s going to a company conglomerate, THL is known to reinvest locally—recently helping the Christchurch community in earthquake recovery efforts, for example.

The Britz slogan in New Zealand is “no boundaries”. With a full range of motorhomes (from 2-berth to 6-berth) on offer, as well as good rates on 2- and 4-wheel-drive cars, they clearly pride themselves on the wide variety of vehicles they have available.  Britz is upfront about not being the cheapest option out there (by far), so they’re always keen to advertise their latest deals on their website—travelling during the off-season can get huge discounts up to 40% off. Not only that, they make sure to be on top of the competition with their Britz Price Match. Also, they have three depots in NZ, making pick-up and drop-off easier than other small campervan hire companies. 

Fleet

Britz’s fleet is relatively new, with the vast majority of vehicles coming in at under four years old. Older vehicles are maintained to a ‘like new’ standard, but none date from earlier than 2012. They design and build their own campervans and 4WD fit-outs, and the company is known for frequently introducing new models; VW or Mercedes makes comprise the majority of the fleet, although there are a couple of Toyotas, like the Hitop. 

All vehicles come with linen and bedding, and kitchen and general equipment, as standard. There are plenty of optional extras for hire; some are bundled, as with the $10 a Day Bundle, which includes extra driver fees, a gigabyte of WiFi for the duration of your journey, a baby booster or child seat, picnic table and chairs and more; the Express Return Pack, meanwhile, includes return emptying of your fuel tank and gas bottle, dropping your keys with Express Key Return, road user charges, and a toilet and wastewater emptying service. This option (the Express Return Pack) is pricey but possibly worth considering if you’ve never been on a campervan holiday before. All campers are also fitted with an in-vehicle tablet which works as a GPS and offers instructional and troubleshooting videos for your camper, at no extra charge.

Also, Britz often has its summer campers―Action Pod, Cruiser, and Encounter. But of course, these are just available by the summer season. The summer campers are designed for couples and even large groups up to 6. 

And if you're planning to get to NZ sooner, be sure to check out this amazing NZ free camping tool that gives you specific freedom camping rules for a particular NZ district. 

Britz Electric Vehicles

2 Berth Evolve

A 2 berth campervan, Evolve is an easy-to-drive LDV chassis that mostly range up to 120 km. Unlike most campervans in the market, this one is an electric-based unit, which means you take on the scenic routes while DC charging—hence, providing lower emission and no EV road user charges. But of course, it is like any other 2 berth in terms of sleeping capacity and interior amenities. It comes with a shower, toilet, kitchen, and lots of storage areas. Plus, its spacious rear lounge becomes a double bed. This fully-electric campervan is designed for adults only as it does not come with child/booster seats. So, if you want to explore Auckland and Queenstown in an eco-friendly manner, Evolve is the perfect vehicle for you. 

Britz Campervans

3 Berth HiTop

This Toyota Hiace model is much the same as the ‘stock standard’ Hi-Top model offered by a number of other companies; it’s a 3-berth campervan with a double bed, and then there’s space for another adult (but more realistically, considering the headroom, a child) to sleep in the bed over the cabin. There are kitchen facilities, with a sink, fridge and gas cooktop as well as a microwave, but no toilet or shower. No matter for between two and three adults who are happy to use camping ground bathroom facilities—and thankfully, the vehicle does come with a porta-potty supplied. Really, the difference here between Britz’s Hi-Top and the Hi-Top models that other companies offer is pricing—but on the other hand, the vehicle is likely to be a lot younger than those of competitors because of Britz’s strict age restrictions, and it might well be in better nick too.

2 Berth Venturer

Getting into a little more luxury in terms of your 2-berth options, there’s the Venturer—for a couple who want to travel in comfort. Because it’s built on the Mercedes Sprinter rather than the Toyota Hiace, it’s a good deal longer and wider than the models profiled above, which means that there’s room to move around in the main cab rather than being crammed together. Because of this, cooking facilities are also good, with a 110-litre fridge-freezer as well as a microwave, gas cooktop and sink with hot and cold water. The sleeping arrangements are flexible, as the bed in the back can be set up either as two singles or a double — plus it has a toilet and shower on board.

2+1 Berth Venturer Plus

This isn’t too different from the Venturer, except this vehicle makes room for two adults and one child—great for a small family—without sacrificing the kitchen and toilet facilities (which are excellent for a campervan of this size). The beds are a little different—one double and one single (which fits above the driver’s seat) is standard, although the double in the rear can be converted to two singles, as with the Venturer.

4 Berth Discovery

The design of this vehicle is pretty unique; it’s a 4-berth motorhome that manages to fit in a kitchen as well as bathroom facilities and a living area, and it does this by laying out the two double beds in a bunk bed formation at the rear. Obviously, this is perfect for a family with kids—the sheer excitement of the top bed will please them enough on its own!—but also great for two couples. With electric heating and a fairly spacious living area, plus an optional bike rack, the Discovery makes a great base for an RV holiday. If you like the sound of this one, then it’s a good idea to book ASAP—it’s only available in the high season.

4 Berth Explorer

This vehicle offers a “traditional” motorhome experience for four people, in which respect it isn’t too different from the Discovery, save for when it comes to the beds. These vary in that they’re two permanently set-up doubles (great at the end of a long day of adventuring!), one in the rear and one over the cab. The fridge/freezer is fairly large at 140 litres, and there’s a sink, microwave and gas stove, as well as a shower and toilet. In terms of uniqueness, there’s not much to put the Explorer above other similar models offered by smaller companies; again, the deciding factor here will probably be the price, so shopping around is worth it if this seems like the sort of vehicle you’d want to hire.

4 Berth Voyager

During the daytime, this Toyota Hiace camper seats two in the front and two in the back—that’s right, it’s a 4-berth, and rather well laid-out for its small size. Two people can sleep in the double bed above the cabin, and two on the rear dinette. This means it’s good for small families on a budget, a couple who really want to go all out and get some extra space, or four travellers who are game for a bit of a squeeze. What’s most impressive is its capacity for internal dining, with a fold-out table, and its well-equipped kitchen. But this means that there’s no toilet or shower onboard—so not for everyone.

6 Berth Frontier

One of the largest models of motorhome offered by Britz, this vehicle is great for families, but with its spacious sleeping capacity of 6, it’ll suit a group of three couples just fine too. What is particularly attractive about the Frontier is its large windows and not one but two living spaces—and when you’re travelling in New Zealand, there’s nothing more worth seeing than the views when you wake up each morning. Two of the three beds pack away during the daytime, so there’s plenty of living space. The kitchen is well-supplied with 140-litre fridge/freezer, microwave, stove and hot and cold running water (as you’d expect from an “all the bells and whistles” motorhome like this one), and the bathroom is surprisingly roomy—there’s floor space to stand in the shower!

While this is a great, and very comfortable, vehicle, it’s also inevitably one of the most expensive to hire—and Britz, offering as they do fairly new, mid-range to top-of-the-market motorhomes, certainly won’t be the cheapest option out there.

6 Berth Vista

This model is functionally the same as the Frontier, with an identically supplied kitchen and the same amount of room in the bathroom, though only one of the beds packs away during the daytime; the permanent rear bed is also a little smaller. Additionally (and unlike the Frontier), it features a DVD player with a flatscreen, as well as a fixed awning. These two motorhomes are ideal for a group of four who want plenty of space, a large family or several couples — the differences between them are really fairly minor, and the pricing is identical.

Britz Summer Campers

Action Pod

The clue is in the name here: this camper isn’t for those who want a luxurious holiday, but for go-getters who want to spend most of their time on the road and seeing the sights, rather than relaxing in a fully kitted-out vehicle with all the latest conveniences. Still, a Britz model is usually going to hold up pretty well against its competitors. There’s an interesting slide-out kitchen fitted at the back, whose cupboards fold out in a U-shaped position to make cooking easier than in, say, a smaller vehicle where you have to stand in the main body of the camper. And unlike some super-budget makes where you may not even get any food storage and preparation facilities to save for the odd coolbox, the Action Pod actually does come with facilities like a fridge, sink and two-hob gas cooktop.

Because this vehicle is designed as one where you’ll be doing a lot of sitting up at the front, it’ll be a relief to know that it comes with air conditioning and heating in the cab as standard. There are two seatbelts, and child or booster seats strictly cannot be fitted—this is your absolute basic 2-person make. It’s available to pick up and drop off from Auckland, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

Cruiser

This ‘summer camper’ would probably be best described as “medium-sized but perfectly formed”—that is to say, Cruiser is a good family campervan that manages to squeeze in a toilet and shower! Recommended for 4 adults or couples with two children, the double-bed setup at the rear is much the same as that of the Action Pod, but it now comes with a convertible living/ dining space that becomes another double bed. Also, you gain on bathroom facilities though lose a little bit of the kitchen space. The front swivel seats easily rotate so that you can conveniently relax after a full day of driving.

Encounter

A family-friendly, summer camper, Encounter is a 6 berth motorhome that makes travelling with the whole crew more fun and comfortable. The motorhome consists of three slightly different layouts, but all are fully-equipped with everything you need—from kitchen facilities to bedroom spaces to general living amenities. Just like most 6 berths, sleeping places include the rear dinette and cab-over areas. Plus, these are stylish yet practical motorhomes are automatic, which means they are a breeze to drive.

Insurance

Now, let's talk about insurance options. The standard liability amounts to $7,500. You may reduce the liability to $0 (not including single vehicle rollover accidents) by availing the reduction option (Peace of mind) at $46/per day. This also covers  windscreen and tyre as well as  overhead and underbody damages. If you want a hassle-free trip, you can avail the Inclusive Pack at $58/ day for the inclusion of the reduction option, as well as Wifi, picnic table & chairs, linens, extra driver fees and the like. 

Reputation

Hiring a vehicle through a company as well-established and supported as Britz is generally a slick process, and the standard of a vehicle is undoubtedly high. However, despite the worldwide recognition, Britz NZ reviews are not all praises. There have been several issues about disappointing vehicle maintenance and customer service. Considering you are renting a unit from a highly-acclaimed company, personalized service from staff may not be that evident. This makes for contrast to some of the smaller family-owned businesses, where one tends to encounter a highly personalized service, but can sometimes run into unexpected problems. But of course, there’s also a tradeoff here on price—Britz is a good deal yet more expensive than smaller brands

Summary

This long-established company has found a firm foothold near the top of the market with its high-quality vehicles. The size of their fleet, though, means that shopping around and doing a little price comparison is absolutely essential. If you’re on a mid-to-high budget or have the sort of funds that can spring for more quality, Britz NZ is well worth checking out.