This Is the 2025 Knaus CUVision 500 MQ: A Transforming Motorhome Packed with Surprises

This is the Knaus Tourer CUVision, a motorhome like no other out there. As the headline says, it's a transforming RV, which means it remains compact for everyday use in the city, easily garageable, and highly maneuverable, but it becomes bigger at camp at the single press of a button. Now at its 2025 edition, the Knaus CUVision is starting to reach fresh territories, which, in turn, will mean more exposure.

The Knaus Tourer CUVision is the more compact version of the Tourer Van from the same brand and was introduced as a digital concept in 2022. CUV stands for Caravaning Utility Vehicle, a moniker that Knaus Tabbert coined specifically for this project, designating a small-factor, urban-class vehicle that can serve as a fully-fledged motorhome once you arrive at camp.

The CUVision is offered in two layouts, the 500 MQ and the 500 LT, with the latter offering more entertaining space and a higher sleeping capacity. The CUVision 500 MQ can sleep as many as four people if you add an optional bed over the driver's cab, but the 500 LT has a six-person sleeping capacity, including that same optional bed.

The 2025 CUVision 500 MQ is toured in the video below and is a good example of what makes this RV so noteworthy. Hint: it's its transforming capabilities, starting with the fact that the entire roof slides upwards to offer 217 cm (7.1 feet) in interior height and ending with the bathroom that makes a walk-in shower cubicle pop out of thin air when you need it.

Built on top of a Volkswagen T6.1 Transporter, the CUVision 500 MQ is designed for family travels, with extra focus on convenience and maneuverability. At just 5.9 meters (19.3 feet) in total length, it comes with a permissible maximum weight of 3,500 kg (7,716 lbs). In road mode, it's very compact and comparatively lightweight, but it will offer all the basic features of a much larger RV once you reach camp.

Obviously, compromises have to be made to get this 2-in-1 kind of deal, starting with storage. With the exception of a large pass-through garage at the rear, three drawers, and a handful of other insignificant storage options inside the cabin, you really don't get that much space to store your stuff in. Unlike what you get with a standard van, the lower profile of the CUVision and its pop-up roof means you will have to do without overhead, wraparound cubbies.

Still, the trade-off might be worth it.

The other transforming feature of this compact RV is the bathroom, which has a shower room that pops out of thin air. That's one way of putting it; it actually pops up from under the queen-size bed at the rear, which means you have to make some furniture arrangements whenever you want to take a shower.

For that to happen, you have to fold away a section of the mattress and then lift the corresponding slate of bed higher than the rest. This is actually one of the shower room walls, and will come to join the rest of the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, you have to bring the shower doors into position and make sure you move the sink out of the way, and you're all set.

The bathroom transforms further, so as to allow maximum functionality in the smallest footprint. For instance, in order to be able to use the cassette toilet, you have to slide the sink over the shower basin and then swivel the toilet around, so you can sit on it. You also have to make sure you close off the privacy curtains that form the upper structure of the bathroom, which is made of the same canvas-like material as the pop-up roof.

Features also include a Truma Combi diesel space heater, a water heater, bug screens on all opening windows, touch-sensitive LED lights with USB ports, power outlets, two opening skylights, and a vent in the bathroom. The kitchen is specced with a surprisingly large slide-out fridge with a freezer compartment and a Thetford 2-burner stove and sink unit.

Power for the CUVision 500 MQ comes from a 150-hp engine paired with an automatic transmission.

The 2025 model brings improvements to the bathroom model, which make it sturdier and, we assume, better responsive to daily wear and tear, and sleeker finishes.

It also brings a higher price than the 2024 model, but the final figure will ultimately depend on the dealer you're working with. As a reference, though, the 2025 Knaus CUVision 500 MQ starts at well over €100,000 ($105,500 at the current exchange rate) for the standard version that doesn't include the cabover bed.