Showroom news
Part one of our report on dealer special edition vans (p67) is followed by our regular product tests, this month featuring in-car chargers, and an on-site assessment of a new awning
Peter Baber rounds up the highlights from the February NEC Show
ORGANISERS NCC Events hailed last month’s Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show a great success, revealing that 90,107 people visited over the six days the show was open. Over 23,100 ticket-holders passed through the NEC turnstiles on the Saturday alone – including families enjoying a day out during the half-term holidays. It’s fair to say that Swift Group grabbed most of the headlines, by introducing two 8ft-wide versions of its popular Sprite tourers. Swift’s designers made use of the extra space in the Sprite Super Quattro DB – with bunk beds in the back – and rear fixed bed Sprite Super Quattro FB, to offer what the company claims is the most spacious front parallel lounge on the market. Both models have an overall width of 2.46m. The central dinette in both models has also been enlarged and now comes with wraparound seating, and there is a more spacious washroom and larger beds. To cope with the additional interior space, the heating system has been bumped up from the Truma 4 boiler that is standard on conventional, 2.25m-wide Sprites. Both new models have an OTR price of £21,580, with optional extras including a panoramic sunroof for an extra £365 and a Diamond Pack – incorporating alloy wheels, AKS stabiliser, Al-ko wheel lock, microwave, stereo and more – for £595. Sprite crashing the 8ft-wide caravan party means it joins the likes of Erwin Hymer Group UK, which already offers 8ft-wide models in the Elddis Avanté and Compass Casita ranges. At the other end of the market, Lunar’s Alaria range is now also 8ft wide. The revamped Sprite is our Tourer of the Year for 2018, and we’re big fans of the family layouts in particular. The new ‘Super’ versions enhance that appeal by offering yet more space, plus useful extras such as USB charging points – which we flagged up as an omission in the 2.25m-wide models. Sprite Super lacks the ATC anti-snaking system as standard, but undercuts the Elddis Avanté by £1500, making it the cheapest eight-footer on the market. Get the VIP treatment The other major launch at the NEC was the Coachman VIP 570. This was originally slated for its big reveal at the autumn show, but having now seen it in the metal, it was certainly worth waiting for. The portfolio-topping VIP received a major revamp for 2018, and the launch of the five-berth 570 brings the fixed bunks/rear dinette layout into the range for the first time. The floorplan also features a well-specified midships washroom and kitchen, leading through to a super-comfortable lounge replete with brand-new soft furnishings. We were lucky enough to collect the show van straight from the NEC and will be running it as a long-termer for three months (see p84). Germany’s Knaus gave visitors a peek at its 2019 offering, with soft furnishings from its next-season range, but in this year’s vans. We had a close look at the new ensemble in the Starclass 560, a French-bed four-berth, and the new décor really looks the part. Distinctive compacts Alongside the volume-manufactured vans at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show, some more quirky offerings were on display. Tucked away in Hall 5, we found the Freedom Microlite Discovery LE. This two-berth micro-caravan with a shipping
length of just 4m has an MTPLM of 750kg, so it can be towed by almost any car. Manufactured using a one-piece GRP bodyshell, the Discovery LE also has a weather-proof pop-top roof, to give an interior standing height of 6ft 2in (1.88m). For a starting price of £10,295 (plus £100 delivery to a dealer), buyers get 240V mains power, a two-burner hob, dual-fuel fridge, double-glazed windows, a full-length wardrobe and a cassette toilet. Space heating comes via a gas-fired system, with electricity for the water heating, and a spare wheel. Yes, it’s certainly bijou on the inside, but offset the size against how easy it will be to tow, manoeuvre and pitch up. The Discovery LE is also priced well below some nonmainstream offerings from mainstream manufacturers, including Adria’s Action 361 LT, the Swift Basecamp and T@B’S teardrops. Also compact – and super-distinctive – was the Eriba Touring Troll 530 Rockabilly, which was really pulling in the crowds on the Freedom to Go stand in Hall 1 (find out more about Freedom to Go at http://po.st/bfwatd). This was a canny piece of product placement by the show organisers, siting the unit in front of a picturesque backdrop and inviting families to be photographed in the Eriba’s doorway. For those who might have missed the coverage in our April issue, the Rockabilly is a manufacturer special edition that pays homage to American diner chic of the 1950s and 1960s. The two-tone sidewalls are picked up on the inside with red colour cues, plus red curtains and seat-back sections. There’s also a fetching deep-pile carpet – in red, naturally – and a red lip on the white kitchen worktop. The Rockabilly will be available in the UK from June, and makes an existing iconic tourer even more desirable. The Caravan and Motorhome Show returns to the NEC Birmingham from 16-21 October