Bailey Alora 69- 4T
A brand-new slimline coachbuilt with single beds
THE Alora was one of the stars of last October’s NEC show. It’s a significant addition to Bailey’s line-up, fitting between the Endeavour campervans and larger Adamo coachbuilts with a trio of layouts that are all 6.99m long but, more crucially, just 2.12m wide. There are island and transverse double bed layouts (the latter a class winner in the 2024 Motorhome Awards), but here it’s the single bed model that’s under scrutiny.
The Alora range follows on from the Endeavour and Adamo in adopting a Ford Transit chassis, here with the 130hp engine and manual gearbox as standard (the automatic transmission is a £2,000 option in combination with an upgrade to 155hp).
In typical Bailey fashion, you don’t have to budget for other extras or packs as the £75,499 price tag includes almost everything you’d want.
For a start, the Ford base vehicle comes with black alloy wheels, air-conditioning, adaptive cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, a reversing camera, twin armrests on the seats and a 12in screen for the infotainment, including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, sat-nav and Bluetooth.
As with every Bailey motorhome since its original Approach SE of 2011, the Alora uses the company’s wood-free Alu-Tech construction.
Here, that features a GRP exterior and internal walls with polystyrene insulation and interlocking aluminium extrusion external framework. There’s a six-year bodyshell warranty which can be extended to 10 years for an additional fee, while cold chamber testing has confirmed its Grade III classification for heating and insulation.
Every Alora also has a rear garage which comes with loading doors on either side (here, the nearside door also provides access to the gas locker for one 6kg cylinder). Practical flooring is fitted in this space, along with fixed lashing points. Headroom is 86cm, while width is 70cm, and fixing points are also provided to fit a rear
cycle rack. And, if the gas capacity seems small, it’s because the Alora is the first Bailey coachbuilt to have diesel heating (a Truma Combi D 4 E boiler).
Inside, the 69-4T layout mixes the continentalstyle single beds over the garage format with a British favourite of side settees up front. It’s not the largest of lounges and the table is fixed, but an overcab sky view sunroof provides daylight, reading lights are fitted over the cab seats and ambient lighting features above the top lockers. The Alora caters for rear passengers, too, thanks to the Flexi-lounge with foldaway Aguti travel seats that are fitted with Isofix.
The interior has a contemporary feel, mixing
Grey Elm, Satin Cashmere and Anthracite furniture finishes with White Gloss top locker doors and Cosmos upholstery with matching bolster cushions. Once again, there are no options.
The kitchen comes fully equipped, too, with all the culinary features sited along the offside, opposite the Hartal habitation door (with bin, flyscreen and umbrella holder). There’s a Thetford cooker with combined oven/grill, three gas rings and a mains hotplate. To the left of that is a sink with loose cover, while a folding worktop extends the kitchen space over the offside sofa. Two three-pin sockets are conveniently placed on the wall behind, while alongside the cooker is a tall 138-litre fridge. Unusually for a coachbuilt motorhome, this is a compressor type.
On the other side of the ’van, a tambour door slides back to reveal the washroom. A sliding basin here creates more room for showering while storage for toiletries is found behind the mirror. There’s also plenty of space here to use the swivel cassette loo.
Finally, the rear beds measure 1.87m long (nearside) and 1.95m (offside) and, with headboards and reading lights, this is a bedroom in which you can comfortably sit up. A bedside table, large mirror and under-bed wardrobe complete the sleeping quarters.