Transcript
TEST ELDDIS ASPIRE 240 ON THE ROAD
High hopes Is the brand-new, luxury-specified Aspire 240 from Elddis a premium coachbuilt? George Hinton is your judge Vehicle supplied for test by: Elddis, Delves Lane, Consett, Co Durham DH8
7PE. Call 01207 699000
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HE ASPIRE range is Elddis’s attempt to inject some fresh design ideas into the premium motor caravan market, which it has been absent from since it dropped the Buccaneer line-up it acquired in 1999. Will it prove successful or is it a case of design over substance?
CONSTRUCTION AND LAYOUT
Aspire kitchen offers ample storage and worktop space
Three initial Aspires are all low-profile coachbuilts offering two-berth accommodation: a 21ft 215 end-kitchen layout; a 24ft 255 fixed-bed model; and our test subject, the 24ft 240 rear-lounge
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layout. Both 24-footers are identically priced, the 21ft £5k cheaper at £42,999. Chassis is Peugeot’s front-wheel drive Boxer 335 long-wheelbase, powered by the 2.2-litre HDi engine to Camping Car spec with 130bhp. Alloy wheels are fitted, with a steel spare. Grade 3 insulation is the top industry standard: 20˚C average should be maintained inside while it is -15˚C outside, the fresh water system remaining operable. Insulation is 30mm in floors, 25mm in sides and 24mm elsewhere, of extra-high-density polystyrene. Sides are one-piece
high-gloss aluminium in silver, while roof, skirts and rear panel are GRP. The nearside kitchen faces the washroom, fridge-freezer and wardrobe, while the rear is styled on a caravan front lounge, with central chest of drawers and pull-out table top. Wrap-round seating adds £150, retaining the detachable chest. To facilitate this early test, Elddis registered its prototypes, hurriedly completed for October’s NEC show. The downside was that the spec was not finalised and it wasn’t quite up to production quality, but we will deal with those issues as we go.
With a flat torque peak from 2,0003,000rpm, performance unladen with an MRO of 3,255kg is good, 0-50mph taking around 14.8 seconds. The Sevel chassis, typically light to drive, rides well and is mechanically quiet, cruising at 2,500rpm. Kitchen accessories score showroom points, but need packing for travel: a metal spice rack and stainless steel pot in a wire holder hook over a chrome kitchen wall rail and there’s a loose plastic sink cover/ chopping board, while we had already stowed the grill pan and glass microwave turntable and padded the glass cooker lid. However, Aspire still rattled on every bump, but mostly from the furniture. While touring with a month’s gear filling every corner may have quietened things, this was very out-of-character, Elddis having a history of building excellent entry-level motor caravans. So we put our findings to the company and this was the reply: “We have just completed a durability test at Millbrook Proving Ground on the Aspire which equates to 25k miles usage. This also highlighted some of the furniture noise issues which prompted the changes we have made, adding bump stops to all doors, preventing rattles and making improvements on fixings.” Production models will also have push-button locks on all drawers. The luxury spec includes cruise and remote stereo controls plus cab air conditioning, twin multi-stage airbags and brushed-aluminium effect dash trims. The Peugeot radio/CD player is the upgraded version with Aux in and Bluetooth connectivity. Seitz pleated cab window blinds include a tracked horizontal windscreen blind fitting round the interior mirror. Fine, except a second mirror, incorporating an LCD screen for the standard colour reversing camera, is clipped over it, defeating the idea. At least it is easy to disconnect and unclip/replace.
LIVING ABOARD The Hartal caravan door is linked to the cab’s remote central locking, the electric Omnistep retracting automatically on start-up. The main control panel will be resited adjacent to the entrance door on production models for convenience. Underfloor tanks permit bulk storage beneath the settees, whose beech slats crown tubular frames, hinged on gas struts for top access. Clip-on cargo nets are unusual at the front of both lockers, containing the contents when the bases are pulled together at bed-time. Slight capacity is lost to the nearside rear gas locker, but it’s mainly below floor level, holding two 7kg cylinders. The inviting rear lounge has thick, sprung upholstery in plain beige flatweave
with chocolate piping and full, eyeletted curtains on chromed poles. Pronounced knee-rolls make the settees unusually high (24in at the front, 221/2in rear), so Mrs H couldn’t sit back with her feet on the floor. The bright lounge has large windows on three sides plus a Heki 2 push-up rooflight. If reaching the push-bar is an issue, the electrically-operated Heki 4, with rain sensor and mood lighting, costs £499. Elddis pioneered black-tinted caravan ‘privacy’ windows in 2007, and here they blend very well with the high-quality 5mm acrylic décor panels on the exterior. The view out takes some getting used to, as the weather is always brighter in reality than it appears – thankfully, the Heki is untinted. The lit 17in-wide wardrobe gives a 5ft 4in drop (production models will also have a lower rail). The cab’s opening sunroof dictates the only overhead storage there comprises two side pockets. Locating the Alde boiler in the offside rear corner makes the tall wardrobe possible, the only part there being the water header tank, which warms and airs your clothes. Finned radiator tubes surround the seating area just below cushion level, distributing their heat behind substantial panels spacing the backrests from the walls. It’s slower to heat than a warm-air system, but doesn’t dry the air, is fully programmable and can heat on the move. You can even add a control to operate it from your phone! Although meeting BS EN 1646-1 Grade 3, a winter pack, comprising heating for the underfloor tanks and fridge vent covers, is another £249. Lounge entertainment comprises a neat Freeview TV, with directional antenna, on the side of the wardrobe, where there are two 230V sockets plus one 12V. It also receives digital radio, as long as you are in a DAB reception area. The substantial free-standing 33 x 22in dining table has a slide-out stowage compartment in the kitchen. However, the pull-out table top incorporated in the rear chest often suffices. Low-consumption lighting is very effective, with a mix of indirect roof-level lighting and LED spotlights. The mains hook-up is securely connected inside the 100A battery’s locker and there’s a Whale water inlet for the 90-litre tank.
KITCHEN The kitchen is a cook’s delight at 7ft 2in long, including 45in of worktop in three areas between appliances. There’s a commensurate amount of storage, as the 175-litre Thetford fridge-freezer is located opposite, between washroom and wardrobe, also topped by a huge cupboard. From left to right, there’s a top glass/bottle locker, crockery locker, >>
Silver sides give Aspire an eye-catching look
Rear GRP panel boasts stylish light clusters
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...distinctive looks inside and out, with the right kit and quality
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RATINGS CONSTRUCTION & LAYOUT ON THE ROAD LIVING ABOARD KITCHEN WASHROOM SLEEPING VERDICT 0
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RRP/as tested
£47,999/£49,294 OTR
Base vehicle Engine Power Torque Transmission Fuel/tank/econ Overall length Overall width
Peugeot Boxer 335 LWB 2,198cc HDi 130bhp (95.5kW) at 3,600rpm 236lb/ft (320Nm) at 2,000-3,000rpm 6-speed manual, FWD Diesel/19.8gal (90 litres)/27.4mpg 24ft 1in (7.37m) 7ft 8in (2.34m) exc mirrors; 8ft 8in (2.64m) inc mirrors 9ft 2in (2.81m) 6ft 6in (1.98m) 3,255kg (64cwt) 3,500kg (68.9cwt) 245kg (4.8cwt) 2 Yes
Overall height Max internal height MRO MTPLM User payload Berths NCC approved
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Figures supplied by manufacturer
Club insurance: 0800 028 4809 • Info: elddis.co.uk
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TEST ELDDIS ASPIRE 240 snow, the towel rail couldn’t keep the washroom adequately warm, despite being on for a number of hours. I was also unhappy at hanging my towel so it almost touched the lav, but there’s nowhere else to screw a radiator, except maybe higher up. The single-drain shower tray has folding acrylic doors, a side seat and a riser rail, with super lighting switched from above the basin. However, the main washroom light switch is a walk down the corridor (well, three paces), as Elddis thinks you must be able to switch the light on before you enter. Can we take a vote on that? There’s plenty of ventilation, with an opening opal window and another Mini Heki rooflight. Summary? Nearly perfect and almost an award winner.
SLEEPING Deep upholstery awaits you in the rear lounge
Lounge seating converts into an immense double bed at night
microwave, then corner shelves. Below are two substantial sliding baskets, a pan locker under the oven, a huge fitted cutlery drawer below the sink, two more big drawers below, then a 13in-wide shelved cupboard next to the doorway. Twin 13A sockets angled at 45˚ are set at the back of the worktop and production models will get two more. There’s a good gas grill and oven, the hob having one electric and three gas burners, with matching round sink in black enamel. A grey moulded drainer tray stows in the end cupboard for travel. The microwave is positioned too high for my liking, though. Excellent lighting includes two halogen spotlights in the Dometic Circulair filter/ extractor. Other ventilation is provided by a Mini Heki, with full air conditioning optional. Inset into the kitchen plinth are a couple of blue LED nightlights.
A very good washroom...
It’s theoretically easy to make the double bed rather than two singles (which we measured 2in longer than the Elddis figure of 6ft 1in, but an inch narrower at 2ft 5in). Just pull the bases together and drop the backrests flat. However, turning two weighty sprung cushions to put the knee rolls out of commission rather spoils the simplicity of the deal. The factory also undersells the double at ‘6ft 10in’. We made it 7ft 1in x 6ft 1in minus chest. It’s 4ft 4in with the chest in place, which is more than adequate, and it’s quite comfortable, if a touch firm. The cab passenger seat doesn’t swivel, leaving nowhere else to sit once the double bed is made up. Peugeot only offers swivel seats in pairs, so Elddis has opted for none, “its research showing most people needing a bed and a seat at the same time, would use one sofa as a bed, the other as a seat.” However the 215 has two swivels. Top-hung pleated blind/flyscreen units unfortunately do not permit blind and flyscreen to be used together in summer. For reading in bed there are four spotlights, and the TV has a handy remote control.
WASHROOM This is sensibly sized at 3ft 6in long, 2ft 101/2in wide, plus separate shower cubicle. Triple side-hinged mirrored cabinets provide good overhead storage, complementing the under-basin cupboard, and there’s the expected soapdish, toothglass and loo roll holder, with a detachable carpet over the narrow-woodstrip vinyl flooring. The black, ‘marble-effect’ GRP basin has a water-saving shape, sloping to a narrow, flat bottom, and although only 8in wide and 15in long, you can get your face over it for a good rinse. Guess what colour the shower’s convincing ‘tiles’ are? As well as a ceramic-lined toilet, you get a heated towel rail as part of the Alde Hydronic system, but sleeping aboard the night before the South was stopped by 92 The Caravan Club Magazine
VERDICT
...with separate shower
Early sales seem to suggest Elddis has achieved its aims with the Aspire: distinctive looks inside and out, with the right sort of kit and quality. I wasn’t totally convinced by the washroom heating – on the other hand, you can’t programme other systems to come on before you get ‘home’. The ‘dark side’ of the Aspire – heavily tinted windows and black basins – is not to my taste, nor is the height of the microwave, but finding just the right blend of features to suit your personal preferences is all part of the fun of choosing a new motor caravan. The Aspire is certainly competitive, and with its impressive kitchen, plump lounge seating, good washroom and inbuilt entertainment, should be on everyone’s shortlist. n
