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View printer friendly versionEmail this to a friendView commentsAvondale Osprey

Posted on 12 Mar 2011

Caravanning Test Team

Key Features

  • 2007 model
  • 7.19m shipping length
  • 4 berth
  • 5.75m internal length
  • MTPLM 1500kg
  • 2.22m max width
  • MIRO 1270kg
  • From £15,995 new
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Tech Spec

Technical Specification


Model Year 2007
Manufacturer Avondale
Class Single Axle
Range Avondale
Base Vehicle -
Price from (£)15995
Berths4
Shipping length (m)7.19
MRO (kg)1270
MTPLM (kg)1500
Max width (m)2.22
External height (m)2.56
End WashroomYes
Island DoubleNo
Fixed singles/bunksNo
Triple bunksNo
End KitchenNo
Back & Front DinetteNo
Side dinetteYes
Caravan Buyer Test Date-
Caravan Test Date-
View the full Buyers Guide entry

Detailed Review

Avondale Osprey, 2008

Price new: £15,495

This caravan is a: four berth with an end washroom

Confession time: I have a bit of a soft spot for Avondale’s ‘Bird’ caravans. The first-ever test caravan to come my way was a 1995 Avondale Mayfly, (not a bird, admittedly) complete with cheerfully twee curtains, fiddle-rails galore and a dinky little rear lantern window. After years spent labouring under the misapprehension that a neighbour’s rather austere early 1970s ABI Monza was as good as caravans got, it seemed to me to be the height of camping luxury and modernity. I also seem to recall that the prose which appeared in print shortly afterwards was as purple as it was possible to get this side of a manufacturer’s advertisement.
Twelve years later, and the rosy spectacles have long gone (as has the Mayfly, which breathed its last in 2001), but Avondale’s range of single-axle clubman caravans remains, albeit in a barely recognisable form.
The Osprey, tested here in its 2008 guise, first appeared back in 1999 and is still going strong today, thanks in no small part,
I would imagine, to the rallying fraternity who clearly appreciate its tried-and-tested layout and unusually opulent feel. It works as a family caravan, that’s true, but I’d lay good odds that 90 per cent of Osprey customers are retired couples who divide their time between full-blown club sites and facility-light CLs and CSs.


Caravan layout
 avondale osprey layout










Click here to download test: Which Caravan, April 2008
avondale osprey reviewavondale osprey review avondale osprey review














Our verdict
 Direct rivals from Swift Group may have the visual edge, and those from Bailey more attractive asking prices, but anyone looking to spend around £15,000 on their next luxury caravan overlooks the Osprey at their peril.
It’s fair to say you’d buy the Avondale over the others with your head, not your heart, not least in light of the exterior looks that only the truly dedicated can distinguish easily from lesser Avondales, but it’s difficult to argue with its upmarket lounge, superb end washroom and almost comically huge kitchen. These days, top-end Avondales even stand comparison with rivals in terms of build quality, too.














See what's in the latest issues of Go Caravan and Caravan magazine. And Caravan Motorhome and Camping Mart is our title which is packed with used caravans to buy.

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