Caravan Awards 2024: Best Four-Berth Caravan

WINNER – Best Four-Berth Caravan

Coachman VIP 575

(Photo courtesy of Richard Chapman)

Why the Coachman VIP 575 caravan?

Competition is at its most fierce in the single-axle, four-berth bracket. These are caravans with fixed beds, either aligned across the caravan, with the shower room at the rear, or with the bedhead against the rear wall, and the shower room amidships.

And there are many to choose from. Every manufacturer offers several models in this sector, many of them at comparable prices, so the judges’ task was, to say the least, extremely difficult. But we had to pick one…

The VIP 575 has its bed aligned across the caravan with the shower room behind it. So, what makes it stand out from the crowd? First, VIPs enjoy an obvious high-quality vibe; that may go some way to explain why this is Coachman’s best-seller range. And they’re stacked with features…

Sprung upholstery, deep pile carpets, an extractor fan, a towel warmer in the washroom, a folding towel hook in the shower compartment, touch-control spotlights, a floor-level light, USB ports in the bases of the spotlights in the bedroom, a built-in phone charging unit in the lounge, an inlet point for a Whale Watermaster that enables you to connect to a tap on a pitch… And, as you’d expect at this price, this model has the ATC stability control system plus an alarm system.

A look inside

Building on a foundation of continued best-seller status, Coachman has given the VIP range new fabrics, colours and details for 2024. The kitchen splashback is now a stunning rock design in greys and white. The worktop now has its sink set into it, with no rim. And the cover sits flush with the worksurface, so becomes part of it. Worktops get a new finish, in cream with a very subtle pattern, and so do the kitchen doors, in white, with tilt-action positive catches. A strip of white light is set into the base of the top lockers to give the kitchen surface and hob good illumination.

Opposite the kitchen there is more surface above the fridge, and there is an extension to hinge up to augment the main surface area. The bedroom has a luxurious feel, created by suede-effect bedhead panels and pockets, in the same fabric, for phones on each side of the bed. There’s a triangular dressing table with mirror and cabinet.

The rock design of the kitchen splashback appears in the shower room, too, for the washbasin splashback plus a floor-to-ceiling panel in the shower. A ladder-style towel warmer plus a loop and a hook add up to good towel-hanging provision.

Fabrics for 2024 major on plain fawn for the upholstery, teamed with a light-reflective-sheen fabric for the curtains that combines pale grey and cream.

A major luxury attraction of VIPs is that they have six cushions, so getting cosy is a given. They’re in a tartan pattern, a herringbone design and a hessian-inspired weave.

Specifications