Adria Adora Tiber

One of the longest and widest caravans you can buy, with a wrap-around lounge that has a definite air of sophistication

Adria’s Adora Tiber has a fair amount of competition. It is one of six single-axle, rear bedroom, Alde-heated, parallel lounge caravans on the market, all in the same price bracket. It competes with Bailey’s Unicorn Cabrera at £33,399, and, in the Elddis ranges, the Affinity 550 at £30,999, and the Crusader Aurora at £35,699.

So, what makes the Tiber stand out from the crowd? Staffordshire retailer, Active Leisure, at Stoke-on-Trent, provided a Tiber for us to scrutinise – and Hales Hall Caravan & Camping Park, close to Cheadle, in Staffordshire, hosted our review day; plenty of time to discover the Tiber’s finer points…

First, though, a look at the Tiber’s competitor within Adria’s range – albeit with Truma blown air, rather than the Alde heating system. This is the Altea Dart, at £29,340, considerably less in money than its Adora cousin, and the same layout. So, if the Tiber is a stretch too far for your budget, and you don’t mind going for a standard-width caravan with blown air heating rather than a max-width tourer with Alde heating, it’s good to know the Dart is an alternative. 

The Tiber is the widest of these single-axle caravans, at 2.46m, but only by a whisker; the Elddis Crusader Aurora is 2.45m wide. The Tiber is also the longest – and the heaviest. It has an overall length of 8.24m and its MTPLM is 1,900kg, so you do need a beefy vehicle to tow it. 

Assuming you can tick that box happily, then, it’s time to take a close look at the layout.

Caravans with rear bedrooms are all super-appealing because they have an apartment-like feel; the bedroom being totally separate from the kitchen and lounge functions. Call them two-room tourers, if you wish – and with the benefit of a true en suite arrangement forward of the bedroom. And there’s another benefit. If you convert the lounge into a bedroom, those sleeping there can get to the toilet and shower in the centre of the caravan without going into the bedroom; en suites for all, then.

The Tiber’s ample lounge seating that wraps around the entire front of the caravan lends itself perfectly to conversion to a bed. The bed measures 2.12m by 1.68m; that’s considerably larger than a standard domestic double bed (which is 1.9m by 1.35cm and is even larger than a king size, which is 2m by 1.5m). And, for the record, the Tiber’s rear bed measures a generous 1.9m by 1.52m.

So, excellence on the subject of sleeping. How about the culinary department? With the hinged extension in use, the kitchen surface is 1.6m long. The sink has a flush-fitting cover and the hob’s glass cover also sits level with the surrounding surface. As in all Adria models (except the compact Action), the Tiber has an inline arrangement of three burners of varying sizes. The hob integrates with the sink, so when you are cleaning the base of the hob you can wipe towards the sink; easy! 

Small details count – and the Tiber is one of a number of Adria caravans that come equipped with a system of movable small shelves that clip onto rails,  including two on the aft end of the kitchen. They’re ideal for salt, pepper, a herb or spice jar or two; anything you want close to hand because it’s in regular use.

Kitchen storage involves three drawers, 50cm wide, under the sink and a narrow (14cm) wide cabinet to the left of the oven and grill. This contains three black metal basket-style shelves that pull out on a runner. The twin upper cabinets have delightfully stylish reverse curve doors. One contains the microwave and the other, 61cm wide, contains racks for mugs and plates. The Thetford 140-litre fridge/freezer is opposite, with small cabinets above and below it and, alongside it, the cabinet in which the table is stowed, with, above, a 55cm by 16cm shelf that is perfect for placing keys as you step inside.  So, both the surface and storage provision in the kitchen earn big fat ticks for size.

Lounge ambience matches the excellence in kitchen facilities, with wrap-around seating with knee rolls, armrests at the rear corners (held in place by magnets sewn into the armrests and backrests – clever!), and four scatter cushions. Two are upholstered in an ultra-pale gold shade with a  light reflective sheen and a pattern that takes its inspiration from diamond shapes. The curtains match this lovely, quality fabric. The other two cushions have a velvety feel, and pick up on the ultra pale gold theme that imbues an air of sophistication. 

Four top lockers provide plenty of upper storage space. There’s space under the side seating, too, although these are not the easiest of areas to access because of the construction of the double bed. When you make the double bed, its central base area pulls out from under each seat to meet in the middle of the caravan. So when you delve into the lockers, you have to lift up the very substantially constructed bed bases. So for items required regularly, storing them under the bed at the rear would be more convenient.

The shower has plenty of functionality assets. A rail runs across the roof, for hanging rain-soaked coats to dry, perhaps, or towels. And there is a panel radiator here, part of the Alde system. The shape of the wheelarch provides a shelf for shower gels. 

There’s also a panel radiator in the washroom, which has a rectangular washbasin, a cabinet under it plus a wall cabinet. 

A sliding door divides the wash area from the bedroom. Floor space is the first thing you notice about the bedroom, both in front of and alongside each side of the bed –a benefit of this caravan’s enormity. A suites of lockers runs above the bedhead to meet the wardrobes, each of which has an aperture into the top one of three shelves to create a place for books or coffee mugs, perhaps. The lovely pale gold, diamond patterned curtain fabric that we like so much in the lounge, is here also. This time the curtains are much deeper than the windows, and hanging from neat pelmets in the roofline. The size of the curtains means that they form an elegant feature of the décor. 

One of the longest and widest caravans on the market, the Tiber offers a superbly practical layout with its central shower area perfectly placed for both the bedroom and the lounge, when that becomes a bedroom. Alde heating, plenty of storage provision, a kitchen with ample surface and cabinet space – the Tiber has it all, combined with typical Adria super-modern styling and great comfort. Put simply, you get a lot of caravan for your money.