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Adria Altea Tay
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Key Features

Model Year 2013
Class Single Axle
Price From (£) 11,490
Internal Length (m) 4.28
Shipping Length (m) 6.28
MRO (kg) 1023
MTPLM (kg) 1,200
Max Width (m) 2.29
External Height (m) 2.58
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At a glance

The Adria Altea Tay, at only £11,490 and 1200kg the Tay is one of the lightest, cheapest caravans in Britain. And it’s amazingly capable

Full review

For 2013 all Adrias get new names. The basic Altea range is now named after rivers of the UK; our test 432PX is the Tay. This is the smallest fixed bed model in Adria’s collection – and its layout is an example of brilliance in caravan design.
The bed is at the front, with the shower-toilet compartment alongside it, on the nearside. A washbasin and vanity area is just forward of the shower room.
Dining and lounge seating for four is at the front; the table attaches to the offside wall. Between the dining area and the door is the wardrobe, with the heater unit beneath it and, alongside, a slim cupboard containing four shelf spaces.
Alteas are lightweight caravans so you’d expect economy of equipment to help achieve a weight that puts the Tay within range of small cars. Heating is gas-only; it’s the Truma blown air system with, for 2013, a new-style heater unit using matt grey and black superseding the more familiar brown. The controls on the top are raised, rather than the recessed controls of previous units, making them easer to use. If you want to use your heating on mains power, there’s a £495 option pack which gives you that facility. The pack also gives you a hitch head stabiliser, and a wheel arch cover to prevent sun damage to your tyre walls. Unfortunately, though, a spare wheel is not among the standard options.
 

Showering

As you’d expect in a compact caravan, shower time isn’t luxury time. But keep in mind the price and the weight of the Tay and you can get to grips easily with the compromises. The shower and bench-style toilet with mechanical flush share the space. There’s a curtain to prevent water going onto the door but nothing to keep shower water off the loo, so the whole compartment would have to be dried after each shower.
The washbasin area is within the bedroom; a small circular basin set into a white top, with seven shelves and a cupboard around it.
 
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Sleeping

The double bed is 1.92m long and 1.45cm wide, with only a minimal corridor cut-off. In a small caravan, this bed this is luxury indeed. And, if you need more sleeping accommodation, you can create a second double bed in the dining area. The table forms the centre of the bed base and the rear seating section base extends. An extra piece of upholstery is provided, to sit in the gap this extension creates. With the double bed made up in this area there is just enough floor space to walk in front of the kitchen.
 

Storage

In a caravan with a body length of only 4.28m you’d possibly assume storage space would be short in supply. But the Tay’s fixed bed layout compensates. Interestingly, the slatted bed base is divided into two; the half nearest to the centre of the caravan lifts up, supported by two sprung hinges, to give you access to the space underneath. Compared to most fixed beds, though, storage space is under only about two-thirds of the bed space. The rest of the space is occupied by the (Truma Ultrahead electric) water heater and the battery compartment. But we’re sure this is plenty enough under-bed storage space for the needs of two.
There’s more storage under the dining area seating; you lift the upholstery, then raise the wooden seat bases to get inside; there are no front doors.
Upper storage is five top cabinets, a wardrobe with full hanging depth, and a narrow shelved cupboard alongside it.
 

Dining and lounging

Dining and lounging is one subject in the Tay. Although the rear seat is shorter than the front one, there is enough space for four to sit here in comfort. And the table is large.
It’s when we came to assess the Tay’s lounging-relaxing, cosiness capability that we became very aware that there’s no carpet. It’s a £200 option which we consider would be money well spent, even if you sometimes roll it up and put it under the bed on occasions when you think people might tread mud into the caravan.
 

Kitchen

Compact caravan equals compact kitchen – but the Tay’s kitchen, while inevitably short of working space compared with kitchens in longer caravans, is close enough to the dining table to enable the cook to borrow some space when needed. And, opposite, there is a little more available surface, on a narrow dresser that divides the living area from the bedroom.
That’s the surface workability taken care of – but how about kitchen storage? There’s a good-sized cupboard under the combined grill-oven, plus a very slim three-shelf cabinet between the oven and the fridge. But that’s not all. In the dresser opposite are two drawers and a drop-down cupboard, plus two good-sized shelves. Above the kitchen, a socket for a microwave is in one of the two cabinets.
Overall, we were pleasantly surprised to find, on test, how workable this kitchen is; at first glance it looks very confined but when you assess its use, the proximity of the dining table and the dresser, this is one well-planned cooking area.
 

Towing

We’d recommend budgeting for the option pack which includes the AL-KO hitch-head stabiliser. Even though this is a small, light caravan, a stabiliser is an important feature – especially if you intend to tow it with a smallish car.
 
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Our verdict

The Adria Altea Tay, being a fixed bed caravan in such a lightweight, short caravan is a rarity that’s worth the compromise in space elsewhere.

Advantages

The light weight
The amazingly workable little kitchen
The large dining table
The fixed bed

Disadvantages

Lack of a spare wheel
Lack of curtain around the shower area to keep water off the loo

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