Full review

ACCORDING to the company behind it, an Airstream is not a caravan but a travel trailer.

Whatever you call it, this travel home is distinctive in styling and luxurious in specification – and expensive at £35,880. So what do you get for this level of investment in leisure?

Specification that includes onboard fresh and waste water tanks, two flatscreen televisions, Alde central heating, plus all the top-level facilities you’d find in the best of touring caravans. You’ll also find watermarked-silk-effect, black-wood-finish furniture teamed with gleaming white.

All this gives you a starkly modern interior.

The caravan’s riveted aluminium construction is unparalleled in the caravan industry  – and you’ll find that everything about an Airstream exudes solidity rugged, go-anywhere durability.

The 534 is an entirely different layout from the 532. It comprises a U-shaped lounge, offside kitchen with shower room opposite; a rear, fixed, transverse double bed; a fridge in the lounge area opposite the door. Sounds pretty standard? Even caravan-like?

The U-shaped settee follows the contour of the Airstream-hallmark curved window feature – and, by the way, the windows are toughened glass, rather than Perspex. Truly, it’s like sitting in a bay-windowed house, light flooding in all around you.

Half a dozen black cushions, some fluffy and cosy, others smart stark black, make the minimalist styling look homely.

It’s a lounge like nothing else in the touring industry. It’s surprisingly comfortable, its curving backrests supportive both when sitting up and lounging, shoulders in corner, feet on the seats.

The table is ingenious, rising from a fixed central pillar.

In the kitchen, it’s just a shade caravan-like. A three-burner hob under glass cover, below which is a combination grill-oven with small floor-level cupboard beneath. Directly above the hob is an extractor fan – because of its position, far more effective than roof-mounted Omnivents.

The sink and drainer have a conventional hinged glass cover. Additional food preparation space is provided by a fold down flap that reveals three deep-lipped storage shelves.

In total, kitchen storage is nothing short of excellent for a unit that’s only 5.3 metres in body length.

The fridge, with complimenting stainless steel front, is located opposite the door. What is lacking, though, are cupboard fitments for plates and cups.

The (central nearside) washroom compartment has two startlingly bright lime green wood-effect walls – and the rest of the decor is aluminium.

The shower-head is mounted in the centre of the compartment so you would have to dry out the whole of the toilet/shower area after each shower – my only criticism here.

This little room is equipped with a luxury swivelling mirror complete with light around its perimeter.

Unfortunately, though, it’s a magnifying mirror, which renders it useless unless your eyesight requires that facility! There is, however, a plain mirror on the opposite side of the compartment.

The transverse bed occupies the whole of the rear end of the caravan.

One of the best features we have seen in anything towable or drivable is Airstream’s neat shoe recess under the settee by the right of the door. Thanks, Airstream, for a wonderfully practical feature – caravan industry take note!

There is good storage under the lounge seating (second bed), accessed easily from the front and the top.

The wardrobe, beside the shower room, houses the Alde central heating and water heating equipment but still leaves adequate room for hanging clothes.

You access a sensible storage area through double doors under the bed and through an exterior hatch at the rear.

The Airstream turns heads like nothing else on the road.

E

•    A full version of this review appeared in the November 2007 issue of Which Caravan. To order a road test reprint contact Tina Beaumont on 01778 391187.

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