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Avondale Argente 390

Key Features

Model Year 2007
Class Single Axle
Price From (£) 12,895
Internal Length (m) 4.01
Shipping Length (m) 5.47
MRO (kg) 989
MTPLM (kg) 1,150
Max Width (m) 2.22
External Height (m) 2.56
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Full review

BEING a small two-berth, this caravan is ideally suited to the couple whose kids have flown the nest.

They’ll opt for this Argente because they want a caravan with all the comforts of home which they can handle easily and tow with a car in Which Caravan’s Lightweight category - a Citroen C5, Nissan Primera or a Vauxhall Astra for example.

Even from a distance, it’s obvious that the 390-2 is from the Avondale stable. It has the classic Avondale lines and features such as a minimalist front locker and the gas cylinder locker on the offside above the axle.

There’s also external gas and mains outlets at the front nearside corner while the inlet to the Shurflo diaphragm water pump is just to the rear of the front offside corner.

Three other features worth mentioning are the vertical opening window - with its integral flyscreen and concertina night blind - in the entry door, the AKS 3004 hitch stabiliser, and the waist-high entry points in the awning channel.

The door into the ‘van is behind the axle and, as you enter, the kitchen is on your right at the rear.


Lounge with bench seats
The layout is common - a rear end kitchen with the toilet/shower compartment in the rear offside corner, a centre wardrobe with the fridge compartment opposite to the left of the doorway, and a lounge made up by bench seats on either side of the ‘van with a chest of drawers between them at the front.

The kitchen is L-shaped with a cupboard housing three slide-out wire baskets immediately on the right of the doorway.

Most of the L-shaped worktop above the cupboard is taken up with a recessed stainless steel sink and drainer. Under the sink itself is an excellent cutlery drawer with another storage cupboard below it, whilst to the left is a Spinflo cooker incorporating a four-burner hob and grill.

Above the cooker at ceiling height, is a cupboard designed to take a microwave. To the right is a cupboard with a fitted plate rack; then comes a corner shelf unit and finally, on the nearside wall, a further cupboard with a rack for cups and mugs.

Finally, the fridge compartment, housing a 77-litre Dometic fridge is to the left of the door. Both the fridge and the cooker have electronic ignition.


The L-shaped kitchen area
Next to the kitchen - in the offside corner - is the toilet/shower compartment. It has a Thetford manual swivel toilet, and a very well-appointed vanity unit with a chrome mixer tap for the washbasin and a separate shower head. There’s a good-sized shower tray and also bags of storage for toiletries in both the vanity unit and in a roof cupboard above the toilet.

The two bench seats in the living area can either be used as two single beds - 1.82m x 0.70m (5ft 11in x 2ft 3in) - or as a double bed measuring 2.08m x 1.82m (6ft 10in x 5ft 11in). We found the seats and backrests very firm and comfortable to sit on.

Our verdict:

When end washrooms became fashionable 10 or more years ago, end kitchens lost their appeal and some dealers were extremely reluctant to take ‘vans with this layout in part-exchange.

But just as you can’t keep a good man down, neither can you keep a good layout down - and for anyone in the market for a small two-berth ‘van, the Argente 390-2 has just about everything necessary for a life of caravan luxury.

B





•    A full version of this review first appeared in the July 2007 issue of Which Motorcaravan. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
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