Full review

THE Avondale exterior may be unchanged for 2007, but the interior has been altered to improve living space.

Mainly, the kitchen area has been changed to improve access to the washroom and an eye-level locker can now accommodate a microwave, albeit a small one.

Before you enter the Argente, take a look at the superb one-piece exterior door. It’s curved shape complements the exterior and even the opening window has rounded corners to match.

The window slides downwards with a concertina flyscreen that can be raised to cover the space.

A concertina blind also blocks light out, but there’s no flyscreen for the entire door. The door also has a large pocket that is very useful, but only held in place with Velcro for easy removal. The door has an older style lock mechanism, but does seem to work smoothly.

Stepping through the door, the traditional interior I was expecting isn’t there. Medium coloured wood matches well with the orange seat fabrics.



The layout seems spacious. The lounge, with two long sofas, takes up the front third; the kitchen sits right in the middle with a dresser opposite and the washroom almost takes up the rear third of the caravan.

Lounging is more comfortable, with angled backrests, but these create a slightly uneven bed.

The base cushions meet in the centre, and the back rests fill in the gaps against the wall.

A flat bed is made by turning the backrests around with the top of the cushion pointing into the ‘van.

Pushing the bed slats back into their recess might be a problem - there is no upper lip on the rails. You have to be careful pushing the slats back, or else they will drop off the rails and have to be fed back in individually.

Underseat storage is adequate and the access is good. The offside locker is a great place to store bulky items, as all the services and wires are at the back of the locker.

The kitchen has all the usual things - 81-litre fridge (74.5-litres useful), a cooker with four gas hobs, a grill and oven and a stainless steel sink with recessed drainer.



The sink and integrated drainer take up most of the worktop, but take note of the dresser opposite (with the heater and more storage), because it’s at the right height for food preparation.

This is also home to the power controls, TV and DVD sockets and a mains and 12-volt power socket.

There is sufficient food storage for two, with two decent-sized cupboards and three drawers.

Our verdict:

It’s a great layout with plenty of room for washing and cooking. Storage is more than adequate for two and the lounge is extremely comfortable.

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

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