Full review

The prestige Buccaneer brand enters the family market for the first time with a six-berth caravan of a layout never before seen.

The Galera is Britain’s highest spec, highest priced six-berth tourer.

The Explorer Group takes not just Buccaneer into new territory for 2017 but caravan width, too. Buccaneers have been 2.45m wide (that’s 20cm wider than Elddis Crusaders, for example) for some time. But, until this year, that’s where the max width stopped in the Explorer portfolio; indeed in British-made caravans. Now, Explorer has brought the wider format into its Elddis Avanté range. And with it, a layout that would not have been possible in a standard width caravan. That’s the Avanté 866, at £21,499. In response to customer requests for a top-spec family offering, the manufacturer also introduced the same layout in Buccaneer spec, too; it costs £10,200 more than the Avanté version, but just look what you get…

An automatic levelling system, underfloor heating (part of the Alde system), a mains power load monitor to make sure you never trip out the electricity supply to your pitch, and more.

The Galera’s layout is awesome in its practicality. Two bunks in a curved pod-like structure that gives them a self-contained, little- room feel, at the rear on the nearside. Alongside is a small eating and play area, cleverly designed to create seats for three, with a table (and a mains socket nearby). One of the three seats is stool-style, with a removable upholstered top, and storage space beneath. We love it! And – here’s the amazing layout feature that wouldn’t be possible in a standard-layout caravan – alongside this seating area there’s a full-sized shower room, with a step-in shower and enough space for family washing.

Showering

The shower walls are clad in tile-effect (and they really do look like tiles, with white “grout” for finesse an authenticity). There’s a retractable towel dryer in here; four bars on which to hang towels or anything else that needs to dry. There’s also a large ladder-style heated towel rail. And, wait for it, there’s underfloor heating in the little room, as there is in the rest of the Galera; that’s part of the hot water-base Alde system.

For perfection, we’d say the Galera needs a second mirror; the only one is above the washbasin. A mirror on the outside of the wardrobe would enhance the grooming process and provide the ideal place for hairdrying and straightening, close to the two mains sockets at the rear end of the dining furniture.

Sleeping

Two kids will be cosily tucked up in their bunks after, perhaps, watching some TV in their own little area; there are sockets perfectly positioned close to floor level by the small table here. Time to construct a bed for two more people, this time a double, in the centre of the caravan. This is another area of layout that would not be possible in a standard-width caravan. Opposite the kitchen is a gigantic U-shaped dining area. The big substantial monopod base of the table contracts, in telescopic sections, to become level with the seating bases. So you have a double bed, and it’s well proportioned, at 1.84m long and 1.30m wide. The seating area is extended when you raise two sections at the side of the base. They’re 35cm wide. Yet you still have a corridor that’s just over 30cm wide with the base made up; another testimony to the advantage of a 2.45m width.

The lounge makes into a second double bed, of course, and that bed is even larger; the Galera is surely a model designed for tall caravanners!

Think of the Galera as a six-berth. And it works. Think of it as a four-berth and you have exceptional flexibility. That’s because mum and dad can make their double bed either in the lounge or in the dining area. Which means that, come breakfast time, no one needs to make their bed before the whole family tucks into cereals and stuff around one table. And even better, the kids can get theirs on their own little table if they wish. It’s a fabulous arrangement.

Storage

There’s good space under the lower bunk, with drop-down door access, and an exterior hatch, too; or you can raise the slatted base.

There’s a cube of storage space inside in the seat-for-one, at the rear. There’s space under the seat for two that spans the distance between the bunks and the shower room, too; the slatted base raises on hinges. There’s space under the dining area, with both front and hinged-top access. And of course there’s even more under the lounge. Factor in seven top lockers (not including the kitchen) and you are beginning to get the message that the Galera’s storage capacity is gargantuan… And the wardrobe has two rails, one above the other, giving total hanging width of one metre. (And by the way, a light comes on automatically when you open the wardrobe.)

Dining

We’ve already touched on the Galera’s dining mode in a breakfast sense. Now think of arguably more important major meal options. You have two full-sized four-seater tables. Plus a small table for two small people. That’s more dining facility than many houses.

Lounging

Two three-seater settees and seating for at least four in the U-shaped dining area; that’s a very big tick against the box marked “lounging capability”.

And TV watching? There are sockets in the kids’ zone plus in the lounge. And there are two sockets well within cable stretch of the dining “room”, so laptops can be used and charged here.

Kitchen

Finesse is in ample supply here with a bright white LED strip running under the edge of the work surface, illuminating the cabinets. And there’s a similar row of LED bulbs at the top of the splash-back, which sparkles in the light. More importantly, this is a kitchen designed for work; six-appetite work.

Lower storage takes the form of three drawers, each 40cm wide, plus a 37cm-wide cabinet. This cabinet is 84cm tall, yet it doesn’t contain any shelves; at least one would have transformed this cupboard into even more useful space.

To the right of the dual fuel hob, 86cm of surface stretches towards the door. The usable space, though, is only 43cm wide, the rest being taken up by the (pleasingly large) sink..

And there’s an extractor fan to control steam and cooking aromas.

The tower-style fridge-freezer Is aft of the kitchen, with the microwave above it; most people would consider this a convenient height. There’s more storage space above the microwave, plus two cabinets over the kitchen and a drinks cabinet.

Towing

As you’d expect, there’s an electronic stability control system in place, for extra peace of mind in high winds or high-sided vehicle overtaking circumstances. We haven’t yet towed the new Galera; our review caravan was the prototype and it wasn’t quite finished (the gas bottle locker door had yet to be fitted) when we visited the factory prior to the model’s unveiling, so on-the-road assessment was out of the question, but we’ve towed twin-axle Buccaneers before, and always considered them to be impressively stable.