Full review

Words: Val Chapman

The Festival is Glossop Caravans’ own brand of Coachman, based on the Acadia range, with a raft of additional equipment amounting to £2,497 in value. 

Among the extras which define Festivals, compared with the standard Acadias, is a wireless phone charger (worth £49), an upgraded DAB radio with Bluetooth connectivity (worth £140) and extra spotlights (worth £39).

An Al-Ko Secure wheel lock, (worth £300), is part of the Festival kit, too, as is a Whale Aquasource hook-up to enable you to connect your caravan’s water system directly to a tap on a pitch (worth £39) and a ‘services’ light on the offside so that you can connect your water and mains cable easily after dark; (that’s worth £80).

Festivals have the ATC stability control system, (worth £365). The exclusive Festival fabric scheme accounts for £389 of the extras total. Heavy-duty corner steadies (£79), an Al-Ko jack (£99), and an extractor fan (£225) are also components off the extras list. The delivery fee of £545 is included in the Festival’s price.

There are 10 layouts in the Festival range. These include three twin-axle options, one of which is eight feet wide. That’s the Festival 860, which we chose for this review because it’s the newest layout to join the Festival line-up (in October 2019) and is already establishing popularity among buyers looking for up to five berths, ample space plus special-edition value and exclusivity.

The Festival 860 is priced at £28,990. The price of the standard Acadia is £27,905 including delivery; the difference between the two being £1,085, so Festival buyers get £1,412 of extras free of charge.

The  Festival 860’s layout provides two distinct living areas and three sleeping areas. There’s an L-shaped lounge and a large U-shaped dining area. The lounge can be converted to a double bed (1.98m by 1.29m). The dining area transforms into a single bed, 1.85m long and 1m wide, using the table, which has a telescopic monopod base. The fixed bed (1.87m by 1.29m) is secluded, at the rear, with the shower room alongside.

Kitchen equipment is a microwave, oven, grill and hob with a hotplate plus three gas burners. The fridge is Dometic’s tall, slimline,133-litre capacity model containing a freezer compartment which can be removed to increase chill space. 

Opposite the fridge is the wardrobe, which has 60cm of hanging width and two drawers below. There are five top lockers in the bedroom and three more are above the dining area, plus four above the lounge. If the 860 has a drawback, though, it is its lower storage configuration. None of the four areas of under-seating storage has front hatch access, so reaching inside necessitates lifting off the upholstery.

Once the upholstery is off, in the dining area you slide back the slatted locker tops, which is quite easy. In the lounge, lifting the offside settee base is straightforward and the lid is self-supporting on two gas-filled struts.

Lifting the top of the settee which runs parallel to the front of the 860 is slightly more difficult because the slatted base which enables you to make a double bed forms part of the settee structure, so is heavier to lift. You’d get used to all of this quite quickly, though. Accessing the area under the double bed is really easy, either by lifting the bed base or reaching in through the exterior hatch.

Festivals have Alde heating and so does the standard Acadia (it's worth noting that Coachman is the only manufacturer to equip all of its ranges with Alde heating).

The verdict on the Coachman Festival 860 caravan

The Coachman Festival 860 layout appeals to buyers who are looking for lots of lounge and dining space, perhaps for entertaining. The Festival package of extras takes Acadia to a higher level, creating a tourer with bags of sophistication and kit.

We love the inclusion of the inbuilt wireless charging pad and DAB radio. The yellow accent colours of the exclusive fabric scheme give the Festival a warm, summer-sun glow. ATC is worth its weight in gold in providing extra stability when you need to tow in a high wind.

And the Aquasource, giving you the ability to connect your caravan to a pitch’s water supply, is super convenient.