Full review

The growing transverse bed trend now means that there are now 24 to choose from, ranging in price from £14,560 (for the new Sprite Major 4 SB). All British manufacturers have this layout in their ranges and there is one from Slovenian manufacturer Adria, too.

For the 2015 model year, Coachman launched three, one in each of its single-axle ranges. The Vision version of this layout has an MTPLM of 1540kg and a price of £18,795; the higher-spec VIP 575/4, with Alde heating, costs £24,195 and has an MTPLM of 1650kg. And there’s the Pastiche version reviewed here, sitting in between the Vision and VIP on price, spec and weight. The fact that Coachman has chosen to make three spec-versions of this layout for 2015 further underlines its now-established popularity.

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So why does this layout work so well? A major reason is that, by turning a bed around and siting it across the caravan, it takes up less of the caravan’s length. In the Pastiche 575 there’s another reason why it works so well. There’s a very clear demarcation between the bedroom and the kitchen; the wall at the aft end of the kitchen on one side and the wardrobe on the other, form clear barriers. There is, as you’d expect, a pleated partition to track across this door-sized corridor but we suspect it would be rarely used.

Even though 2015 Pastiches are slightly narrower than previous models (the same width as Vision models; 2.26m), there is enough space (22cm) to walk along the foot of the bed to the shower room behind it.

In addition to the width, another change for 2015 is the introduction of panoramic skylights.

There is one, big change for Pastiches that isn’t visible, though. It’s the method of construction. Coachman moved to bonded polyurethane wall construction for its Vision range for 2014, and then rolled out this method through all its ranges for 2015. It’s backed up by a 10-year water ingress warranty.

Every aspect of a Pastiche that you can see, though, demonstrates the craftsmanship appeal on which this marque has built its reputation since its introduction 15 years ago, including in the shower room…
 

Showering

Lighting level in the shower room is good, with three roof-mounted LED clusters and bright, white lighting set into frosted sections of glass bordering the mirror. Towels are catered for well, with a bar, a loop and a double hook.

Floor space is fine, too, with the central area measuring 90 x 84cm.

The shower is generous in size; we measured it at 64cm x 80cm. Its door is a single-piece unit, in appealingly clear acrylic. But because it’s a one-piece door, its size means that, when it opens, it touches the edge of the washbasin. We think if this caravan were ours we’d make sure there was always a face flannel or small towel over the edge of the basin to make sure there is no risk of the door becoming scratched.
 

Sleeping

The bed is 1.87m long and 1.35m wide, and with minimal corner-rounding to diminish bed space. Its metal-framed slatted base is constructed so that it can be shortened in length during the day, just by giving it a quick push, to increase corridor space by 25cm. The pillow end of the mattress has a section that is hinged by fabric, so that you can fold it upwards.

His-and-hers wardrobes are 48cm and 32cm wide. The smaller one has a two-shelf cabinet beneath; the larger one has a drawer plus a cabinet.

There’s a triangular dressing table, with cabinets above and below, plus TV and power points, in the forward offside corner of the bedroom.
 

Storage

The under-bed area is shorter than the mattress, to allow maximum floor space in the corridor. But there’s still a good amount of storage opportunity here. Large items such as folding chairs and tables will have to go in through the exterior hatch, though, because the metal T-shape of the bed base presents restriction on load shapes.

The nearside settee space is accessed via a full-length hinged door. The design of the metal-framed base of the lounge double bed, which draws out from under the offside settee, doesn’t allow for a front-opening locker door, so you raise the seating to reach inside. Four small wall lockers are above the lounge.

Overall, storage is fine for two (which is the primary market for this layout).
 

Dining

Again, considering this caravan as mainly used by two people, rather than four, the dining arrangements are fine, too, with a pull-out breakfast or snack table that’s 63cm wide and extends level with the windowsill, so you have up to 88cm of space.

The freestanding table is housed in its own slim cabinet on the forward end of the kitchen.
 

Lounging

The 575 warmed quickly as we started our review, switching on the Truma Combi system as we moved in with the laptop. It has a 6kW output on gas operation; we were using it on electricity and its 1.8 kW output in this mode took less than half an hour to get the caravan toasty in an exterior temperature of 7ºC.

Sitting in the lounge you could be forgiven for assuming the seating is the familiar sprung type; it’s firm and comfortable and feels as if it’s made to stay that way through many years of use. But it’s not sprung. It’s the revolutionary caravan upholstery invention called Ozio, made of three layers of polyester, with a central dense foam core sandwiched between vertically-aligned fibres. Significantly, it’s much lighter than sprung upholstery, a fact you’ll appreciate if you make up a double bed in the lounge. Ozio is also used for the mattress; here again, you notice its lightness when you lift it.
 

Kitchen

Pastiche kitchens get an interesting accessory for 2015. It’s a high-quality draining rack made by London-based stylish kitchenware company Joseph Joseph (it’s run by twin brothers whose surname is Joseph). The draining rack design is called “Flip” because you can flip it over to use either side. Used on one side, the water drains off tableware into the sink, via a small lip. When used the other way up, the water stays in the drainer, which means you can place it over the glass hob lid if you prefer to keep the surface to the left of the sink free for other uses. We can see this facility being really useful if you wash up between courses; you can be preparing the dessert alongside the sink while your plates are draining on top of the hob.

We love the position of the extractor fan, almost directly above the hob. And we love the lighting level; the strip of large, bright LEDs running below the lockers gives good light on the surface and a second row of LEDS is set into the top locker frame.

The double-doored lower cabinet contains a large shelf (60cm x 38cm) plus a small amount of space at floor level alongside the gas taps and kitchen sink exit pipe. When you take into account the wide, deep drawer above this cabinet, plus a second, shallower drawer for cutlery above the fridge opposite, storage space is more than adequate for the needs of two.
 

Towing

As I joined the A1 at Grantham during the 575’s test tow, just for an instant I decided that the lorry that was thundering past the Pastiche-Sorento outfit might create enough air force to upset the caravan’s stability and my thoughts flicked to the ATC system. The Pastiche didn’t deflect. Or did it, ever so slightly? Incidences of the electronic stability control system stepping in to apply the caravan’s brakes to snap it back into line are rarely detectable by the driver.

The Pastiche’s tow test progressed pleasantly uneventfully; it’s a mid-weight caravan and would have behaved just as impeccably behind a car that’s not as heavy as our Kia Sorento.


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