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Elddis Affinity 554
Sections:

Key Features

Model Year 2015
Class Single Axle
Price From (£) 20,099
Internal Length (m) 5.75
Shipping Length (m) 7.47
MRO (kg) 1323
MTPLM (kg) 1,476
Max Width (m) 2.26
External Height (m) 2.80
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At a glance

The Affinity range, launched four years ago, gets a new feature, “Sky-Scape” sunroofs, for 2015 and an additional model, the 554, with a transverse island bed…

Full review

Transverse island beds are the hottest fashion in caravan layouts for 2015. That’s because, compared with beds aligned along the caravan’s length, they push the bedroom further down the caravan, making it look and feel more like a separate room with a separate function. It’s no surprise, then, giving the growing rise in popularity – and choice – of this layout, that Elddis should bring it into its Affinity range for 2015.

Affintys are well-specced caravans, with Alde heating (and touchscreen control panels), alarm systems AL-KO ATC stability control, connections for a solar panel and external satellite points.

For 2015, in common with all Explorer Group ranges, Affinitys get a new type of upholstery, made of layers of polyester fibres. Called Ozio (the name means “relax” in Italian), it’s designed to be exceptionally breathable. It’s used for both mattresses and seating.

Our impression of Ozio mattresses is based only on brief assessments; we haven’t yet had an opportunity to sleep on one. But we can say that the Affinity’s mattress, to sit on, feels soft enough to be comfortable but also firm enough not to be squashy. Seating units also feel firmly comfortable.

The standard of finesse throughout the 554 is impressive. Notable are top locker latches with press-catches hidden behind the handles, beautifully crafted curtains edged with deep purple, and a very different sort of latch on the door that leads from the bedroom to the shower room…
 
 

Showering

Rarely does a door latch and knob merit comment, but this one does. The knob is a very small barrel shaped structure. Turning it opens a claw-shaped catch, releasing the mechanism. It’s quite the neatest shower room handle and catch we’ve seen. It’s a feature that Affinitys share with the Explorer Group’s flagship Buccaneer range.

There’s an Alde heated towel rail on the rear wall and also an outlet for warmed air from radiator fins that lie in a wooden casing beneath.

The basin is large and deep. The shower, too, is generous in size. And Affinity models get a new design of shower head for 2015. It’s a development of the Ecocamel Jetsteam unit that we’ve seen in caravans over the past few years. The new design of air-intake shower heads is called Ecocamel Orbit. The head is a large white halo-shaped design containing 10 clusters of water spray nodules, which increases the pressure inside the showerhead, forcing the water out of the head with more power, and using less water than a conventional showerhead. It’s designed to deliver a more powerful shower than the Ecocamel Jetstream model. The Orbit design is exclusive to Elddis for 2015.
 
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Sleeping

There’s a very small task to carry out to get your bed ready for night in a 554. You take hold of a handle at the base of the bed and draw it towards you slightly. The bed becomes 23cm longer. There’s an extra section of mattress to place at the pillow end; you can store it under the bed or under the pillow during the day.

And in the morning? You push the bed back, retracting it by 23cm, to increase corridor space to the shower room. Lots of transverse beds have mechanism that retract and expand the length but we have to say this is one of the smoothest and lightest to operate we have so far encountered.

The 554’s bedroom is enhanced by a long, wide mirror on the wall that borders the shower room. It’s in the perfect place for drying your hair; there is a socket nearby, set into the base of the bed. But its purpose is more aesthetic. It enhances the feeling of space, because you get reflections of the lounge, almost like pictures, from every angle.

It’s an appealing, cosy bedroom environment, with a TV bracket plus sockets in the offside front corner, and fine floral curtains hanging on a chunky chrome pole.
 

Storage

The forward wardrobe has a hanging width of 53cm; the one on the rear side of the bed is 28cm wide. Both have two drawers, of the same width as the wardrobes, and a cupboard with a drop-down door beneath.

The T-shape of the metal bed frame may prevent you from putting some varieties of large folding chair in from the inside but that’s what the wide exterior hatch is for. Under the 554’s bed there is plenty of space for more stuff than you’d ever wish to put in here.

Drop-down, full length hatches lead into the under-settee spaces. The four top lockers (two above the bed and two in the lounge) have small, neat plastic paddles hidden behind the feature chrome handles; a very slight press on the paddle releases the positive catch.
 

Dining

The dining table is easy to extract from its retaining clips inside the larger wardrobe. It’s ideal for when four are dining but we’d guess that two people will just use the pull-out table at the front; it’s larger than many, making a level surface 81cm deep and 65cm wide.
 

Lounging

Four firm armrests ensure you can get comfortable in all four corners of these settees. Importantly, the armrest on the end of the seat nearest the door has a base section which slides between the upholstery and the wooden frame, ensuring that it doesn’t depart from its place.

Four scatter cushions match the floral-design curtains, bordered with deep purple. It’s a lovely, relaxing, cosy environment. An ideal place, therefore, to contemplate the things you can’t see about the 554, we decided. You can’t see the way the caravan is constructed. Three years ago Explorer introduced its revolutionary SoLiD chemical-bonded body construction method, designed to eliminate water ingress. And you can’t see that there is a GRP layer under the floor, to protect the caravan from moisture while towing; that’s a feature of all Explorer Group products, too.

You can’t see much of the heating system that’s built into the furniture; the only evidence that the Alde system is here to cocoon you in warmth is the small touchscreen control panel alongside the door. It’s worth taking time to take in the aspects of the caravan you can’t see as well as those that you can…
 

Kitchen

Perhaps the kitchen feature you’ll notice first is the glossy black granite-effect sink, with sparkly bits that catch the light from the two LED clusters mounted under the top lockers. Sinks may be mundane in terms of function but this one really does add to the style.

Of more practical importance, the substance from which it’s made, and its black colour, are pretty much guaranteed to be durable; your sink is still going to be shiny after years of use, we’d guess.

Practicality is in no short measure elsewhere; there’s a 60-cm width of surface forward of the sink. Storage, too, has been well planned. To the left of the fridge, four drawers, 40cm wide and of varying depths, will take care of most stuff. And, opposite, the dresser provides an additional drawer and two-shelf cabinet, 48cm wide. Add in the top cabinets, above the microwave (in the dresser) and above the kitchen, and the 554’s kitchen can safety be regarded as generous in terms of storage.

 
Towing

As you’d expect of a caravan in this price echelon, the AL-KO ATC stability control system is standard. That little bright lime green light in a plaque on the drawbar and the reassuringly positive zzz-zzz sound as you connect the 13-pin plug to the car’s socket tells you there is something clever, electronic and automatic hiding under the chassis, to apply the caravan brakes if the system detects the first signs of snaking.

It’s another feature of Affinitys that may not initially attract your attention when you see the 554 but, like SoLiD construction, is a significant part of this well-equipped package of caravan.
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Our verdict

The 2015 Elddis Affinity 554, with a transversed-bed layout, has a lot of competition. The latest Affinity stands out from the crowd on finesse and the new “Skyscape” sunroof. There’s more to take in behind the scenes, though. The bonded construction, the under-skin, the new upholstery that makes the seating lighter to pick up. And the Whale IC (Intelligent Controller) that turns off the pump if your water container becomes empty. The 554 is refined and well-equipped, with excellent storage.

Advantages

Alde heating
The easily operated bed mechanism
The big mirror that increases the look of space
The new sunroof

Disadvantages


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