Full review

The new model 454 is compact – yet with a double bed in a cosy rear room and a spacious L-shaped lounge.

When Elddis invented the new-for-2020 Avanté 454 they had in mind couples who wanted both a compact caravan and a double bed. Both of those boxes are firmly ticked – and the 454 gives buyers something else that’s a rarity in any caravan, let alone a relatively small one. That’s a television wall in the lounge, on the nearside, with connections in the corner.

The shower shares a compartment with the toilet – that’s a departure from trend amid a market in which nearly all except very small caravans have separate showers. But there’s a good reason why the Avanté 454 has the washbasin, toilet and shower all together in a compartment amidships opposite the kitchen – it’s to save the space that enabled the designers to create the delightfully cosy bedroom that is sure to woo buyers.

The combined toilet-shower has a key difference from those of bygone days. The toilet is on a raised section of flooring which is almost level with the wheel arch that runs under the sink, so the shower tray is effectively a rectangular lower section, which means water will be confined here and you’ll only have one area to dry after each shower.

What about the bedroom?

So, what’s so special about this bedroom? A transverse island bed, not one but two triangular dressing tables and wardrobes of equal sizes on each side of the bed, with four drawers beneath – this is the sort of bedroom you’d find in a caravan of much longer length.

The lounge has a spacious feel that belies the caravan’s compact length, too; that’s down to the L-shaped seating which creates more floor space than a parallel configuration. You might assume at first glance that the lounge makes an additional double bed – but it doesn’t. Not that many buyers of fixed-bed caravans in this length bracket actually ever want to accommodate more than two.

Compact kitchen

The kitchen is compact and cleverly designed to make the best use of space, with the fridge under the sink and a cutlery drawer on the forward end of the kitchen. Kitchen storage is a top locker alongside the microwave and a locker beneath the oven.

Cooking equipment is a hob with three gas burners and an electric hotplate, plus microwave, oven and grill.

Stability system

Avantés may be the base model in the Elddis range, made by the Erwin Hymer Group in County Durham, but their level of spec is anything but basic. Al-Ko’s stability system ATC is standard; that’s the system that detects, and then corrects, the first sign of instability by automatically activating the caravan brakes, on one side or the other, to straighten the line.

Elddis caravans, like all of the caravans made by Erwin Hymer Group, are made using a fully bonded technique called SoLiD, which stands for Strong, Light and Dry. They also have a GRP underskin to provide a water-resistant barrier when towing.

The 454 layout also appears in the Erwin Hymer Group’s Compass range, as the Casita 454. The equipment level is the same; the difference comes in the fabrics and woodwork.

Verdict

It’s long been accepted that compact fixed-bed caravans are bought by people who use them as two-berths, even though the lounge can be transformed into a second double bed.

The 454 takes that premise a logical step forward in being boldly a couples’ caravan, with a super-luxury bedroom that has two dressing tables and a lovely L-shaped lounge with a TV wall on the nearside. You won’t miss the window here; the lounge is nicely light.

Only the combined shower-toilet room may raise a few questioning eyebrows – but that’s simply because we’ve come to take separate showers for granted. To get a caravan with such a great bedroom in a short length there have to be compromises.