Full review

Hymer caravans have until 2016 appeared in Britain spasmodically and in penny numbers. Now, though, they’re arriving as serious contenders for buyers’ attention. Four retailers are now going to stock the Hymer range. These are Highbridge Caravan Centre in Somerset, Knowepark Caravans in West Lothian, Scotland, Kimberley Caravans in Darlington and Lowdham Leisureworld.

The 2016 Hymer Nova range comes from a long pedigree. Made in Germany, near Munich, this manufacturer’s two ranges of caravans have been in production for more than 50 years.

The company was started by Alfons Hymer, who began producing agricultural vehicles in 1923.

Hymer produced its first touring caravans in the late 1950s. These were called simply Eriba, and the slightly rounded shape of this very compact metal-framed iconic brand has changed little down the years.

Rather like Airstreams (which also have metal frames), Eribas rank among caravanning’s great classics. Again like Airstreams, they also enjoy cult status.

The Hymer Nova brand, though, which emerged three years after the first Eribas, is very different in styling. Hymer has earned a reputation for trend-setting layouts, plus exceptional quality and solidity, especially of interior furniture. They’re expensive, compared to the majority of comparable-sized caravans on the UK market. In the single-axle, plus-£25,500 sector, Hymers find their price competitors among Sterling Continental and Swift Elegance ranges and the only single-axle Buccaneer, the Cutter, at £28,799, all of which are regarded as flagship caravans. So do Hymers live up to flagship status? We had a Hymer Eriba Nova GL 545 and a day at Lowdhams’ own caravan site in Nottinghamshire to find out…

First, the stuff you can’t see. Hymers are different from other marques in terms of construction technology. In the early 1980s the company pioneered a departure from the traditional caravan construction system of wooden frame, polystyrene and fibreglass insulation, held together with screws screws. Hymer introduced a structure designed to be impervious to water, called PUAL, standing for polyurethane aluminium. Hymers are still made using this system.

The frame is aluminium, with polyurethane foam insulation for the roof and side panels. Polyurethane foam is made by mixing two chemicals, isocyanate and polyol. These react to produce foam of many times their volume. Once set, the foam is inert, impervious to water and a very good thermal insulator. The structure is bonded together, without the use of screws.

There are three key layout differences between the fixed-bed Nova 545 and the vast majority of fixed-bed caravans of comparable layout. The new 545 has a corner shower-toilet room alongside the bed, and wrap-around lounge seating – and an offside door. Wrap around lounges are a rarity (although it’s an option on some British–made models). Corner shower rooms have been largely swept away by the tide of full-width shower rooms which now dominate the market. And the offside door? Unless you are planning to stop in laybys when you take journey lunchbreaks, this matters very little in the UK, and is an advantage if you are going to take your caravan abroad.
 

Showering

The presence of a water tank, complete with a level indicator, puts the Nova 545 firmly in the category of caravans to consider if you’re looking for one to use on a year-round basis. But the big question is: will buyers in the £25,000-plus bracket go for a caravan in which the shower shares a compartment with the toilet?

The answer is going to revolve around your preference for using campsite showers or your own.

The shower shares its space with the toilet. A bi-fold screen protects the toilet and the mirrored cabinet behind it from water splashes. A second plastic door protects the wooden one.

A rail at the base of the shelf under the cabinet gives you somewhere to hang one towel. And there’s provision for three more, on a triple bar which can be swivelled to lie against either the rear of side wall, or out into the open space when you are drying towels. It’s a neat and very practical arrangement.

 Sleeping

The Nova 545 is built for tall caravanners; the bed is two metres long. It’s wide, too, at 1.47m; even though it tapers to 1.1m to allow for the corridor, this has to be regarded as one of caravanning’s biggest beds.

With a window at the rear as well as the side it’s a light, bright environment, and with the refinement of two of the four speakers for the sound system (the head unit is mounted alongside the door).

A grey pleated partition in two sections divides the bedroom from the kitchen.

Making up a double bed in the lounge involves using the table as the centre section of the base. Its monopod leg, on a huge circular base (very stylish!) lowers at the click of a lever.

Storage

Storage space under the U-shaped lounge is plentiful, but you’d have to move the table out into the centre of the caravan to get at the space without a struggle. There’s so much storage space elsewhere, though, that it would be easy to avoid using this area. There is one storage element in the lounge, though, that’s utterly brilliant. It’s a shoe cabinet directly alongside the door. We continually praise Bailey for equipping Unicorns with this facility; it’s great to see other manufacturers recognising the need to keep footwear out of the doorway, too!

On the other side of the door there’s a cabinet below the television (which comes with the caravan), plus lockers above and below the fridge, a 53cm-wide wardrobe with a drawer beneath it. This drawer has a metal lattice base, so that warmth from the Alde heating unit beneath it will rise and keep your socks toasty!

The top locker count is nine, excluding those in the kitchen. In addition, of course, there’s more space than most will ever need under the bed, which raises very smoothly and easily.

So, gigantic storage provision, considering this is not a gigantic caravan…

Dining

… and gigantic dining arrangements, too.

In typically continental style, the 545 has a big, substantial table on a monopod construction. It’s 88cm wide and 97cm at its longest point, tapering slightly to 80cm; the shape is to allow for plenty of space in the central areas of the caravan.

Six can sit around it, making the 545 an ideal caravan if you like entertaining friends.

Lounging

Big quantities of seating arranged in a horseshoe shape under a full-width skylight and upholstered in cool greys… The 545’s lounge is simply lovely. And ultra-modern. The windows are dressed in voile panels, of high quality, with just enough horizontal pattern to add interest without distracting from the plain look. Solid fabric panels neatly dress the edges of each window. Gorgeous!

Kitchen

Hymers don’t compete in the lightweight arena, rather, the 1800kg of the six-metre 545 is indicative of substantial furniture, and nowhere is that more evident than in the kitchen. Doors close with a firm clunk, and drawers feel more like those you find in a house-kitchen than a caravan. Styling follows the cool grey theme of the lounge fabrics. Two surface areas measure 40 and 47cm.

Lower storage space is fine, with a 40cm-wide three-shelf cabinet on the fore end of the kitchen, plus three drawers of the same width on the other side of the oven. The top one of these drawers is fitted for cutlery, giving you five generously-sized compartments.

The microwave is housed in one of the two top lockers; there’s shelf space above and alongside it. And there’s a small cabinet under the oven.

The fridge, opposite the kitchen, is the Dometic tall slim model. When you factor that into the storage capacity, the 545 gives you more than ample kitchen space.

Towing

Long drawbars of continental caravans are renowned for producing good, stable towing characteristics and, predictably, the Nova 545 handled nicely behind our SsangYong Rexton. ATC is a valued part of the kit, to control the first hint of a snaking motion which might occur if you’re overtaken by something large and fast-moving.