Full review

Distinguished by simple styling, plain fabrics and uncluttered décor with black marble-look surfaces, the new StarClass models are in a class of their own. Their Germanic origins imbue a predictably clean-lines, solidity character through and through. And these caravans are designed specifically for the UK market, with nearside doors and layouts that are well established in Britain.

Starclass is right now a range of just two models, with more to come, due to be launched in October 2016. There will be six models in total. The four new ones are two single-axle tourers, a two-berth and a four-berth, and two twin-axles, one with a transverse bed and one with single beds.

Both models launched to date have parallel lounges and full-width rear shower rooms with separate showers. They’re both 7.5m in overall length, 2.32m wide and share the same weight figures of 1440kg MIRO and 1600kg MTPLM. The 565 has twin beds and the 560 has a double bed.

They represent a new turn and big investment for the giant Bavarian caravan maker Knaus Tabbert which is now chasing the British market with energy. The arrival of the StarClass follows the launch here of the Knaus Sport and Fun (the only caravan in the UK with a ‘garage’) and the Knaus Südwind range (our reviews and videos of both are on outandaboutlive.co.uk).

The StarClass brand has been to the UK before; between 2006 and 2008. But it didn’t really take off then. Tastes and times have changed and so has StarClass.

These two newcomers were unveiled to the caravanning public at the February NEC show. They’re the property of Knaus retailer Barnsdale Leisure – the first retailer to stock StarClass – in the village of East Hardwick, two miles from the A1 Barnsdale Bar junction with the A639.

We caught up with the StarClass 560 at Rudding Holiday Park, close to the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate; it’s been towed there for us by Barnsdale Leisure MD Charles Schofield, and it’s our for a day of evaluation and towing…

StarClass is Knaus’s flagship. The manufacturer describes it as having a “sophisticated living ambience”. Would we agree? At the end of our review day would we be saying the StarClass is truly star class?

We’ll start with the basics. In contrast to all British-made caravans except Buccaneers, it’s on a BPW chassis, with iDC stability control. It has a Pro Tech frame, which means that the walls, floor, roof, front and rear panels all interlock, enhancing strength. The panels are both glued and screwed together for added robustness.

Knaus caravans are sold in some of Europe’s coldest countries, designed specifically for winter caravanning. They have 38mm floors and 31mm walls and roof; the roofs are made of hailstone-dent resistant GRP.

The heating system is the Truma Combi, and it’s iNet ready, which means its pre-wired for installation of Truma’s system that enables you to control your heating from your smartphone.

The 560’s layout looks very British; far more so than other continental offerings. There’s a centre-front chest of drawers; the bed’s on the nearside. And between the two there’s a Dometic tower-style fridge with separate freezer. The shower room is across the rear…
 

Showering

.. And there’s a surprise. The toilet is the Dometic model with a ceramic bowl. The shower is on the nearside, it’s 69 x 80cm, which is fine for size. But there are no shelves for shampoo containers other than a very small area around the temperature control. Such thngs can easily be bought, though.

There’s a towel loop alongside the basin and a hook by the shower. Ideally there would be a third towel hook somewhere but that’s a minor detail easily sorted out.

The basin is set into a black marble-effect surround. This lovely glossy marble element is a prominent feature that defines the StarClass; it’s in three places elsewhere in the caravan.

There’s a small light in the shower and two stylish white-shaded cylindrical lights bordering the mirrored cabinet above the washbasin.

Some might say the shower room lacks floor space, at 67cm between the basin cabinet and the front wall, but that’s comparative; whether it suits you is purely a matter of what you’re accustomed to. And at the end of the day the washroom is not where you spend most of your holidays!

Sleeping

The bed is 1.37m wide, tapering to 1.07m, its luxuriously long, at 2.05m.

The star (!) feature of the bedroom apart from the bed’s length is the dressing table. The surface really does look like black marble, and it’s 1.2m long. There’s a delightfully big mirror, the biggest we’ve seen in a caravan vanity area, at 67 wide x 94cm high, and with a socket nearby for hairdryer use; no excuses for lazy grooming in a StarClass!

By this time in our review day the Truma Combi is doing its stuff nicely and the StarClass is well on its way to warming a place in our hearts. We love the six small shelves alongside the enormous mirror. We love the marble surface even more. And the cabinets in the dressing table give you generous storage space. One is 80 cm wide and the other is 36cm, both with two shelf spaces.

A style feature of the bedroom is leather effect, upholstering the lower half of the wall above the bedhead.

Most 560 buyers will be couples. It does of course have four-berth capability. A double bed can be made in the lounge by pulling out a slatted base from between two of the three drawers; this style is typically British and another pointer to Knaus’s determination to appeal to UK buyers.

Storage

We’d already been impressed by the quantity of storage in the dressing table. The wardrobe gives you 58cm of hanging width plus three large shelf areas; shoes would never be a problem in a StarClass 560.

There’s plenty of space under the bed of course (the base is constructed in two sections, so you raise only one side), plus more under the settees. There’s no front access here; strong strut hinges support the bases. You have to remove the rear armrests before you raise the settees and, as you do so, you are getting hold of an example of StarClass robust quality. These are seriously engineered, heavy armrests, with solid sections that slide down from below them, to sit between the upholstery and the wooden settee frame, to keep them firmly in place.

Dining

We mentioned the bed’s two-part construction. There’s a reason for it. The table is stored in beautifully constructed robust brackets under the section you don’t raise.

Everything you touch in this caravan is superbly engineered. And heavy. That’s especially true of the table. It takes some strength to lift it out from its under-bed slot. Once out, though, its legs swing and click into position smoothly. And it’s so solid that it doesn’t move at all when you apply strong knife pressure to food! It’s worth mentioning that we discovered it a lot easier to extract the table through the large exterior hatch to the under-bed space.

The table in a StarClass will get more use than in most caravans designed to appeal to couples. Usually chest of drawers tops are ideal for minor meals and snacks. But the StarClass’s chest of drawers is substantially higher than others, with a top surface that’s 82cm from the floor. That’s slightly too high to be used as a table.

So it’s fine for coffee and drinks but for all meals when you need to sit in front of your food, the table will have to take centre-stage here. With all credit due to the robust construction everywhere in the StarClass, we have to say that manoeuvring this substantial table from its place of seclusion into the lounge really is a major task. We reckon most buyers will leave it up once it’s in place. Which is exactly what happens in traditionally continental-style caravans.

Lounging

The settees are 1.45m long, so this is a lounge for four, rather than six.

There’s an option of leather upholstery plus two fabric options. You can replace the front chest of drawers with wrap-around seating if you wish.

One of the neatest, nicest and most inventive features we’ve every seen in a touring caravan is here in the StarClass’s lounge. On each side, below the lockers, are two spotlights on a metal track which enables you to move them to different positions. In addition, each light has rotary and vertical direction movement. Ceiling lighting in the lounge is impressively stylish, too; three big LED clusters are set behind a rectangular clear acrylic panel.

We praised the size of the mirror in the bedroom; here in the lounge is more mirror styling, this time a full-height mirror on the forward wall of the fridge unit, alongside a TV bracket. Here, though, the mirror has more style use than practicality, it helps to make the area look as spacious as it can be.

Kitchen

Kitchen storage capacity is superb, with a double-doored , two-shelf cabinet that's 83cm wide plus a drawer of the same width above it. The drawer is divided into two sections; one is fitted for cutlery – with seven recesses! There are two top lockers alongside the microwave but these lack plate and mug racks.

There are more cabinets, both above and beneath the fridge opposite.

Bucking caravan kitchen trends, the StarClass has a recessed drainer; a nice feature, and there’s a cover for it, so you can use that area as pat of the food prep surface.

Towing

We’d been looking forward to towing the StarClass. It’s a head-turning beast. And, out on the roads around Harrogate, we were rather proud to call it ours if only for only a day. It’s equipped with iDC, the BPW chassis equivalent of AL-KO’s ATC. But there was no cause for it to activate during our test tow, in calm weather and the outfit felt dependably stable.