Full review

I’D go as far as to say that this is the most radical re-interpretation of the Ariva since the short-lived four-berth Ariva 4 of 1995.

Don’t get me wrong, the basics haven’t changed: at a whisker under 17ft, stem-to-stern, and a thoroughly hourglass 6ft 7in wall to wall, it’s still tiny; and the interior reveals no deviation at all from the parallel settees, end kitchen and all-in-one corner washroom that have characterised the brand from day one.

No, the really big changes are outside, where the traditional sober-bordering-on-the-tedious old shape has apparently enjoyed both liposuction and Botox injections for 2007.

Where the old Ariva sometimes looked positively Mekon-esque from the front with its enormous ‘forehead’ towering over the front windows, the current model looks more like a Quasar that’s shrunk in the wash, thanks to its adoption of the new family ‘face’ - complete with slim-waisted gas locker lid (now garnished with proper hydraulic struts) and contrasting grey grab handles.

The proportions are all spot on, too, possibly for the first time ever in the Ariva’s lifetime.

Things get even more startling out back, where the Hella lights and plain elevation of yore have been swapped for what is essentially the Zenith’s rear panel, complete with swoopy heavy mouldings and a giant sextet of trendy round lights. It looks terrific.

Inside, the initial - and irrational - slight disappointment at finding the same basic layout as before is tempered by the fact that instead of just throwing more equipment at it, Lunar has instead brought the Ariva more into line with its bigger siblings.

My test notes observe, rather glumly, the presence of ‘the same old framed locker doors’ (despite Lunar’s insistence that both they and the attendant handles are ‘all new’) but in the next breath, I go on to note the ‘rather nifty corner lights’ that nestle up front where the side roof lockers meet those over the front.

It gets bound edge, loose-lay carpets as standard for 2007. The Status 530 TV aerial is also standard, while only anoraks like me will probably have spotted that the Ariva’s Thetford fridge-freezer is rather bigger than the one fitted to the entry-level (but considerably larger) Zenith.

The standard soft furnishings work well with the Ariva’s new overall ‘woody’ theme, and look and feel impressively upmarket, and Lunar has continued to employ its agreeable policy of allowing buyers to specify alternative furnishings from other Lunar caravans as a cost option.

One of my peers has opined that an L-shaped lounge really should have been offered on the Ariva at least as an option by now (and I have to say he might just have a point), but there’s no arguing with the fact that parallel settees make up into a whacking great double bed with the greatest of ease.

What you might not realise is that those parallel settees are also long enough to act as single beds, although I remain utterly baffled by the current Lunar brochure, which states categorically that while making the settees up into a double bed creates a healthy 6ft 3in length, using the self-same settees as single beds renders them fully three inches shorter.

How is this possible?

Anyway, to the kitchen, where the new sink and lift-out drainer enjoyed by every other 2007 Lunar caravan is strangely absent from the Ariva.

Still, the fixed sunken sink/drainer is perfectly acceptable in a caravan this size, and of course the Spinflo Caprice cooker gets Lunar’s new ‘wok-friendly’ hob.

Less impressive is the corner washroom, where the swivel loo retains its simple manual flush system (all be it with a separate header tank) and the shower riser still has twin taps, rather than the preferable monobloc mixer, which not only looks better, but is also considerably less wasteful of precious water when showering. It’s not really acceptable on a caravan that costs north of £11,000.

Our verdict:

In these days of gigantic island beds, super-sized washrooms and lounges that can feed the five thousand and then settle them down with a G&T afterwards, it’s a genuine pleasure to find that the nifty little Ariva, with its shoe-box washroom, bizarre scatter cushions and slightly anachronistic end kitchen, is still drawing the punters in.

Not everyone has the means to pull a caravan weighing well in excess of a ton, and even if they had, ten to one they wouldn’t have the muscle power to wrestle it onto its pitch by hand.

So I for one stand up and applaud the fact that the 1000kg Ariva just refuses to throw in the towel.

It’s not faultless by any means, but for couples who frequent full-facility sites, and for those whose towcar is more Ford Focus than Ford Explorer, the Ariva makes a whole heap of sense.

A

•    A full version of this review including specification appeared in the April 2007 issue of Which Caravan. To order a road test reprint contact Tina Beaumont on 01778 391187.

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