Full review

The Saros is an extraordinary caravan. It’s ultra modern in looks, and has a bold reminder of its heritage; the coat of arms that appeared on early Lunars is here on the Saros, on the front, rear, both sides and also subtly inside the caravan. The message within the coat of arms is “Our Product, our Pride”; the words serve to remind potential Saros buyers of Lunar’s passion for the Clubman marque and the celebration of 40 of an iconic brand. And Saros models have bright blue lights within the grab handles that you can switch on once on your pitch. Both these features ensure a Saros will turn heads on caravan parks.
Inside, the styling is awesomely sophisticated. Pale cream, almost white high gloss finish on the top locker and wardrobe doors may catch your eyes first when you step into a Saros but when you look upwards towards the roof the wow-factor increases dramatically. That’s because the roof light is shaped like that in no other caravan. It's oblong, 1.3m long, in a white oval surround into which two LED clusters are set. A rim of bright light is concealed around its edge.
The stunning lighting design continues above the lockers, with lines of LED lights – and, impressively, these are dimmable; the switch is on the control panel above the door.
The use of pale turquoise in the décor is another feature that sets Saros apart from all else. There’s a turquoise panel on the kitchen wall. It looks amazing, and it's practical; a splash back that’s easily wiped clean.
The second turquoise feature in the décor appears across the front; it’s a slim panel running beneath the top lockers. The Sony CD radio, complete with Bluetooth connectivity and remote control, is mounted into the centre of the panel. On the offside of the panel is a subtle reminder that this is a Saros edition of a Clubman; the brand name is here, just small, in red and gold, together with the coat of arms.
There are three Saros models: one with a transverse island bed, one with twin beds and one with a longitudinally aligned bed. That’s the one we have on test. These models mirror the SI, SB and SE Clubman layouts.
Saros models cost £1000 more than the standard Clubmans with which they share layouts. And the gorgeous styling gives them a character all of their own. They have gun-metal grey alloy wheels, LCD screen control panels, and soft furnishings in Aqua Clean fabric designed to be exceptionally resistant to stains. This fabric incorporates a technology which allows spillages such as coffee, food and even wine to be removed using just water. It was of course an element of the Saros that we were not going to put to the test during our review day. But we did enjoy the enveloping comfort the of Alde heating system, and, had we been staying overnight in the Saros, we would certainly have appreciated the extra heat given off by the new-style, much larger shower room heater that’s part of the Alde system. That’s not exclusive to Saros editions but there are features in the shower room that do mark out Saros as different to Clubman…
 

Showering

The doors of the cabinet beneath the washbasin are cream gloss, matching those elsewhere in the Saros. And that gorgeous turquoise makes an appearance here in the shower room, on an edging for the shelf that runs in a curve along the offside wall.
The toilet has a ceramic bowl, and the shower, like those in standard Clubman models, is large (80cm deep and 65cm wide). There’s a rail for hanging garments or towels to dry across the top of the shower. And the shower door is a single piece unit which pivots on a hinge about 10cm inside the doorframe. Stylish and simply nice!
Saros style appears on the window; there’s a pleated folded blind in the same fabric as the curtains.
 

Sleeping

More exclusive Saros styling distinguishes the bedroom. The bedhead shape is amazing. It’s padded and upholstered to match the lounge, and swoops down in a curve from the nearside wall to disappear behind the pillow on the opposite side of the bed.
The cream gloss locker doors with slim, wide chrome handles (the same as those in the lounge) look akin to something you might find in a five-star hotel. The mattress is sprung, and 16cm deep, so comfort is guaranteed.
The curving style theme of the bed head also appears in the dresser alongside the bed, with three curved shelves edged to match the shelf in the shower room.
 

Storage

With nine top lockers behind that gorgeous cream cabinetry, smallish items are sure to find plenty of hideaway space. Three drawers and a fourth space, with a hinge-down door, are under the wardrobe, alongside the bed.
The under-settee spaces have full-length hatches. Even though the Alde heating and the power supply box are under the offside seat, there is enough space to be useful here. The nearside space is almost clear, except for the room taken up by the exterior-hatched plastic-lined locker.
There are two drawers at the front, plus a shelf below them.
 

Dining

You can dine at the pull-out table above the drawers, of course. For major meals, extracting the larger table from its runners and clip in the kitchen cabinet is an easy process.
 

Lounging

The details that create the sophistication of the Saros are best appreciated when you’re relaxing on the ultra-modern upholstery of the settees. The cream shade on the top sections and armrests match the glossy top lockers. The seating sections and lower backrests are in a contrasting creamy-fawn.
The prominent colour that distinguishes the Saros is purple, in bold leaves on the curtains and four big cushions. The whole effect is modern, and yet also classic.
 

Kitchen

A tiny vibrant blue reminder that you are in a high-end Lunar caravan is at foot level in the kitchen. It's the word Lunar, in lights. Leave it on when you leave your Lunar at night and, although it's small and neat, it emits enough light to illuminate your first steps inside.
A hinge-up section creates 35cm of extra kitchen surface width but, with a 50cm width of space to the left of the sink, we think you won't often have to use the extension.
Five opaque-frosted panelled doors front the top storage arrangements. There are three cabinets behind these doors; double ones at each end and a central unit that’s designed to be the drinks department, with clips for stems of four glasses, plus a clear acrylic shelf with recesses for three bottles. This shelf gleams in the light cast down by the rows of LED lights that run inside all five cabinet doors, shining light into the caravan through the frosted panels in the doors. It's a totally lovely look.
Lower storage arrangements are three basket-style drawers plus a cutlery drawer in the kitchen cabinet. There is a second cabinet and drawer in the 60cm-wide dresser opposite. The microwave is here, comfortably at chest level for people of average height. An additional frosted-door cabinet is above the microwave, with bright LED lights within, like those in the kitchen.
Considering the body length of the Saros is a fairly modest 5.77m, kitchen accommodation and surface space is surprisingly generous.
 

Towing

As you’d expect in a high-spec caravan, it has the AL-KO ATC electronic stability system. Happily no high winds or energetic overtaking vehicles gave the ATC unit cause to wake up during our calm-weather 20-mile motorway tow from the Lunar factory to our test location. This silent protector is an asset we, and potential buyers, appreciate, to help keep you safe in adverse conditions.
Towing the Saros was a pleasure; smooth and well-balanced even though it was completely unladen. And it was rather nice to observe that the Saros turned a few passenger heads as we sped along the M6!