Full review

Exterior

Quasars have a rather traditional, dependable look. Body lines are classic. Graphics are minimal by today’s big, bold side feature standards. Yet don’t imagine Quasars are lagging behind trends in looks. They’re sleek and smart with white awning rails and angular graphics that use nut-brown and black to emphasise window lines.

When you walk around to the rear, though, you notice something that’s anything but traditional. The light clusters are set in bright red, bold and big surrounds. Following a Quasar along the road you’d certainly notice this style feature!

Interior

The 524’s four-berth layout gives you long settees, an offside two-seater dining space that converts into bunks and a shower room that, in a 5.19m-long caravan, is enormous.

This is a caravan that’s adaptable to many needs. A couple looking for plenty of lounge space will find their needs answered by the 524’s permanent separate dining room and spacious rear shower room. A family who needs beds for three or four, and prefers the flexibility of a dining area to fixed bunks, would love the 524, too, especially if the children are very young.
That’s because the younger the kids the more likely that the showering routine is going to involve parental leadership. And that’s when the 524’s spacious shower room will again be appreciated.

The shower is of domestic proportions; two kids could shower here easily. The large floor space gives you ample room for drying and dressing. And there are two wardrobes within the shower room. One is smaller than the other. In total they provide three drawers and two large shelf spaces beneath, so shoes and small items of clothing are well accommodated. Small features count when it comes to usability; there are two minor features of this shower room that enhance the 524’s appeal. One is the rail running the length of the shower, close to roof level, for towels. The other is the proximity of a mains power point, just outside the sliding door, fitted into the base of the rear-most dining area. It’s in the ideal place to power a hairdryer for use at the shower room mirror.

Just as important for a family as ample splashing space is enough kitchen room to make meals without struggling and juggling plates. The 524 has a large area to the right of its big, circular sink; even when the clip-on drainer is in place, there is still usable space. A sink cover is supplied; it matches the surface around it. Although it sits up above the level of the kitchen surface, it still means you have useful extra space when it’s in place.

Kitchen storage is fine, too, with a cabinet alongside the fridge containing two deep shelf spaces and a drawer, plus an additional cabinet across the corridor in a unit that divides the dining area from the lounge. Upper storage space, alongside the microwave, comprises a double-doored cabinet containing racks for tableware, plus a smaller cabinet.

Heating is the Truma Combi blown-air system which supplies both space warmth and water heating; warm air is pumped into the caravan via three outlets, including one in the shower room.

Lounging is a comfortable experience in the 524. Quasars are Lunar’s lowest-spec and lowest-priced caravans, yet cabinet and fabric looks would have you believe otherwise. Well-rounded lockers and edges, prominent woodgrain effect, and fabrics that are classic and plain combine to create a really comfortable environment with anything but budget looks.

The key to the 524’s appeal to couples, as well as families, is in the lounge. The settees are long enough to create single beds as an alternative to the pull-out slat-base double. In couple mode, there’s a permanent dining area. Couples will appreciate the twin wardrobe arrangement in the shower room, though who gets the larger one might give rise to some energetic debate!

And you can think of the 524 as a three-generation caravan; the bunks are there to be made up in the dining area when you want to take grandchildren on holiday.

Storage is ample for four, with nine top lockers and plenty of space for duvets, pillows and sleeping bags under the four seating areas. The settee lockers have full-length hinged doors. The dining area seat lockers have top access; you slide back a slatted lid.

There’s only one query we have about the otherwise near-perfect design of the 524. There are two TV points, one is by the front centre cabinet. That’s fine. The second is at the forward end of the kitchen, meaning that when you place a TV there you really shouldn’t be using water, as electronic equipment and splashes don’t mix well.