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Lunar Quasar 544

Key Features

Model Year 2012
Class Single Axle
Price From (£) 16,295
Internal Length (m) 5.53
Shipping Length (m) 7.10
MRO (kg) 1219
MTPLM (kg) 1,376
Max Width (m) 2.16
External Height (m) 2.60
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Full review

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£16,295 MTPLM 1376kg MIRO 1218kg

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Fixed-bed caravans are Britain’s most popular layout. But few are as light as this one…


Review first appeared in Caravan Buyer February 2012

 

 

Lunar Quasar 544 Lunar Quasar 544
Lunar Quasar 544 Lunar Quasar 544

































This popular layout appears in all price ranges, from the Bailey Orion 430-4 at £13,495, to the AS Mayfair, at £29,995. You take your choice from a bewildering sea of caravans, all giving you the two important luxuries of a fixed bed and end shower room. But if light weight is the main focus of your shortlist, there are only a few to consider. Among them are the Elddis Xplore 504 (1315kg MTPLM), the Orion 430-4 (1320kg MTPLM) and one from Lunar…

Quasar is Lunar’s lowest-spec range. That’s one reason for the light weight. Another is that, at 2.16m, Quasars are narrower than the majority of caravans – and where there’s less width, there’s less weight.
The Quasar 544 may have less equipment than the majority of caravans of this layout but all you need is here – and some of this caravan’s features are nothing short of outstanding. Top of our list is the shower room…

Showering 9/10

With a shower measuring 65cm by 79cm, you have a true home-from-home facility. The oval washbasin is far from large. But if it were any bigger it would intrude on space for dressing.

Two other important features make this shower room special. One is a rail running across the shower ceiling; perfect for hanging your walking garments to dry after you’ve been caught in a shower. Another is a neat, tall cabinet alongside the toilet. Inside, a linen bag is suspended on four brass hooks. Its real purpose is a hideaway for items waiting to be washed. We think it’s much more useful as a store for toilet rolls and towels. Either way, it’s a useful piece of storage furniture.

A strip of LED lights illuminates the mirror over the washbasin. There’s plenty of shelving but some will say the cabinet under the washbasin is rather small.

Sleeping 9/10

The bed is just under 2m long so, unless you are exceptionally tall, this one will suit your dimensions.
The mattress is deep. It’s the pocket-sprung type. Taking a nap is not part of our review process, but lying on the bed for a minute to assess comfort is allowed; this one engendered instant comfort        and relaxation!

Storage 16/20

All fixed-bed caravans have a storage advantage over all other layouts. Like most caravans with a side fixed bed, the 544 gives you a hatch so that you can access this storage area from the outside. The bed rises smoothly on two gas-filled struts. There is one metal support across the centre of the bed, but this doesn’t restrict access too much. It will, though, serve to make you stop and think if you try to load anything large in here: is it really a good idea to put a heavy awning under the bed – aft of the axle? It’s tempting, because the bulky awning is out of the way, but you may make your caravan’s nose weight too light for optimum stability… A nose-weight gauge will answer your question.

The three lockers over the bed provide more than enough space for the clothing storage needs of two people. In case you need more space, the wardrobe, just backwards of the kitchen, has two good-sized drawers beneath it but we think these will find employment under the heading “kitchen”…

Dining 8/10

The table is housed in its own cupboard to the left of the fridge. How often a couple will bother to extract it and put it up in the lounge is debatable, because the pull-out top of the chest of drawers provides ample space for two place-settings.

Lounging 7/10

Only seven here because the settees are 1.53m long, so this is not the most spacious lounge around. But the comfort is all there, with four velvety scatter cushions to augment the soft bolster-style armrests.

Kitchen 11/20

Sorry, Quasar 544, but we need lower kitchen storage space and here there is none, hence only 11 points. One pan cupboard below the oven is all you get. That’s why we think you’ll grab those two drawers under the wardrobe (conveniently alongside the kitchen) for culinary-related items.
Cutlery space, though, is fine, with a drawer in the dresser opposite the kitchen. The microwave is within the dresser – at a conveniently low height. Television sockets are here, and, above the microwave, a double-doored cupboard adds to the line-up of upper kitchen storage.

Build 8/10

What do you say about a manufacturer that prides itself on keeping caravan weights down – and is constantly striving to make them even lower? Well done, we’d say. Everything about the Quasar 544 looks and feels like quality.

Towing 8/10

Just over 20 miles of motorway, lots of roundabouts and some winding narrow lanes gave the 544 a fair and varied test tow. On the hook of our Kia Sorento, which tows most of our review caravans, the 544 responded to those differing speeds and road types perfectly stably. It doesn’t need a 2000kg car to pull it, of course.
Quasars don’t have AL-KO’s ATC stability control system as standard, but it’s an option we’d go for, even though this caravan’s towing characteristics are excellent. Anything that assists safety margin is worth £499 – and it only adds 2kg to the caravan’s weight. VC

 

VERDICT 76/100

Brilliantly light in weight and
with a quality feel and look

TOWMATCH INFO

Weight (MTPLM): 1376kg
To tow this caravan at 85% you need a car kerbweight of 1618kg
To tow this caravan at 100% you need a car kerbweight of 1376kg

















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