Full review

The first Xplores, in 2008 had bright turquoise graphics, creating an instant image of sunny skies and azure sea. We loved the whole package, not just for its light weight and no-frills approach to caravanning but for that colour theme. Now, for 2016, Xplore underlines those sunny holiday roots, this time with an even brighter, more eye-catching turquoise graphic scheme that extends upwards into the roofline and onto the front panel below the window, with the model number sitting in a prominent turquoise semi-circle.

The turquoise theme continues inside, on curtains and cushions. A slightly retro pattern also involves lime green, creating a lively image.

The whole look gives Xplores a stronger identity for 2016.

Woodwork is pale and there’s a new vinyl floorcovering for 2016, too. That, too, is pale, which makes the most of the space in vision terms. In Xplores, the vinyl is a key part of the décor because this range doesn’t have fitted carpets. Instead, central strips of carpet perform a rug-like function, creating enough cosiness but retaining, also, an ultra-modern, wood-effect floor look. It works!

Our review example of the range, the compact six-berth 526, has a single strip of carpet which runs all the way from the front to the family room at the rear.

New features for 2016 include a Teleco Teleplus X2/39U direction aerial. It’s a big, chunky affair with an equally chunky internal directional adjustment handle trimmed with a deep band of chrome. It has a quality, well-constructed look.

Also new is the Whale water and space heater control panel. This is the simplest heater unit control panel we’ve yet seen, with just plus and minus buttons for heat adjustment, a line of orange lights to indicate temperature selected, and the words “off” and “on” to light up when you switch on the Whale eight-litre water heater and/or the blown-air space heater.

One aspect of Xplores, though, hasn’t changed for 2016. That’s the way they’re made. Manufacturer Explorer Group’s SoLiD bonded construction system eliminates the use of screws and also eliminates risk of water ingress.

The 526 has two bunk beds, a two-seater dining area in the rear and a central offside washroom…
 

Showering

With six on board it’s almost certain that everyone will use campsite showers, if only to avoid queuing for your turn in the caravan. So it’s no surprise that economy of space has been made by making the shower and toilet compartment one unit, with a curtain around two sides of the shower area to keep water off the loo and door.

There is, though, enough space to have a shower in here, and two lovely big mirrors for when it’s time for make-up and hair preening.

There’s a wall cabinet for shampoos and other wash necessities. But only one towel loop. There’s plenty of wall area to install several more, though; most caravan retailers would fix this. It’s an especially important element of caravanning convenience when weather prevents us from drying towels outside!

Hair drying, though, is well catered for in the 526, with a deep mirror on the outside of the washroom and a mains socket, in the base of the lower bunk, well within cable-stretch distance.
 

Sleeping

The fixed bunks, on the offside of the kids’ “room” are 1.75m long. The two additional bunks which can be created in the dining area opposite are the same length. A pleated partition, in two sections, closes off this area; a full-height part draws out from the offside and a shorter section moves across the edge of the kitchen unit. It’s a neat arrangement which allows you to keep one section or the other open.

The lounge transforms into a bedroom by drawing out slats linked by webbing, to form the centre of a double bed.
 

Storage

Other than number of berths and weight, storage is arguably the key issue to assess when buyers are considering which caravan best suits their needs.

Accommodation for six also means accommodation for the bedding and clothing needs of six and the 526 acquits itself brilliantly here. Five under-seating spaces plus 10 top lockers create stacks of space. The front settee bases support themselves on spring hinges but you have to hold those in the rear section up; no criticism, though, for, after all, a virtue of Xplores is that they’re budget caravans.

To economise on length, the wardrobe is above the fridge, forward of the shower room. Hanging width is a generous 58cm and depth is equally practical, at 95cm.
 

Dining

With a lounge settee length of 1.47m and no central chest of drawers to take up space, six could eat around the main table. It’s much more likely, though, that two or more will make the rear dining room their own; kids love their own space!

The main table is stored in its own cabinet in the lounge, just forward of the fridge-wardrobe unit.
 

Lounging

The shelf above the table cabinet is perfect for a television, with sockets close by. More television sockets are in the rear “room”; in a perfect scenario to keep everyone happy, buyers of this caravan should budget for two televisions, to eliminate conflict of programme choice between generations!

The kids get their own cabinet for entertainment accoutrements, situated between the bunks and the dining table.

The rear dining-lounge easily gives enough seating space for three; the rear settee is 99cm long.

This caravan’s two-living-space layout makes it feel quite open-plan, despite the unavoidable bulk of the shower room and fridge-wardrobe unit. It has a good, reasonably spacious feel.

 
Kitchen

The most impressive feature of the 526’s kitchen is storage space. There are two lower cupboards, each 44cm wide and 42cm deep, plus a full-height, two-shelf cabinet on the rear end of the kitchen; that’s 25cm wide. In addition there are three drawers, each 44cm wide.

Amalgamating the oven and grill into a single unit helps to keep the storage capacity up, of course.

The hob has three burners set in an easy-to-clean black enamel base. The spark ignition switch for both the hob and the oven is in a convenient place alongside the oven temperature dial but the three hob knobs are set very close to the lipped edge of the hob, so getting fingers around them is a little awkward, we discovered, although that minor point certainly wouldn’t put us off a purchase of an Xplore.

Kitchen surface is limited to a 28cm-wode area to the left of the sink, so food preparation would mean getting very organised, leaving the (smart dark glass) tops down over the sink and hob when these are not in use.

Xplores don’t have microwaves, so if your cooking style demands one, it’s wise to get a lightweight model and use it in an awning.
 

Towing

Hitching a mid-length, lightweight caravan to a car that’s of a weight suitable for towing any mainstream caravan on the British market may seem an unfair test. But our one car, a SsangYong Rexton,  has to fit all review models. And the Xplore lived up to its nimble looks as it went out around the environs of the Explorer Group factory.

Good, well-balanced handling characteristics are evident no matter what the tow car, and our short test tow was an easy pleasure. The Xplore's width, narrower than many caravans, at 2.18m, is a noticeable advantage on the road; visibility in both the car’s mirrors and our extension mirrors, is wide.

There’s no ATC stability control although it’s an option, at £420; we’d always go for that, just for the reassurance of extra stability.