Airstream International 604
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Description
Ideal for a couple with a desire for luxury and an unlimited budget.
Key Features
Model Year
2014
Product Class
Twin Axle
Price from (£)
£55730
Berths
3
Full Review
Airstream’s iconic silver bullet styling inspired by aircraft lines turns heads wherever it goes. These are tourers for discerning caravanners who put the desire for something utterly different way ahead of budget.
Airstream’s construction process is unique. The aluminium shell is assembled first. Then the interior skin and furniture are installed. It’s the shape, though, that is Airstream’s most distinguishing feature. The first Airstream was made in 1931 by an entrepreneur called Wally Byam, driven by a passion to build a quality touring unit that met the needs of a new breed of adventurer of the day.
Eighty years on the shape is the same and the adventure appeal endures too. European Airstreams are imported into Britain, arriving at Tebay in Cumbria, to Airstream and Company. The BPW chassis are made in Germany; they go to America and then the complete Airsteam shell comes to Britain, arriving at the port of Liverpool en route Tebay where the interior is fitted out, to UK specification.
There are five models, ranging in weight from 1700kg to 2445kg MTPLM and in price from £35,890 to £54,890.
The 604 is smaller than the 684 model that’s already proved its popularity among buyers in this market. It’s slightly less money and, at 2000kg MTPLM, compared with the 684’s 2445kg, it’s towable by more vehicles.
The 604 is a three-berth. Its bedroom is at the front. It has the same en suite shower room and larder fridge-freezer as its bigger brother, the 684. A major difference is its length; it is 65cm shorter than the 684.
And its red leather upholstered lounge is L-shaped, compared with the 684’s U-shape. The Airstream was equipped with the optional awning canopy (£1310).
Showering
If you think the red leather lounge upholstery is startling in colour, you’ll be even more surprised by the dominant colour of the shower room walls: bright lime green. It’s teamed with white, and brushed aluminium that clads the outer wall, just as it does elsewhere in the Airstream.
The toilet is ceramic (as you’d expect in a caravan of this type). And there’s a heated towel rail, part of the Alde heating system, as you’d also expect. And the door leading from the shower room into the rest of the Airstream is styled rather like a ship’s porthole. There’s also an exterior shower.
Sleeping
The styling differences between an Airstream and everything else you can tow aren’t just about detail. It’s everywhere around you. The walls are aluminium. And the curved shape dominates design.
Top lockers curve into the shape of the roof, with frosted acrylic sliding doors. Simple and rather IKEA-ish. The bed runs across the full width of the Airstream. But this bed is like no other in construction. Instead of lifting the bed base to get into storage space below, there’s a double-doored cabinet. It’s a three-berth; you can make a bed in the lounge. But the primary appeal of this model is to couples.
Storage
The top lockers at each end are enormous. The wardrobe, on the rear end of the kitchen, is reasonably large. There are cabinets above and below the fridge-freezer, and three drawers alongside it.
Dining
There are many features which set the Airstream apart from anything else and the dining arrangements are among them. The table forms the base of the central section of the settee which runs across the rear. You remove the seating units from here (there’s space at the foot of the bed to lodge them unobtrusively, we quickly found.) Seating for the third person comes in the form of a circular freestanding unit that also doubles as a footrest.
Lounging
It’s that freestanding seat/footrest that gives you something else unique to the 604. Anywhere, anyhow you relax in the lounge you can put your feet up on the footrest. Four cushions, two oblong, two square, help you to get cosy. They provide the only pattern anywhere in the Airstream, using red, brown and fawn. Turn them one way and you have big, bold stripes. Turn them over and there’s a red floral design; you can change your décor dynamic at the flip of a cushion.
Kitchen
The sink cover fits flush with the rest of the white surface. The surface to the right of the sink has channels to direct water into the sink. The sink has a metal drainer within it; brilliant!
Towing
We didn’t get chance to tow the 604 because it was pitched up ready for our stay. It was connected to water and drainage, and levelled on wooden blocks, so understandably the site didn’t want us to take it for a tow. Yes, you need a beefy vehicle to tow it. But then that also applies to the big Buccaneers, high-end Swifts and others in the top size bracket.
Unique features
There’s an integral pull-out entrance step. The windows open with a system of levers. Nine lights are set into the ceiling. Four more are set into the bases of top lockers. Lighting is within the top lockers and streams out through the frosted doors.
This is one of the lightest, brightest caravans we’ve reviewed. Did we say “caravan’’? That’s the first time that word has appeared in this test, because Airstream insists that Airstreams are not caravans.
They are simply Airstreams, a reflection of their distinction from anything else you can tow. After three days living the American Airstream dream, are we sold on the idea of spending £51,730 on something to tow (note more avoidance of the word “caravan”).
Well, yes, the value is obvious everywhere you look, in the structure, the interior and exterior styling, and the way in which the total image really does seem to inspire thoughts of long-haul towing adventure.
Would we buy into the dream? It is a temptation, like gloating over a Ferrari, but as Editor of a magazine called Caravan Buyer I think readers would expect me to personally own a caravan that calls itself a caravan. Which I do. That’s not to take any gloss away from the Airstream dream, though; this is one awesomely impressive icon of wanderlust.
Airstream’s construction process is unique. The aluminium shell is assembled first. Then the interior skin and furniture are installed. It’s the shape, though, that is Airstream’s most distinguishing feature. The first Airstream was made in 1931 by an entrepreneur called Wally Byam, driven by a passion to build a quality touring unit that met the needs of a new breed of adventurer of the day.
Eighty years on the shape is the same and the adventure appeal endures too. European Airstreams are imported into Britain, arriving at Tebay in Cumbria, to Airstream and Company. The BPW chassis are made in Germany; they go to America and then the complete Airsteam shell comes to Britain, arriving at the port of Liverpool en route Tebay where the interior is fitted out, to UK specification.
There are five models, ranging in weight from 1700kg to 2445kg MTPLM and in price from £35,890 to £54,890.
The 604 is smaller than the 684 model that’s already proved its popularity among buyers in this market. It’s slightly less money and, at 2000kg MTPLM, compared with the 684’s 2445kg, it’s towable by more vehicles.
The 604 is a three-berth. Its bedroom is at the front. It has the same en suite shower room and larder fridge-freezer as its bigger brother, the 684. A major difference is its length; it is 65cm shorter than the 684.
And its red leather upholstered lounge is L-shaped, compared with the 684’s U-shape. The Airstream was equipped with the optional awning canopy (£1310).
Showering
If you think the red leather lounge upholstery is startling in colour, you’ll be even more surprised by the dominant colour of the shower room walls: bright lime green. It’s teamed with white, and brushed aluminium that clads the outer wall, just as it does elsewhere in the Airstream.
The toilet is ceramic (as you’d expect in a caravan of this type). And there’s a heated towel rail, part of the Alde heating system, as you’d also expect. And the door leading from the shower room into the rest of the Airstream is styled rather like a ship’s porthole. There’s also an exterior shower.
Sleeping
The styling differences between an Airstream and everything else you can tow aren’t just about detail. It’s everywhere around you. The walls are aluminium. And the curved shape dominates design.
Top lockers curve into the shape of the roof, with frosted acrylic sliding doors. Simple and rather IKEA-ish. The bed runs across the full width of the Airstream. But this bed is like no other in construction. Instead of lifting the bed base to get into storage space below, there’s a double-doored cabinet. It’s a three-berth; you can make a bed in the lounge. But the primary appeal of this model is to couples.
Storage
The top lockers at each end are enormous. The wardrobe, on the rear end of the kitchen, is reasonably large. There are cabinets above and below the fridge-freezer, and three drawers alongside it.
Dining
There are many features which set the Airstream apart from anything else and the dining arrangements are among them. The table forms the base of the central section of the settee which runs across the rear. You remove the seating units from here (there’s space at the foot of the bed to lodge them unobtrusively, we quickly found.) Seating for the third person comes in the form of a circular freestanding unit that also doubles as a footrest.
Lounging
It’s that freestanding seat/footrest that gives you something else unique to the 604. Anywhere, anyhow you relax in the lounge you can put your feet up on the footrest. Four cushions, two oblong, two square, help you to get cosy. They provide the only pattern anywhere in the Airstream, using red, brown and fawn. Turn them one way and you have big, bold stripes. Turn them over and there’s a red floral design; you can change your décor dynamic at the flip of a cushion.
Kitchen
The sink cover fits flush with the rest of the white surface. The surface to the right of the sink has channels to direct water into the sink. The sink has a metal drainer within it; brilliant!
Towing
We didn’t get chance to tow the 604 because it was pitched up ready for our stay. It was connected to water and drainage, and levelled on wooden blocks, so understandably the site didn’t want us to take it for a tow. Yes, you need a beefy vehicle to tow it. But then that also applies to the big Buccaneers, high-end Swifts and others in the top size bracket.
Unique features
There’s an integral pull-out entrance step. The windows open with a system of levers. Nine lights are set into the ceiling. Four more are set into the bases of top lockers. Lighting is within the top lockers and streams out through the frosted doors.
This is one of the lightest, brightest caravans we’ve reviewed. Did we say “caravan’’? That’s the first time that word has appeared in this test, because Airstream insists that Airstreams are not caravans.
They are simply Airstreams, a reflection of their distinction from anything else you can tow. After three days living the American Airstream dream, are we sold on the idea of spending £51,730 on something to tow (note more avoidance of the word “caravan”).
Well, yes, the value is obvious everywhere you look, in the structure, the interior and exterior styling, and the way in which the total image really does seem to inspire thoughts of long-haul towing adventure.
Would we buy into the dream? It is a temptation, like gloating over a Ferrari, but as Editor of a magazine called Caravan Buyer I think readers would expect me to personally own a caravan that calls itself a caravan. Which I do. That’s not to take any gloss away from the Airstream dream, though; this is one awesomely impressive icon of wanderlust.
Our Verdict
Airstreams have become synonymous with Cumbria. So an opportunity to live the Airstream dream in the land of drystone walls, seemed an ideal way to bring the experience to Caravan Buyer’s pages. Awesome in structure, styling and practicality, we can truly understand why this touring icon is really worth considering.
