Coachman Amara 655/6

The 2011 Coachman Amara 655-6 may be a six-berth in name – but we discovered that there are beds for seven in the winner of our 2011 Best Family Caravan Over £13,000 Award...

When Coachman produced an Amara version of its twin-axle, six-berth Laser 655/6, at less money and with less weight, it was no surprise that the new model attracted a lot of attention.
Suddenly, families wanting a lighter and cheaper variant of this superb layout, with two lounges of equal length, had something to fit slightly smaller budgets – and with bright, modern styling, too.
The Amara 655/6, launched for the 2011 model year, won our Family Caravan Over £13,000 Award. Among the features which earned it high scores with our judges is its enormous kitchen that’s well up to the task of catering for six appetites. Another is its separate shower within the offside little room. But perhaps the most important is that this double-lounge caravan costs you £4495 less than its successful, long-running, heavier Laser equivalent. Why? Less spec, of course. But in the Amara nowhere do you feel that anything’s missing. You don’t get an inboard water tank. But you do get an extractor fan (an increasing rarity; do caravan manufacturers think we caravanners no longer cook things that emit steam?). And you do get one of the best-designed, biggest kitchens anywhere in caravans. That’s where we start this test. There’s a double-doored central cupboard topped by a deep drawer that runs the full width of the cupboard. There’s a big work surface to the right of the sink – and a proper recessed drainer.
This caravan has a wide, open aspect; it’s a long way from the front window to the back of the rear lounge and, although there’s the inevitable great baulk of wardrobe and washroom in your sight line on the offside, there’s still a feeling of incredible spaciousness. One feature that enhances that big-caravan appeal is that the two lounges are identical in length – and they both have drawer units.
While we were contemplating the versatility of being able to make up a double bed at each end as alternative to two singles, something else came to light. This may be a six-berth in name, but you could easily sleep seven in the 655. That’s because, if you make up the rear double bed, you could sleep three, lined up down the bed, providing that the young occupant of the centre bed was no more than a metre and a half tall.
Connections for television aerial and DVD player are in the rear area as you’d expect – but there’s only one mains socket. We think most families would need two in this area – one for the TV and the other available for laptops or other entertainment paraphernalia.
The number and siting of mains power points are really important – and sometimes it’s not until you begin to use a caravan that you discover there really should be two more. One in the family area – and one more close to the mirror on the outside of the washroom. That’s to power a hairdryer, without stretching a cable across the caravan from the kitchen (don’t even contemplate that one) or down the caravan from the socket in the rear area.
And while we’re delving into the preening opportunities in the 655 we need to mention that the mirror in the washroom is out of bounds to little people because it’s too high; a second mirror, above the basin would make a big difference. That said, the circular shower is just a lovely place to be – stunningly stylish slim showerhead, shelf to keep your shampoo in place – and plenty of space in which to splash about.

The Amara 655-6 is a very refined caravan. Coachman’s craftsmanship is well respected; you’ve only got to open and close drawers and the gas bottle compartment lid to feel the solidity and smoothness.
That’s the reputation, so picture the reality – a family of six (or seven!) on holiday, with lots of toys and lots going on. The big 655 is up to that task. It’s a caravan to choose if you plan to keep it for many years – because this layout is just as suitable for teens as it is for tinies.