Coachman Olympia 575/4

Raymond James Caravans’ special edition of the Coachman Vision caravan range is called Olympia. These caravans have extras worth £1927 with no extra charge compared with the cost of the standard Vision models on which they are based.

It's easy to see the value in going for a special edition caravan when it’s the same price as the standard caravan on which it’s based, yet with £1927 of extras and an exclusive fabric scheme.

That’s the deal at Raymond James Caravans on the Coachman Olympia range, for purchases arranged at the NEC show (17-22 February).

We visited Raymond James Caravans, based at Atherstone in Warwickshire to take a close look, and picked out one model  to feature as example, the Coachman Olympia 575.

Raymond James launched the Olympia brand in 2011. At that time these models were based on the Coachman Amara range. When Coachman launched its Vision range two years ago, Olympias became upspecced versions of the new range.

The island bed 575 is one of eight layouts in the Olympia range. There are two two-berths, a side dining area layout, one with a parallel bed, one with twin beds and two six-berths, both with bunks plus side dining areas.

When you examine the list of extras, for no additional cost, the value stacks up easily but the visual wow-factor in the Olympias is provided by the exclusive fabric scheme. It’s an unusual combination of textures and colours; soft brown for the suede-effect knee rolls, top sections of the seat backs and armrests, and palest fawn centre panels through which warm terracotta threads run. The terracotta also appears in an embroidered foliage feature on one side of each of the four cushions and on Roman-style blinds in the bedroom and shower room.

The reverse side of the cushions is suede-effect, so you can make your lounge plainer or introduce more pattern according to your taste, just by turning the cushions around. It’s a beautiful, warm, enticing look.

Extra equipment for no extra cost is definitely going to entice potential buyers to look at Raymond James Caravans’ special edition of the Coachman Vision range. But we all know that total caravan appeal is about much more than great added-value figures. Colour and fabrics create the ambience that’s crucial to any caravan’s appeal and the unusual combination of colours in the Olympia ranges’ exclusive upholstery is exceptionally attractive, and likely to appeal to a wide variety of tastes.