Coachman Pastiche 525/4

The Coachman Pastiche 525/4 is an award-winning, unique layout with a double-L-shaped kitchen, a hallway with places for coats and shoes, and a rear bunk area

Most tourer layouts conform to patterns. There are fixed side beds and transverse beds, side dining areas and twin-lounges, all with massive variations in lengths, equipment and characters. But there is one caravan that conforms to none of these familiar patterns. It has a unique layout that doesn’t even resemble any of the templates we see from all manufacturers. Yet this caravan doesn’t come from a foreign factory whose products might be expected to be very different from that which we see on the British market. It’s made by Coachman, which has built its reputation on quality build and enjoys a strong brand loyalty in repeat purchase of its steady stream of what one might term predictable layouts (that’s no criticism, for these are the layouts that work well).
Coachman, though, dared to be different with this one. The Hull factory’s designers invented a completely new concept in caravan layout, with both kitchen and bunk configurations that resemble nothing else on the market. The result was the Pastiche 525/4. This caravan won Caravan magazine’s Caravan of the Year Award in 2013 and, now established in its second model year, gets some minor differences for 2014. But the awesome layout stays.
So what makes it awesome? There are three main factors. The first thing to take you by surprise as you step inside is that you are walking into a sort of hallway. There’s somewhere to hang your coats, in a recess that also has three shelf areas for your keys, phones and a couple of pairs of shoes. There’s a wardrobe opposite, and plenty of floor space.
The second factor is that this caravan has twin bunks in the offside corner, well secluded from the lounge by the third factor. That’s the shape of the kitchen. It’s L-shaped, with a rear wall that forms a bulkhead which divides the bunks area from the rest of the caravan. And the kitchen has a second L-shaped section, opposite. Effectively, the whole centre section of the caravan is kitchen.
The shower is at the rear. It doesn’t span the whole width but there is as much space in this shower room as many which do…
 

Showering

The shower is circular, 62cm in diameter. It’s on the left-hand side of the shower room, in a recess. We measured the floor space in front of it at 1.22m by 90cm. The basin is large, almost 50cm x 30cm, and deep, in a Belfast style. Towel-hanging equipment is a large bar, a loop and a double hook; that’s more than you find in most tourers.
There are a couple of style points to note in the shower room. The blind’s flyscreen section is pleated, and smart black. The other style point also uses black. It’s the mount for the shower rose and riser bar, shiny black and curving upwards into the roof where a row of bright LEDs surmount its edge. So stylish!
 

Sleeping

As a family concept, the 525’s secluded bunk arrangement has to be regarded as excellent. Two beds, large enough for kids of adult dimensions (so they are suitable right up to teen years), are in their own area, separated from the kitchen and lounge by a wall that effectively creates two rooms. There’s a lovely cosy feel when you lie in these bunks. And a power point is alongside, for phone-charging and also preening (the mirror is here, on the outside wall of the shower room).
Parents could make single beds in the lounge, if they wish; the settees are long enough. But they’d be more likely to pull out the double bed base from under the offside seat and draw it across the caravan to meet the other settee. It’s a substantial construction, on a metal frame.
 

Storage

You lift the metal bed frame up to gain access to the offside settee space. It rises easily on a single gas-filled strut. Despite containing the Truma Combi heater unit, the alarm system and   the electrical control box, there           is good usable space in this locker.
The nearside locker’s entrance is a drop-down door. It doesn’t run the whole length of the locker so   we found it more convenient to raise the top.
Eight head-height lockers give ample space even though two of them are small; these ones nestle into the shoulders of the caravan at each side of the full-width sunroof.
The wardrobe, within the bunk area, has a hanging width of 56cm and full depth. It also has a secret hideaway area comprising two drawers and a shoe recess that reach into the back of the kitchen; another clever piece of design and excellent use of space.
 

Dining

The table is stored on the aft wall the wardrobe; it’s easy to get in and out no matter how many clothes are hanging on the rail.
The alternative dining arrangement, for two, gives you a level table that’s 62cm wide and 82cm deep when you extend the top of the front-central chest of drawers.
 

Lounging

If you’ve ever experienced the warmth rising up from behind the seat backs from Alde heating in a caravan, and wished a similar feature could emanate from a blown-air system, the 2014 Pastiches are living proof that it can. They are equipped with an innovative extension to the system of warmed air being piped around the caravan from broad ducting running under furniture. It’s called isotherm ducting and it runs behind the backs of the settees. This is smaller diameter ducting than that used elsewhere in the caravan, and has minute perforations, through which warmed air rises. It is the closest thing to Alde heating that blown air can offer and, during the chill days of our test, it proved itself to be efficient at keeping the whole caravan feeling toasty. Once it has warmed up, the heating system delivers 6kW of output on gas and 1.8kW on electricity. Our test caravan wasn’t equipped with a gas bottle so we weren’t able to experience, this time, the more rapid warm-up that gas mode provides. But even though it would take longer to warm up on mains power than gas, it got there in the end and then kept us toasty.

 
Kitchen

This kitchen has to rank among the best you can find in a caravan, both for storage and surface space. Storage is provided by two double-doored cabinets, one within the main part of the kitchen on the offside and the other on the nearside, in the opposite L-shaped unit that also houses the fridge. There are three drawers and four top cabinets in the offside L-shaped unit, and two more top lockers on the nearside, alongside the microwave.
The cooker faces the front of the 525, backing onto the wall that divides the caravan into two sections. A smart pale grey wall here distinguishes the kitchen from everywhere else in the caravan. Surface areas are to the left and right of the sink and recessed drainer, and also to the right of the (dual-fuel) hob. The second L-shaped section opposite gives you a surface run of 1.48m, extending 70cm forwards above the fridge. It’s a phenomenal amount of space, when you consider all four areas; many a house kitchen won’t give you this much food prep surface.

 
Towing

We towed the 2013 Pastiche 525 behind our photographer’s auto-box Volvo XC90 and noted at the time that its performance was predictable and confidently stable. This time it was our Kia Sorento in charge, and the same characteristics were demonstrated. And you have the reassurance of ATC electronic stability control to detect and correct a snaking motion before it has chance to develop.
 

The Coachman Pastiche 525/ has a truly amazing layout, designed for cooking enthusiasts and families who like a secluded bunk arrangement that’s separate from everywhere else.
Quality looks and feel are evident everywhere; Pastiches are not lightweight caravans and they do not compete in the bargain race either. These are caravans for buyers who appreciate quality as a paramount choice-factor. And the 525 is one for those who like their quality to come with a layout like no other.