Coachman VIP 545/4
Key Features
Full Review
Coachman VIP 545/4, 2009
Price new: £17,945
This caravan is a: four-berth with an island bed
A superficial inspection of any caravan is likely to leave you with the impression that it’s been well built. But it’s only when you take a more detailed look in the lockers and under the seats and beds that the difference in quality starts to show. There’s no better example than this 2009 model from Coachman. It’s a single-axle four-berth with an island bed and a price tag of £17,945.
The basic layout of the van is a front end lounge area with two bench seats, a centre offside kitchen and the fixed bed area at the rear. The van has an all-up weight of 1635kg, which means that it’ll need a hefty tow car – a Kia Sorento or Land Rover Discovery for example.
Externally there is a 230V socket, a gas barbecue point, and a Truma awning warmer outlet sited between the door and the front nearside corner. The awning entry points are located at around 1m from ground level, which is a hugely preferable to the 2m points on some caravans.
Our one criticism is the siting of the waste outlets at the rear of the caravan. There’s no problem if you’re sited on a level pitch, but not all pitches are level and if the van is facing down the slope then the waste water has to be discharged uphill. Moving the outlets to the rear of the offside wheel would solve this problem.
In the doorway is a full flyscreen and the van’s electric control panel has been fitted above the door. And here’s the quality: the control panel has been fitted into a moulded timber housing with dark wood beads at each end.
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| Coachman has come a long way in a comparatively short period of time to become one of the most respected tourer manufacturers. It has put all its energies into improving the quality of its caravans. When you open the lockers all the timber is edged and items such as the housing for the radio are superbly finished despite the fact that they are rarely seen by anyone. So many manufacturers tend to skimp on items which aren’t on view all the time. Naturally, this quality comes at a price – not to mention a higher MTPLM than many similar size vans. But you get what you pay for, and in this case you’re getting a caravan which will outlast much of the competition at the same time as holding its value better. |
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