Compass Rallye 462
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Description
The 2009 Compass Rallye 462, with onboard water tank, is one of the four 2009 single-axle models in the Compass Rallye range.
Key Features
Model Year
2009
Product Class
Single Axle
Price from (£)
£15695
Berths
2
Full Review
A short tour of the wonderful Welsh borderland, a few days to revel in the luxury of the new two-berth Rallye – and our touring lives were to change forever…
We hadn’t intended to be so smitten with this super washroom, mid-kitchen caravan. Testing it was purely a job of work, after all. But just sometimes, work has a dramatic effect upon people’s lives.
This is how events unfolded…
When we learned that Explorer Group had designed top-of-the-range Rallye shower rooms with dark grey tile-effect walls for 2009, we were intrigued.
Initial impressions were more than favourable; with a MTPLM of 1450kg, we had a whopping 242kg of payload available. For a two-berth caravan of this build quality that is a major achievement.
We set off to the Plassey Leisure Park near Wrexham, one of our favourite UK sites. Not just ours, but also the AA Guide, which awarded it Caravan Site of the Year in 2004 and currently gives it 88 per cent in the 2008 AA Caravan and Camping Guide.
Behind the Chrysler Grand Voyager our towing experience (with the standard-fit Winterhoff WS3000 stabiliser and BPW Swing V-Tec Chassis) was so good that the only real danger might have been forgetting the caravan was there!
Plassey Leisure Park is situated in the North Wales Borders, an area most people pass through on their way to coastal resorts. But this is a region we enjoy. Among its many attractions is Plassey itself, which is much more than a campsite – there’s a craft centre and a choice of restaurants here, too.
Having a super pitch gave us the chance to use one of the Rallye’s real bonuses, the Whale Aquasource Waterline System, providing constant water replenishment to the 40-litre on board fresh water tank. (The more typical external Aquaroll 40-litre set-up is also available, of course.)
We’d proved it towed well – but we’d yet to take a proper look inside until now. The test started at the striking Hartal door with deep window and strong lock. Stepping inside, the honey-coloured ash furniture exudes a cosseting and relaxing warmth that is agreeably complemented by Berber-style carpet, serviceable upholstery and beige slub-effect curtains.
Afternoon tea beckoned and, as soon as we’d switched on the kettle, we had to investigate that shower room area we’d read so much about. Talk about imposing! This is a shower room which will keep you well away from on-site facilities, even those as good as Plassey. In fact this is not just any shower room, this is the Compass Rallye 462 dressing room.
The highlight is the double width shower cubicle with tile-effect walls. These are new to Compass for 2009 and many a first class hotel would be proud of them. A non-slip shower mat comes as part of the package. Roman blinds, a domestic style half-inset basin together with thoughtful laundry bag cupboard, the latest Thetford toilet and a cavernous wardrobe complete the scene.
Before I reach superlative saturation point though, could I please make a plea about the mirror above the sink? Sadly, unless you are well under five feet or prepared to kneel down, it is useless for shaving or applying make-up. Perhaps kneeling to have a shave will improve my posture – I could treat it as a form of early morning Pilates…
Time now for a cup of tea, and one or two of those chocolate buns that Josie had baked before we came away.
Later, after a game of badminton at the on-site court, we returned to prepare our evening meal and enjoy a glass or two of wine. Conveniently, Woodlands of Erbistock, in the Plassey Retail Centre, sells wines from Tanners of Shrewsbury, a highly regarded wine merchants. The shop also sells local dairy farm ice cream and other delights.
The Rallye’s kitchen area is well equipped and contains a strikingly attractive ‘titanium’-fronted Thetford fridge, above which is a stainless steel sink together with a bespoke silver grey washing up bowl. Preparation space is a little limited but a fold-out flap and other table areas make up the shortfall.
Our meal that evening was salmon, pan-cooked with Mediterranean vegetables and our own home-grown runner beans, a task which the Spinflo three-burner hob completed with ease. There are those who might complain about only having three burners, but who wants to wash lots of pans on holiday? We think if we have to use more than two pans we have failed. One of the burners is larger than the rest. It’s a high-speed burner designed to accommodate a 36cm wok; had we known that, we’d have brought a wok with us to try it out.
The Chinchilla glass tops to the cooker and sink make attractive splash backs when raised and are designed for hot pans and roasting dishes when lowered.
Opposite the kitchen is a high-level microwave oven in which we start our baked potatoes before popping them in the Midi Prima oven. I do have some reservations about high-level microwave cooking when hot liquids are involved, particularly for short-stature people like Josie.
Most of the evening we spent playing with the Sony DVD/CD radio tuner with iPod/MP3 connectivity and AM antenna.
Bedtime filled us with a certain amount of apprehension because we have used a fixed bed set-up for several years. We need not have worried. The spring-loaded covers to the under-bed storage held firmly upright so head balancing them wasn’t necessary! In fact the whole project took just over three minutes, and – yes, we slept really well.
Next day started with almost military precision. First step the control console. Hot water on. Heating on, with fan to pump warm air to the bathroom – and back to bed with a mug of coffee and a listen to the local radio station. The weather forecast in particular because we planned to walk part of the Clywedog Valley Trail from Minera Lead Mines. (Wrexham Tourist Information Centre produces an excellent glossy guide of these walks).
The weather held dry for our walk and we set off for lunch at Pant-yr-Ochain just north of Wrexham, which offers a wide range of food at sensible prices.
Alongside the pub, enthusiasts from Wrexham and District Model Engineers Society run scale model trains for children of all ages.
By now the rain was falling so an evening with the TV beckoned. We are by no means TV addicts but we welcome the provision of two areas to use our TV, each complete with mains and 12v connections and aerial sockets.
As night fell we tried out the vast array of lights – there are nine, plus mood lighting, in the living area alone. Light fantastic!
On our final day we visited the National Trust property of Erddig Hall. This fascinating 18th century house is well worth going to. It has been voted one of the top 10 historic sites in the UK and number one in the Historic House category in 2007.
Before returning to Plassey we took a short detour towards Chirk and along the Ceiriog Valley down the B4500 to the well signposted Chirk Trout Farm and Smokery.
Richard Simpson prepared our trout for us, and gave us fresh herbs to use in their recipe for barbecued trout wrapped in newspaper. We didn’t have a barbecue with us but found that it worked superbly in the Rallye’s oven, and served it with our runner beans and jacket potatoes.
So, approaching the end of our live-in test trip, what’s our verdict on the caravan?
The Compass Rallye 462 is one of four new style single-axle vans complementing the existing four twin-axle models in the Compass Rallye Range. Taking our two-berth test example as typical of the range, the quality and functionality throughout is admirable.
A short time after our test we bought one! ?You can’t get much better praise for a caravan than that. Even more significantly, after owning several touring caravans over a lot of years of family holidays, in 2006 we had strayed into motorhome territory. We’ve tested ?several caravans during our period of motorhome ownership and it took the 462 to clinch our decision that caravans are the way forward for us.
We hadn’t intended to be so smitten with this super washroom, mid-kitchen caravan. Testing it was purely a job of work, after all. But just sometimes, work has a dramatic effect upon people’s lives.
This is how events unfolded…
When we learned that Explorer Group had designed top-of-the-range Rallye shower rooms with dark grey tile-effect walls for 2009, we were intrigued.
Initial impressions were more than favourable; with a MTPLM of 1450kg, we had a whopping 242kg of payload available. For a two-berth caravan of this build quality that is a major achievement.
We set off to the Plassey Leisure Park near Wrexham, one of our favourite UK sites. Not just ours, but also the AA Guide, which awarded it Caravan Site of the Year in 2004 and currently gives it 88 per cent in the 2008 AA Caravan and Camping Guide.
Behind the Chrysler Grand Voyager our towing experience (with the standard-fit Winterhoff WS3000 stabiliser and BPW Swing V-Tec Chassis) was so good that the only real danger might have been forgetting the caravan was there!
Plassey Leisure Park is situated in the North Wales Borders, an area most people pass through on their way to coastal resorts. But this is a region we enjoy. Among its many attractions is Plassey itself, which is much more than a campsite – there’s a craft centre and a choice of restaurants here, too.
Having a super pitch gave us the chance to use one of the Rallye’s real bonuses, the Whale Aquasource Waterline System, providing constant water replenishment to the 40-litre on board fresh water tank. (The more typical external Aquaroll 40-litre set-up is also available, of course.)
We’d proved it towed well – but we’d yet to take a proper look inside until now. The test started at the striking Hartal door with deep window and strong lock. Stepping inside, the honey-coloured ash furniture exudes a cosseting and relaxing warmth that is agreeably complemented by Berber-style carpet, serviceable upholstery and beige slub-effect curtains.
Afternoon tea beckoned and, as soon as we’d switched on the kettle, we had to investigate that shower room area we’d read so much about. Talk about imposing! This is a shower room which will keep you well away from on-site facilities, even those as good as Plassey. In fact this is not just any shower room, this is the Compass Rallye 462 dressing room.
The highlight is the double width shower cubicle with tile-effect walls. These are new to Compass for 2009 and many a first class hotel would be proud of them. A non-slip shower mat comes as part of the package. Roman blinds, a domestic style half-inset basin together with thoughtful laundry bag cupboard, the latest Thetford toilet and a cavernous wardrobe complete the scene.
Before I reach superlative saturation point though, could I please make a plea about the mirror above the sink? Sadly, unless you are well under five feet or prepared to kneel down, it is useless for shaving or applying make-up. Perhaps kneeling to have a shave will improve my posture – I could treat it as a form of early morning Pilates…
Time now for a cup of tea, and one or two of those chocolate buns that Josie had baked before we came away.
Later, after a game of badminton at the on-site court, we returned to prepare our evening meal and enjoy a glass or two of wine. Conveniently, Woodlands of Erbistock, in the Plassey Retail Centre, sells wines from Tanners of Shrewsbury, a highly regarded wine merchants. The shop also sells local dairy farm ice cream and other delights.
The Rallye’s kitchen area is well equipped and contains a strikingly attractive ‘titanium’-fronted Thetford fridge, above which is a stainless steel sink together with a bespoke silver grey washing up bowl. Preparation space is a little limited but a fold-out flap and other table areas make up the shortfall.
Our meal that evening was salmon, pan-cooked with Mediterranean vegetables and our own home-grown runner beans, a task which the Spinflo three-burner hob completed with ease. There are those who might complain about only having three burners, but who wants to wash lots of pans on holiday? We think if we have to use more than two pans we have failed. One of the burners is larger than the rest. It’s a high-speed burner designed to accommodate a 36cm wok; had we known that, we’d have brought a wok with us to try it out.
The Chinchilla glass tops to the cooker and sink make attractive splash backs when raised and are designed for hot pans and roasting dishes when lowered.
Opposite the kitchen is a high-level microwave oven in which we start our baked potatoes before popping them in the Midi Prima oven. I do have some reservations about high-level microwave cooking when hot liquids are involved, particularly for short-stature people like Josie.
Most of the evening we spent playing with the Sony DVD/CD radio tuner with iPod/MP3 connectivity and AM antenna.
Bedtime filled us with a certain amount of apprehension because we have used a fixed bed set-up for several years. We need not have worried. The spring-loaded covers to the under-bed storage held firmly upright so head balancing them wasn’t necessary! In fact the whole project took just over three minutes, and – yes, we slept really well.
Next day started with almost military precision. First step the control console. Hot water on. Heating on, with fan to pump warm air to the bathroom – and back to bed with a mug of coffee and a listen to the local radio station. The weather forecast in particular because we planned to walk part of the Clywedog Valley Trail from Minera Lead Mines. (Wrexham Tourist Information Centre produces an excellent glossy guide of these walks).
The weather held dry for our walk and we set off for lunch at Pant-yr-Ochain just north of Wrexham, which offers a wide range of food at sensible prices.
Alongside the pub, enthusiasts from Wrexham and District Model Engineers Society run scale model trains for children of all ages.
By now the rain was falling so an evening with the TV beckoned. We are by no means TV addicts but we welcome the provision of two areas to use our TV, each complete with mains and 12v connections and aerial sockets.
As night fell we tried out the vast array of lights – there are nine, plus mood lighting, in the living area alone. Light fantastic!
On our final day we visited the National Trust property of Erddig Hall. This fascinating 18th century house is well worth going to. It has been voted one of the top 10 historic sites in the UK and number one in the Historic House category in 2007.
Before returning to Plassey we took a short detour towards Chirk and along the Ceiriog Valley down the B4500 to the well signposted Chirk Trout Farm and Smokery.
Richard Simpson prepared our trout for us, and gave us fresh herbs to use in their recipe for barbecued trout wrapped in newspaper. We didn’t have a barbecue with us but found that it worked superbly in the Rallye’s oven, and served it with our runner beans and jacket potatoes.
So, approaching the end of our live-in test trip, what’s our verdict on the caravan?
The Compass Rallye 462 is one of four new style single-axle vans complementing the existing four twin-axle models in the Compass Rallye Range. Taking our two-berth test example as typical of the range, the quality and functionality throughout is admirable.
A short time after our test we bought one! ?You can’t get much better praise for a caravan than that. Even more significantly, after owning several touring caravans over a lot of years of family holidays, in 2006 we had strayed into motorhome territory. We’ve tested ?several caravans during our period of motorhome ownership and it took the 462 to clinch our decision that caravans are the way forward for us.
Our Verdict
The2009 Compass Rallye 462 is one of four single-axle caravans complementing the existing four twin-axle models in the Compass Rallye Range for 2009. Taking our test two-berth test example as typical of the range, the quality and functionality throughout is admirable.
A short time after our test we bought one! ?You can’t get much better praise for a caravan than that.
Advantages
Whale Aquasource Waterline System
40-litre on board water tank
Excellent shower room
Mid kitchen
Disadvantages
Washbasin mirror too low
