Compass Rallye 554

The Compass Rallye 554 is the lighter and shorter of the two island-bed models in the Rallye range

Compass Rallyes have always been designed to appeal to discerning buyers seeking high spec. Now, with the new breed of Compass, that heritage is combined with new construction technology…
There are two transverse island-bed layouts in the 2014 Compass Rallye range. One is on twin axles, and weighs 1834kg. The other, the 554, is shorter, on one axle and weighs 205kg less. Both models have Alde heating, the ATC stability control unit, plus an alarm and tracker system. The 554, though, will appeal to buyers who don’t need the extra length provided by the twin-axle 644.
Compass caravans, reintroduced after a gap of four years, come in three spec levels, starting with Corona, then Omega, then the top-spec Rallye, just as they did in the original Compass range that ran for more than 30 years. The new Compasses, though, are different from their predecessors. In common with all Explorer Group caravans, Compasses are made using the SoLiD fully-bonded construction system which Explorer created in conjunction with Henkel, the structural bonding specialist company that also works with the aviation and automotive industries.
The Rallye 554’s layout gives you wardrobes on both sides of the bed, a lot of floor space in the centre of the caravan, and a full-width rear shower room…
 

Showering

The shower room is a linear shape, 74cm deep and with a sliding door to partition it from the bedroom. The shower, on the nearside, is 78cm x 65cm; that’s spacious enough for most buyers. A towel bar is directly above the floor-level outlet for warmth from the Alde central heating unit.
 

Sleeping

The island bed is 1.8m long, giving you a corridor space of 30cm. That means some people will want to turn sideways to walk along the corridor easily. Whether this is an issue depends purely on your dimensions; it certainly presented no challenges for our average-sized test duo.
There is one element of the 554’s bedroom which is almost guaranteed to provoke debate, though. Almost all transverse island bed layouts have wardrobes on both sides of the bed, one twice the size of the other, giving rise to potential debates as to who gets the bigger wardrobe. Stereotypically, women take more clothing on holiday than men. But not all couples fit this stereotype. And anyway, men’s clothing, especially coats, tends to be bulkier than female attire, so takes up more hanging width. Every couple will work this out for themselves but we believe that the person who gets the little wardrobe will end up hanging stuff in the larger one…
No such debates are sparked by the two large lockers over the bed head, though. These are 40cm deep and both have divider shelves.
Most buyers of the 554 will undoubtedly be couples but it’s good to know that if you should want to make up the double bed in the lounge, it’s an easy procedure. Drawing out the webbing-linked slatted bed base from within the stack of four drawers in the central-front cabinet, and constructing the mattress from the upholstery sections, takes only a couple of minutes.
 

Storage

If you are using the lounge as a second bedroom, the storage below here is important, as the place for a duvet or sleeping bags. There’s enough space to stow this equipment away easily here, even though electrical installations and the Alde heating unit gobble up space.
A fixed bed gives a caravan a brilliant storage asset, of course. And the 554’s bed construction, with no cross-members to get in the way, creates an enormous cavern. And, because you can walk around three sides of the bed, anything you put here is easy to get at. The bed base rises far enough into the air for you to step inside if you need to retrieve or place items at the pillow end of the storage area.
 

Dining

The table is stored on the aft wall of the larger wardrobe; it’s easy to get in and out. But when just two are eating, we think the table will rarely be used, because the pull-out top of the chest of drawers creates a table that’s just over 80cm long, and 65cm wide.
 

Lounging

You can attach your television to the bracket fitted to the wall behind the dresser; two mains and one 12-volt socket are here, plus an aerial connection. A second TV bracket and sockets are in the bedroom, so, for feet-up, relaxing TV-watching, you have two alternatives.
Lounge ambience is impressively light and bright. Factors that create this look are pale woodwork and pale upholstery, plus a glossy white acrylic panel that links the sunroof and the roof light, with four very bright LED spotlights set into it, and concealed lighting around its rim.
The front corners are firm, and curved, for support. Armrests at the aft end of the settees are solidly-constructed, too.
The 554’s lounge is 1.53m long, so seating width is around 1.25m when you subtract the space occupied by the armrests. That’s ample for four but no more. It’s worth saying, though, that because the bed is aligned across the caravan, two can perch on its forward side and are still close enough to be part of  lounge conversation.
 

Kitchen

The most noticeable feature of the kitchen is surely also the most mundane. It’s the sink. The eye-catching element is its shiny, granite-effect surface, in fawn shades that really do closely mimic the quartz, feldspar and shiny mica of fine-particle granite.
The sink has a small built-in drainer area close to the tap. The removable drainer sits securely on four raised sections at the sides of the sink.
The microwave is directly above the hob; unless you’re of short stature, its height will be fine. The mains hotplate and three burners have a Chinchilla textured glass cover, strong enough to be used as a chopping board. But we don’t think you’ll need it for extra surface space, because the 554’s kitchen surface is ample for the needs of two, with almost 50cm of space forward of the sink, plus an extension to give you another 22cm of width.
The fridge is within the main kitchen area, forward of the oven and grill. On the other side of the cooker, a 38cm-wide unit of drawers and a cabinet gives you a reasonable amount of storage space, but that’s only half the story, because there’s more storage opportunity in the dresser, opposite. The drawer and two-shelf cabinet here are almost 50cm wide.
 

Towing

For a single-axle caravan, the 554 is comparatively heavy, at 1629kg, so buyers will especially appreciate the enhanced stability security provided by the ATC system. The unit detects and then corrects the first sign of any snaking by applying the caravan’s brakes to the side that is straying out of alignment. The driver is rarely aware of its activation. When we took the 554 out on the road for its test tow, in windless weather and with no energetic overtaking taking place on the dual carriageway section of the route, the ATC didn’t get woken up. Towing the 554 was an easy, relaxing experience.
 

The Compass Rallye 554 surely deserves a place on your shortlist if you’re looking for a substantial level of equipment including an extractor fan, an alarm and tracker, and you’re also influenced by bonded construction, and wooed by stylish features like chrome café rod curtain poles in the bedroom.