Elddis Avante 576

Ideal for families of up to six looking for bunks and a big shower

Avantés have very similar exterior looks to Elddis’ more expensive Affinity and Crusader range. They all have large acrylic grey gas bottle housing doors, and share the same grey and red graphic colours. It’s not until you begin to notice that the graphics are different shapes for the three ranges that the identities become clear. The underlying message here is that the whole Elddis range shares much more than colour.

What you can’t see is that these caravans have undergone a revolution in construction methods for 2013. More than 90% of screws and bolts have been eliminated by the introduction of a new SoLiD bonding process developed by Elddis in conjunction with Henkel, specialists in chemical bonding. This new technology that’s exclusive to Elddis is backed by a 10-year anti-water ingress guarantee. There’s something else hidden from view; these caravans have a protective layer of glass reinforced plastic under the floor.

The Avanté 576, one of two new additions to the range for 2013, has an interior feature that’s hidden from view, too. The blown air central heating system is the Whale unit, which is housed under a settee, so doesn’t impinge on the layout in the manner formerly done by big, square Truma heaters. The Whale system heats the water, too – all 13 litres of it.

Elddis tells us that, from cold, using both gas and electric modes together, water will be hot in 22 minutes. On gas only, it’s 43 minutes and electricity only, it’s 38 minutes. This six-berth layout gives you two fixed bunks in the offside corner, a four-seater dining area that makes into a domestic-sized three-quarter double bed, and full single-bed length settees.

These are longer than most, at 1.88m (or six feet three inches). The shower room sits between the bunks and the nearside. It’s almost square, with a bit cut off to create floor space alongside the bunks. There’s plenty of floor space for towelling and dressing, and the shower is large enough for two children to share. A little feature to notice is the soap tray, mounted on the shower rose riser bar; you can swivel it to the left or right to suit you.

The offside kitchen gives you a mains hotplate, three burners, an oven and grill, plus a microwave with automatic programme function. It has specific buttons for pizzas, jacket potatoes, bread, frozen vegetables and more. The sink is large enough for the washing-up needs of six people. Working surface, to its left, is sufficient for cutting up food but not for setting out six plates to serve. But you have a large dining table opposite for that purpose.

This wide, fourseater dining area, perhaps more than any other feature of the 576, gives the caravan so much appeal. The kids can eat separately from the parents; this feature also makes the 576 an excellent choice if there are four, because it becomes a permanent dining area. But this caravan is designed to sleep six so that’s how we’re assessing it. In terms of storage, it’s well up to that task.

The wardrobe, between the kitchen and the bunks, has two rails, one above the other, doubling its capacity and still leaving space at the base for footwear. Nine head lockers are there to hide the other clothes and the DVDs and other essential holiday stuff. And, talking of DVDs, an Avtex television with DVD slot comes as standard with the caravan.

There are two brackets, one facing either the lounge or the dining space and a second near to the bunks; children are well catered for in the 576! The areas under the lounge settees are easily accessed by full-length drop-down doors and, unusually, there’s front access to the storage areas under the dining area seating, too. The lower bunk lifts up to reveal another storage area; a strap holds it in a vertical position while you reach inside to store your belongings.

At £16,599, the 576 is a quality offering with a brilliant family layout and all the equipment you really need