Elddis Explore 530

Elddis has given us an excellent value package in the 530 as it stands. But, importantly, there is a raft of optional extras that enable you to personalise your 530

Elddis Xplore 530

There are three things about the layout of the lightweight Xplore 530 that make it stand out from the crowd. It has a large shower room. Its offside dining area is wide enough for four to sit to eat. And it’s a three-berth! This model is a new addition to Elddis’s budget range for 2013. Inventing a three-berth was a t Xplore 530 daring move amid a market in which side dining areas invariably make two bunks. A bunk is an option for the 530. But we think this model will find its buyers among – yes, families of three – but also among couples who like a lot of dining space, a lot of lounge space and also a big shower room.

Elddis has given us an excellent value package in the 530 as it stands. But, importantly, there is a raft of optional extras that enable you to personalise your 530, allowing you to select the extra equipment that’s important to you. You can have wrap-around seating instead of the chest of drawers, for £199, or a mains hotplate for £129, or different fabrics, at £225, or a fabric with Aquaclean coating to increase stain resistance, for £275. The list goes on – but we think the most important option is the one fitted to our test caravan. That’s the option pack that includes the hitch-head stabiliser and the essential spare wheel. The next most important option is the BPW Diamond Standard wheel lock, at £229; that’s not just about security (at which it excels), it’s about saving you money over some years, because most specialist caravan insurance companies take money off your annual fee for devices such as this one. There are two aspects of the construction of an Xplore that that you won’t find by walking around it. You won’t see the GRP under-skin that protects the floor from moisture from the road. And you won’t see evidence of the new-for-2013 construction that uses a bonding technique to reduce caravan weight while making the body shell stronger and increasing water ingress resistance. It’s backed up by a 10-year water ingress warranty.

Showering
At 1.3m deep this shower room gives you plenty of towelling and dressing space. It also gives you a wardrobe with two rails (each 43cm wide) and a full-height cabinet containing four shelf spaces. But there’s no window (although daylight comes in through the rooflight) and no carpet in the shower room. Keep these absences in context, though, for the Xplore 530 is great value at £13,799. And if you’d prefer to have cosy carpet, rather than cold vinyl, under your feet, especially when caravanning in winter, if you buy a couple of fluffy bathmats, the chilly problem is instantly cured. The rapid warm-up Whale water heater used in Xplore models holds 8 litres; it takes just 12 minutes to warm water from cold.

Sleeping
At 1.8m long, the single bed that can be created in the dining area isn’t of full, tall adult proportions. But it’s perfect for a child or shorter adult. And, at 84cm wide, it makes a really generous-width single bed. If you want to turn the 530 into a four-berth, a folding bunk over the dining area will cost an extra £349. The lounge settees are long enough to make two single beds; the base for the alternative double bed is the slatted type which pulls out from under the front central drawers.

Storage
In addition to the wardrobe and cabinet in the shower room, there are 10 top lockers (excluding those in the kitchen) to take care of loads of small items. The four under-seating storage areas have top access; there are no drop-down doors. But raising upholstery to get the bedding out is a small task easily accepted when you consider the light weight of the 530; all extra woodwork adds weight, and Elddis has economised here without impinging appreciably on convenience. Nice touches like the real hardwood top locker doors and their positive locks with refined, touchrelease triggers hidden behind the handle, belie the Xplores’ budget status; this is a very appealing caravan in many ways.

Dining
In a caravan of only 5.4m, to have two dining areas, each capable of seating four people, is unusual. For two people, think of the offside dining table as the only table you’ll ever need (the freestanding table that lives in the wardrobe might find employment in your awning, perhaps). With three people aboard, the offside dining table becomes the breakfast room, perhaps, with the freestanding table coming out of its slot when you want more space for your evening meal.

Lounging
You can stretch out on those long settees, perch your television on the cabinet that divides the lounge from the dining room (TV connections are here), and appreciate the light, bright, relaxing aspect of the Xplore 530. There are only two outlets for the powerful underfloor-mounted Whale blown air central heating unit. Yet on test, on a wintry 5ºC day, the 530 was comfortably warm in five minutes. One outlet is amidships, under the forward side dining area seat. The other, importantly, is in the shower room, so this will enable your towels to dry. So, you’re warm and toasty quickly when you pitch your 530 – but there’s one area of the 530 where your toes will be less toasty than perhaps you’d like. The carpet, rather than fitting around the furniture, consists of two straight runners, one for the lounge, the other for the kitchen. That leaves the floor under the dining table covered just in vinyl (as in the shower room). And in chilly weather you’ll notice it, as we did during our test. There’s an easy cure, of course; when you take off your shoes at the door, put on slippers. Or, as we would if we bought this caravan, go for the optional extra of fitted carpet instead of the runners, at only £121. It’s good to have that option available, but equally good that Elddis keeps the standard price of Xplores down by economising on equipment. Another sign that Xplores are in the economy class is that they have single-piece front windows – but we think this is a plus-point, because they make the lounge look larger than a triple-window configuration and they let in more light. That’s important in the 530, because the roof light here is quite small – yet the overall aspect is light and bright. Soft furnishings contribute to the bright look, with plainest pale fawn in both the seating and curtains. Big, bold red and grey poppies in the curtain and cushion fabric create a stunning look.

Kitchen
There’s a full oven and separate grill, but no microwave (another way in which weight has been kept down). The sink seems enormous, at 40cm in diameter – very practical! That goes for the work surface, too; there’s a width of 54cm to the right of the sink. Upper storage benefits from the absence of a microwave; there are two large lockers; one is fitted for plates and mugs, the other is simply a large cavern, with no shelf. This is the place for those tall cereal boxes for which people sometimes struggle to find a place in caravans. Lower storage consists of two drawers and a cupboard with two shelf spaces. At 36cm wide, this cabinet is usefully proportioned. But there’s more. Opposite, between the lounge and the dining area, a second cabinet of almost the same width gives you two more shelf spaces. By now you’re probably getting the picture that the 530’s kitchen is top-class for the length and weight of the caravan.

Towing
Our test 530 was equipped with the £350 optional pack which includes the Winterhoff hitch-head stabiliser, so its towing equipment equals all single-axle caravans except those with electronic stability control systems (and you can have one of those fitted, for an extra £549). On its test tow the (comparatively) narrow Xplore zipped along barely noticeably behind our usual tow-test vehicle Kia Sorento; it was as impressive as we had expected it to be.

With a 10-year water ingress warranty, an ultra light weight and a great-value price to match, the new 530 stands up well against any competitor. Except that in one respect it has no competitor; it enjoys unique status as a three-berth.