Geist Xklusiv 550 caravan

The family layout in a caravan that feels more spacious than its dimensions suggest.

Geist Xklusiv 550 caravan

IF you’re looking for typically continental solid build – and you fancy a caravan that looks much more spacious than its dimensions would suggest, take a close look at Geist’s Xklusiv 550.

The Xklusiv 550 is a fixed bed model of a popular layout: offside kitchen, offside bed with shower room alongside. 

The feature that marks the 550 out as different is its spacious U-shaped lounge. That’s where we begin your guided tour… There are eight head lockers in this area – your first clue to the 550’s excellent storage capacity.

Kitchen storage is a central cupboard between fridge and cooker. Opposite, you have an additional cupboard, giving you plenty of kitchen storage in total. 

It’s in the central kitchen area that you notice one of this model’s great attributes – the amount of floorspace, creating a light and airy atmosphere. That’s helped by pale upholstery, in a close-weave fabric that gives you the impression it’s made to last. 

Now take a step into the bedroom and you’ll notice one of this caravan’s best features: the bedroom-living area divider is a solid wood sliding door – far better than anything concertina-like on the market. 

The bed wins our praise because the cut-off shape at the outer corner is much slighter than is usual, so two can lie almost as naturally as in a domestic double bed. 

We loved the amount of storage in the bedroom: five head-height lockers – and another feature that sets this Geist apart from the majority of caravans: shelves running underneath all the head lockers.

The shower shares its space with the toilet and the walls are wallboard rather than plastic – which marks the Xklusive down by comparison with sealed shower unit models.

Shower apart, Geist gets the styling right – and it gets the towing right, too. That’s thanks to the typically continental long drawbar. But you’ll have to pay extra to get an AKS stabiliser hitch. 

It’s part of a package that also gives you under-floor background heating, CD radio and flatscreen television. That’s £1570-worth of kit, all for only £950. 

One of the Geist range’s major plus-points is its extra thick front, side and roof panels. The roof structure involves two layers of plywood. And 24tog Swedish insulation ensures you’re going to be cosy in the coldest climates and cool in hot weather. 

Specification

Axles: 1 
Berths: 4
MRO: 1333kg
MTPLM: 1545kg
Width: 2.29m
Internal length: 5.65m
Overall height: 7.52m
Bed sizes: Fixed bed 2.10m x 1.6m; front double 2.02m x 1.3m