Lunar Lexon 560

The 2011 new Lunar Lexon 560 is an incredible caravan, a design triumph over space constraints that knocks flat in one sweep any comments about fixed beds dominating layouts.

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ow do you put an island bed and a proper washroom into just 5.8 metres, still have oodles of floor space – and end up with a caravan that looks and feels spacious? Sounds an impossible challenge…
Lunar’s new Lexon 560 is an incredible caravan, a design triumph over space constraints that knocks flat in one sweep any comments about fixed beds dominating layouts.
This is why: half of the island bed’s base is cut away. It stands on two legs – so you gain about a metre of floor space. Not floor space to walk in, you understand – this is space that, most importantly, makes the caravan look much bigger than it is.               
  During our test, every time we walked towards the wardrobes that flank the bed, we noticed the greater foot space that makes walking about in the bedroom – well, just easier. Dodging overhanging duvets isn’t a problem – and there’s somewhere to put the shoes you’ve just got out of one of the cupboards under the wardrobes before you put them on your feet. As owners of an island bed caravan with a conventional full bed base, we can vouch for the advantages of Lunar’s exclusive new design that appears in several models for 2011. We put it to the shoe test and the walk-round test – but not the dog test. We can, though, picture an enormous, squashy dog bed in this Lexon; a big dog would be out of the way as if in a cupboard of his own.
So, that’s the dog of the family sorted. How about sleeping areas for the rest of the family? Parents get that lovely island bed with minimal corner cut-offs. Kids, if they’re young enough, they can have two short single beds in the lounge – or you can make up the double here and give them more space.
Space is a theme running right through this caravan, into the shower compartment, too. The forerunner of this layout achieved its island bed in a short length by putting the shower in the bedroom, with the washroom opposite. The new 560 puts the shower in its own room, along with loo and washbasin, on the offside – and in so doing turns what was essentially a couple-appeal caravan into a credible family holiday base because the shower, toilet and washbasin are easily accessible without having to go into the bedroom.
Our test day had started in appallingly typical British fashion, with a splashy, gusty tow north on the M6 from Lunar’s base south of Preston. The 560 got more than its fair share of side-wind battering and speed was suitably lowered. We wished Lunar had equipped it with the ATC trailer stability system (it’s a £469 option) but our attention soon turned from turbulence to tranquil campsite as Lexon 560 swung into the gateway of Little Orchard Caravan Park.
Lunchtime approaches so the kitchen is first on the test agenda. We love the inclusion, new for 2011, of a mains hob with the three burners.  And we’re impressed by the movable chopping board cover for the big, circular, dark bronze-shade metal sink. It’s on the top of the closed hob now, as we wash salad. We chop cucumber on it and then replace it over the sink, put out plates  and assemble a salad… It works well!
We play holiday for a few minutes in the interest of accurately reviewing the lounge; we sink into ample cushions on chenille-feel settees and take time to admire the decor. We decide this year’s Lexon look is bright and modern, its cabinetry, with framed edges and prominent grain, is beautifully crafted and the whole look and feel is solid and high quality.
 

Lift up the lightweight bed when you see one of these Lunar Lexon 560s at a dealer’s premises and you will discover just how light and easy it is. You’ll also see why we think that the half-size storage area (compared with conventional beds) is more than adequate for the needs of four. And we’re sure you’ll agree that increased floor space and positioning of the shower forward of the bedroom in its own room makes this an island bed caravan which should appeal to families – a rare breed indeed.