Lunar Quasar 556
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Description
The Lunar Quasar 556 has a double lounge with a difference – the new 556 has full single-bed-length seating at the rear, a separate shower and still manages to ride on one axle
Key Features
Model Year
2010
Product Class
Single Axle
Price from (£)
£14995
Berths
6
Full Review
It’s eight in the morning and the journey north along the M6 from Lunar’s factory to the south Cumbrian border is an easier-than-usual tow. That’s because I’m using a piece of the car’s equipment normally redundant when towing: the rear view mirror. The new Quasar 556’s large rear window gives clear through-vision with a tall car – and that luxury really does increase driver enjoyment.
Croissants are part of the set for one of the photographs of the test as we’re setting a breakfast scene in the 556’s defining layout feature, its large rear lounge. It’s the photograph we work on first so that we can eat the croissants. Evaluation of this caravan was always going to be different from anything else – because this is a unique layout. On a single axle you have a rear living area that is full single-bed length. That’s a large space in which to dine, relax – and sleep; bunks rise above each of the settees.
Breakfast over, we take away the freestanding table and stow it in its port to the left of the kitchen – and turn this area into a lounge, or playroom, or television room... All of these functions work really well in this plentiful amount of space.
This is the rear lounge configuration we see in big twin-axles such as the Lunar Lexon TL and the Coachman Laser 655/6. But nowhere other than in the 556 do we see it on a single axle.
Lunar’s designers have achieved this invention by making the front lounge shorter than the one at the rear; it makes into a transverse double bed but the settees are only 1.7m long – fine for short adults, or children, to sleep there.
The kitchen is pretty much the size you’d expect to find in a caravan of a 5.79m body, so no compromises there. The big surprise is that the (offside) washroom contains a fully-lined separate shower.
This is a fantastic layout for family flexibility. If you need to sleep six, all you need is here. If you need to sleep four, your options are many. Children can sleep at the front in single beds and a huge double bed makes up at the rear – or the other way around. Or leave either end made up as beds and live in the rest of the caravan. And adults and children can all sleep on single beds if you prefer.
The shower is square, at the front end of the washroom. It gives you a surprising amount of space considering the length and layout of this caravan. There’s an arrangement of useful shelving above the loo and a good-sized cupboard under the sink.
But there is one area in which a family of six would struggle in terms of storage. That’s the kitchen. The fridge is plenty large enough but cupboard space is confined to a narrow unit.
Kitchen surface looks on first glance to be restrictive in terms of cooking for six, but we found it isn’t. That’s because Quasars don’t have covers over their sinks and fixed drainers, so the whole wash-before-cook operation becomes very simple as you make full use of the drainer. The sink is small enough to give you adequate work surface in front of it – that’s in addition to the main food preparation area to its left.
We love the quality soft furnishings (pleated, lined curtains, durable seating fabrics). We love the inclusion of AL-KO Secure Wheel Lock receivers. And the luxury-look upholstered pelmets in the rear lounge. We love the cream carpet, too, for its looks, but we question its longevity unless everyone observes a no-shoes rule at all times.
The Quasar 556’s versatility and sleep-six capability, exemplifies, more than any other caravan in the Lunar line-up, the qualities upon which this manufacturer has built its reputation: affordable light weight luxury.
Croissants are part of the set for one of the photographs of the test as we’re setting a breakfast scene in the 556’s defining layout feature, its large rear lounge. It’s the photograph we work on first so that we can eat the croissants. Evaluation of this caravan was always going to be different from anything else – because this is a unique layout. On a single axle you have a rear living area that is full single-bed length. That’s a large space in which to dine, relax – and sleep; bunks rise above each of the settees.
Breakfast over, we take away the freestanding table and stow it in its port to the left of the kitchen – and turn this area into a lounge, or playroom, or television room... All of these functions work really well in this plentiful amount of space.
This is the rear lounge configuration we see in big twin-axles such as the Lunar Lexon TL and the Coachman Laser 655/6. But nowhere other than in the 556 do we see it on a single axle.
Lunar’s designers have achieved this invention by making the front lounge shorter than the one at the rear; it makes into a transverse double bed but the settees are only 1.7m long – fine for short adults, or children, to sleep there.
The kitchen is pretty much the size you’d expect to find in a caravan of a 5.79m body, so no compromises there. The big surprise is that the (offside) washroom contains a fully-lined separate shower.
This is a fantastic layout for family flexibility. If you need to sleep six, all you need is here. If you need to sleep four, your options are many. Children can sleep at the front in single beds and a huge double bed makes up at the rear – or the other way around. Or leave either end made up as beds and live in the rest of the caravan. And adults and children can all sleep on single beds if you prefer.
The shower is square, at the front end of the washroom. It gives you a surprising amount of space considering the length and layout of this caravan. There’s an arrangement of useful shelving above the loo and a good-sized cupboard under the sink.
But there is one area in which a family of six would struggle in terms of storage. That’s the kitchen. The fridge is plenty large enough but cupboard space is confined to a narrow unit.
Kitchen surface looks on first glance to be restrictive in terms of cooking for six, but we found it isn’t. That’s because Quasars don’t have covers over their sinks and fixed drainers, so the whole wash-before-cook operation becomes very simple as you make full use of the drainer. The sink is small enough to give you adequate work surface in front of it – that’s in addition to the main food preparation area to its left.
We love the quality soft furnishings (pleated, lined curtains, durable seating fabrics). We love the inclusion of AL-KO Secure Wheel Lock receivers. And the luxury-look upholstered pelmets in the rear lounge. We love the cream carpet, too, for its looks, but we question its longevity unless everyone observes a no-shoes rule at all times.
The Quasar 556’s versatility and sleep-six capability, exemplifies, more than any other caravan in the Lunar line-up, the qualities upon which this manufacturer has built its reputation: affordable light weight luxury.
Our Verdict
The Lunar Quasar 556 is sheer brilliance in terms of turning around the traditional British caravan layout concept of lounge-at-front. The 556’s larger lounge is at the back; that’s also the play area, bedroom for four – and main dining area. You can seat six here, especially if you extend the top of the chest of drawers, to give you a longer table.
Advantages
Six-berth
Two lounges
Long seating
Separate shower
