Sterckeman Starlett 420 CP caravan

The Sterckeman Starlett 420 CP for 2012 has no shower, no water heater, no spare wheel, no rooflights – but you’re on the road for just £9715 and you’re only towing 792kg!

Sterckeman Starlett 420 CP caravan

By British standards, Sterckemans are stark. They lack some equipment that we take for granted in a caravan of UK origin. Yet these Continental lightweights have a lot going for them.

They offer solid build quality, clean-lines, plain styling, and exquisite curtains that combine voiles with solid blue panels. There are ceiling lighting units with amazing shapes…But there’s something far more important about a Sterckeman than its design refinements. It’s down to the towing experience.

There’s no ATC stability control system – and not even a hitch-head stabiliser. Yet these caravans tow amazingly stably – and there’s a reason. In common with most caravans of Continental origin, Sterckemans have longer drawbars than British caravans. And their wheels are further towards the rear of the caravan. The result is that they feel incredibly stable. It’s a well-know geometric fact. That’s not to say that British shorter-drawbar caravans are unstable, of course – it’s to say that this Starlett 420CP was, on test, noticeably more glued to the road on corners and disinclined to sway in response to overtaking heavy vehicles than comparable-size and weight British ones we’ve towed.

The journey from importer Freedom Caravans’ premises in Stafford to the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Cannock site (plus one junction length of the M6, just so that we’d put it through all its tow-paces) showed the Starlett to be on the extreme end of the stability scale. Granted, we were towing with our Kia Sorento and you only need a Golf to tow this caravan – but we do most of our tow tests with this vehicle, so we can truly compare caravans’ tow characteristics.

The 420CP – like the whole Starlett range – is only 2.1  metres wide. You’re certainly aware, inside, of the small size by comparison with 2.3-metre wide British caravans; and Starletts will fit down driveways that others won’t.

The 420CP’s impressive road manners are amply matched by its layout’s performance. It manages to provide a double bed, four-seater dining area, a very workable kitchen and a dresser-style unit, in just 4.2m of body length. How? The key factor is that the bed runs across, rather than down the caravan. The small size of the washroom is the second element that keeps weight down. That’s not a negative; here, it’s a positive because you have a four-berth caravan that weighs only 970kg when fully loaded. It’s achieved in a caravan whose living space feels perfectly adequate.

There may be some kit lacking by comparison with British caravans but there are several refinements that you wouldn’t expect, like a spice rack in the kitchen and a light switch on the bed’s padded headboard.

And the kitchen’s amazingly good on storage space. That’s because there’s no oven or grill, of course – the space goes to two deep drawers and a cupboard with a hinge-down door, beside the fridge. You also get three good-sized shelves plus two head-height lockers. There’s additional kitchen storage space in the dresser-style unit alongside the door.
Even the washroom has two large cupboards and some shelves. If you’re considering a Sterckeman, keep in mind that you don’t have a shower. What you do get is a fixed bed caravan for under £10,000 – and that’s lower than any British manufacturer offers.
 

Think of the Sterckeman Starlett 420 CP as a quart into pint pot. We think the expression best sums up this fixed-bed caravan, which has loads of storage for its size. Everything you touch has a solid feel and look – and it tows like a dream. Value beyond compare? Yes if you don’t want a water heater or a shower or an oven or a grill. No if those items don’t matter to you. If you’re upgrading from a tent or a basic folding caravan, this is fabulous – and fantastic value.