Venus 380/2

Ideal for a couple looking for an ultra-lightweight tourer

Exterior

The smooth one piece sides, panoramic window and white powder-coated awning rail all conspire to create the most modern looking touring caravan from the Lunar factory to date.

A real life front locker with real life usability – not only in terms of internal space but access, too – adorns a large part of the front panel. The neat A-frame cover with alloy-look cloaking and integrated jockey wheel are things in the not so distant past absent on some caravans higher up the food chain and they really enhance the Venus.

The Venus enters the fray visually looking every bit up to the fight in this fiercely fought buying entry point battle.

Interior

“Goddess on a mountain top, the summit of beauty and love and Venus was her name,” chirped Bananarama far too many years ago. And “Yeah Baby she’s got it” – the Venus caravans certainly have!

While the smaller two-berth in the range, the 320/2, might suit many, the 380/2 has a magical extra 76cm. This extra 30 inches instantly transforms the interior from compact bijou to open splendour – and it has a fullwidth shower room.

What’s more, you’ll not find another caravan anywhere with a full-on shower room like this that still manages to stay under a tonne loaded. Featureless (we like) flat-fronted cabinetry helps disguise the caravan’s narrow width with only the curved lines of the fridge submitting to the art of the bow.

A real home from home

While the central area might be the hub of the caravan, the lounge is certainly the home. Here the Venus is a place of quiet, light calm. The lounge space flows into the central area with no intrusion, adding the feeling of openness.

In the lounge, the 380-2 certainly doesn’t feel like a small caravan. Soft furnishings and décor are of course, entirely subjective. But for the record the rather uncomfortably named ‘Lolita’ upholstery works superbly with its bold deep purple print waking the caravan’s simplicity into a modern appealing space.

A little extra comfort perhaps?

For an extra £125 you can choose an L-shaped lounge as an alternative. The 380/2 benefits from Whale’s new underfloor-mounted heat source, so, with no heating unit to accommodate, storage options have been enhanced at a stroke of a Whale engineer’s pencil and protractor.

A simple nearside sideboard unit comprising three cupboards and a deep drawer will handle most day-to-day equipment with only the intrusion of the wheel arch trying to spoil the show. But ultimately this has a negligible affect on what is the caravan’s workhouse. This cabinet has been kept plain, too, and so melds perfectly with the rest of the Venus’ interior.

The neat uniform row of upper lockers wend its way from the door and around the front panel before halting at the kitchen’s bulkier offerings. Some competitors drop the forward two upper lockers but not here. We guess they needed that bit of extra weight to stop the Venus blowing away.

Building a bed

With the central slats pulled out, the forward double bed builds simply. There’s no chest of drawers, which, to my mind, is always a good thing in small tourers.

The wide flat windowsill acts as a long bedside table and, although this is considered a budget caravan, that’s not the feeling telegraphed back from my body as I sit on the Venus’s fully sprung upholstery. Good as a bed base? Only a night’s sleep will tell.

The shower room sends mixed messages. It seems churlish to challenge a tourer of this size that manages to stuff in a full-width version, but it does seem like the bare minimum was always the target. That’s fine, though, in a caravan that can be proud of its low weight and budget price.

In the kitchen

Thetford’s neat triangular three-burner hob nestles snuggly into the space above the combination oven and grill. Both are deemed inferior to their fourburner and full-on oven and separate grill counterparts. Or are they? I think Venus buyers won’t give it a thought and simply rejoice in the extra space gained and weight saved. And space in the kitchen carries on the high scoring storage attribute.

The absence of a Truma heater within the layout enables the fridge to be moved from its familiar low kitchen home and moved to beneath the wardrobe. But happily it’s still close enough to feel part of the kitchen. With it gone, storage space increases dramatically.

Great atmosphere

Dining means plucking the table from the wardrobe and erecting it in the lounge. Nothing new here, then. But again it’s that open ambiance, that bright appealing space to be in when eating and drinking that counts.

For snacks without the table in place, the wide windowsill can accommodate side plates with absolute ease and the lower shelf that covers the beds slats offers more suitable platform space for drinks or condiments.
Well worth a spend

Finally, a word on the £399 Plus Pack. These packs on entry-level caravans are always priced to be ultra tempting and we’d still suggest it’s money well spent. It’s not just about the spare wheel and enhanced safety offered by the hitch-head stabiliser. It’s about the bit of extra luxury (door fly-screen and radio/CD) and the security element of the AL-KO Secure wheel lock receiver; these will help when it comes to the caravan’s future resale value.

A Sprite Lite 2 will cost you less, at £9910 but, at 1036kg MTPLM and without a shower, looks less attractive than this Venus