Adria Coral Plus 670 SL

Prices from: £53,090 Price as tested: £57,480 Type Approval: European Whole Vehicle Berths: 3 Belted travel seats: 5

The Coral name first appeared on an Adria motorhome way back in 1982. It’s obviously proved popular because some 30,000 of them have been sold across Europe, making it Adria’s best-selling motorhome range.

Which brings us to today. The 2016 Coral from this Slovenian manufacturer comprises three sub-ranges – Axess, Plus and Supreme, in ascending order of price, all of which are Fiat Ducato-based low-profiles.

From the four-model Plus line-up, the Coral Plus 670 SL tested here majors on twin single beds over a garage, a ‘V-shaped’ kitchen (more later) separate shower and toilet room, and...well, let’s just say it’s all set in what is very much a modern-day motorhome interior.

Building with quality

There’s quality coachbuilding here, thanks to a GRP-clad exterior (Adria prefers to call it polyester, as is the Continental way). It takes the knocks in a way that aluminium never can, also offering a roof that’s less susceptible to hailstone damage. Such weather might notbe a major issue in our country, but over on mainland Europe they do get their fair share.

Look underneath the Coral and there’s a substantial addition to the Fiat chassis. That, in turn, means there’s quite some rear overhang here (which may explain some of my driving comments later on).

Coral cruising

Fiat’s 130bhp engine certainly gives more than useful performance, even with a coachbuilt motorhome getting on for 26ft in length. Economy was not great on test at 21.7mpg, but then this was a brand new engine and I only added 160 or so miles. You will do a whole lot better with an engine that’s more run-in, even if you do end up with more on board than I loaded for this test.

More concerning here was that the Coral exhibited a very slight tendency to sway on the open road. I wonder if that was just the particular crosswinds encountered during the test or the layout that can end up with a fair bit of weight beyond the rear axle, especially if you use the garage area to its limit.

Lounging and dining

Inside, the cab and lounge are on one level; it’s a small step down to the kitchen/main entrance, and a slightly higher step up to the washroom.

Lounge seating comprises the swivelled cab seats (they’re Fiat units with extra padding, while the swivels are courtesy of Isri), that short settee nearside and L-shaped seating* opposite. All the seating is around a sturdy fixed pedestal tabletop with lots of adjustment (fore and aft as well as height).

The two-tone, two-fabric upholstery is rather snazzy, and a neat complement to the dark wood Forest finish to the furniture. Some kind of leather upholstery (trim or otherwise) seems to be all the rage these days in motorhome lounges. It’s an option here, but the faux-leather on this test vehicle will suffice for most people. Will that light upholstery be prone to marking and/or easy to clean?

Bedding up

You’ll need to gauge accessibility to those beds at the back for yourselves – there are two steps up, and some might consider the beds are set too high. Despite the backrest adjustability, there’s no way you can sit upright in the single beds (there’s a bank of lockers overhead), and I also query the location of the reading lamps.

Indeed, I’m not quite sure I got the hang of these lamps – they have a second setting that gives off a blue light around the switch. However, touch them again and they turn full on – not ideal for those supposedly secret trips to the toilet in the night.

The washroom

As is so often the norm in coachbuilts of this ilk, the washing facilities are split – Adria likes to use the term ‘flexi’. There’s a shower cubicle (nearside) with a toilet room directly adjacent, the door for which also acts as a partition from the kitchen and lounge areas.

Across in the toilet room, there’s a swivel-bowl Thetford with electric flush, and I can happily report no problems with legroom or indeed mirrors being in the wrong place.

As well as an opening window, storage is excellent here – including a cupboard under the (slightly small) fixed basin. There’s also a rather clever mirror that slides across to reveal extensive shelving for your toiletries, plus a couple of towel hooks and an open shelf. There’s a heater outlet here, but not in the shower area.

Compact cooking

This kitchen is short on two things – elbow room and worktop space. There are the two loose covers over the sink, and there is some worktop to the front of the hob, but it’s all too cramped. There’s no dedicated place to stow these covers for travel, either – although it shouldn’t be too hard to find some drawer or locker space for such.

Adria calls its latest kitchen design ‘V-shaped’. Sure enough, it’s an interesting configuration with all kinds of angles going on here, but it’s hard to see what the actual gain is, apart from aesthetically.
 

Read the full version of this review in the December 2013 issue of MMM magazine.

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The new Coral is a stylish addition to the myriad ranks of imported low-profile motorhomes, and it’s lower than many of its rivals. We were particularly impressed by the quality of its bodywork, as well as its modern design, but inside there are a few areas where style has overtaken practicality.