Adria Sonic Plus 700 SLT

Price from: £65,393 Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato chassis-cowl Length: 7.40m Gross weight: 3,500kg

SLT. Those letters might mean something to you, because our sister title Which Motorhome recently ran a long-termer – an Adria Matrix Supreme low-profile – that carried the same suffix. It indicates a floorplan that gives you twin single beds with a full-width washroom beyond. And, make no mistake about it, it’s a format that’s going to grow and grow in popularity. Adria has, almost unnoticed, slipped this layout into its A-class Sonic line-up for 2015.

But first, some brief history. Sonics were launched for season 2012 as a replacement for the Visions that had been with us since 2007. Fast forward to 2015 and you can get a choice of initial trim levels – budget Axess, mid-range Plus and flagship Supreme.

I won’t kid you, the I 700 SLT’s thunder has been stolen by the I 700 SBC (rear island bed, bathroom with central washbasin). Also, if you want flagship stuff, there are the silver-bodied Sonic Supremes, and the SLT layout doesn’t feature there.

And yet, I’ve a feeling that the time has come for the SLT – it’s also interesting to note that some key rivals don’t have such a floorplan in their A-class line-ups... yet.

All 2015 Sonics will, of course, have the latest Ducato underpinning them. Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted that’s not quite the case here in this demonstrator, which is also a left-hander... But, well, someone had to volunteer to head out to Slovenia and pluck this pre-production model from the Adria factory, and it was the Harding hand that went up fastest.

Which does bring me on nicely to the Adria factory. If you think Slovenia is some backwater of Europe, be prepared to open your eyes. Adria boasts one of the most state-of-the-art leisure vehicle production plants I’ve ever seen, currently churning out some 4,500 motorhomes (and a similar number of caravans) each year, but with a capacity for up to 24,000 units. As a quick reality check, the UK market for new motorhomes hovers around the 8,000 mark – total! During my visit, I was shown a recently introduced robot – the first time I’ve seen such a thing in a motorhome factory. As I say, state-of-the-art.

GOING FOR GOLD

All of the above brings us back round to the subject of this Live-in Test – the Sonic Plus I 700 SLT. Also, watch out for the Golden Editions, as Adria celebrates its fiftieth year of leisure vehicle manufacturing.

Sorry to resort to lists, but this is what you get as part of the Golden Edition Pack: LED daytime running lights, rear mudflaps, Aguti cab seats with double armrests, driver and passenger sunvisors, colour-coded mirrors, side cab window blinds, wider habitation entrance door with window flyscreen and waste bin, panoramic window above the cab, reversing sensors, electric drop-down bed, L-shaped lounge seating, bed with slatted frame and sprung mattress, cab and habitation carpets, kitchen sink drainer, insulated and heated waste water tank, leisure battery, ‘Media Wall’ with tablet holder plus USB and audio sockets, ambient LED lighting, panoramic window, Truma Combi 6E heating/hot water system operating from gas and electric, and a TV bracket. Impressive, isn’t it?

But you could argue that an A-class should offer all this as standard… Even then, I’d thoroughly recommend the Driver’s Pack, which brings you cab air-conditioning (surely essential in any A-class), passenger airbag (surely essential in any motorhome) and cruise control. All that’s missing is a stereo system. The thinking is, the choice is yours. The temptation is to track down a friendly dealer that includes one in its final negotiations (most do, it seems).

Adria also makes the following bold assertion: “We have extensively benchmarked all of our vehicles and they are cheaper for comparable spec’ than our competitors, with better quality materials and construction.” So, it’s £67,947. That’s as tested here. And it’s a figure that compares well with potential rivals.

BUILT THE ADRIA WAY

The Sonic’s exterior looks remain largely the same. It’s a slightly modified front end featuring LED daytime running lights and coach-style driving mirrors. And GRP-clad bodywork, as here, gets the full thumbs-up. It’s simply tougher than aluminium, easily resisting slight knocks as well as, in this case, boasting a roof that’s hail-proof.

And, like nearly every other leading manufacturer, Adria’s bodywork construction is timber-free, also meeting the highest Grade III rating for its insulation and heating. It backs it all up with a 10-year bodywork guarantee. And it’s all NCC (National Caravan Council) approved, as Adria falls in completely with our specific UK demands.

There’s a solid cab door, with two-point locking. It also has a larger than average electric window, which retracts fully (not all do). But it shuts with quite a ‘low rent’ rattle. Step-in height at the habitation door is some 24cm. And it comes with a step that automatically retracts when you turn on the ignition. The door itself is that bit wider for this season, at 60cm.

You’ll see from the photos a couple of extra items have been added to this example, too. There’s a Dometic air-conditioning unit in the living quarters and an awning – both  available as dealer-fit accessories.

Corner steadies are standard. They’re definitely needed in an end washroom layout, especially as there’s some 2.35m of overhang beyond the rear wheels. Exterior-access lockers all come with reassuringly solid locks and metal handles.
And, relief all round. Finally, Adria is supplying its vehicles with leisure batteries, properly fitted. In the past it’s something it’s left to its dealers...

TAKING OFF IN A SONIC

With a full week ahead of me, it was time for some touring – heading south out of Slovenia. At a driving licence-friendly 3,500kg all-in (though realistically you’ll probably want to upgrade to at least 3,650kg), the Sonic certainly coped well with the twisty uphill roads in Croatia, also easily maintaining a 70mph cruise. There’s just one niggle to report, but it’s something you might want to check out for yourself on a test drive. Those coach-style mirrors are great for size/view, but they did give this driver a real blindspot at certain junctions.

There were rather a lot of noises from the living quarters whilst driving, too. I can only refer to my notes here: “Domestic hob needs the tea towel treatment.” It got it, of course.

But, still there were unwanted rattles. I’m sure it was the blinds, maybe even the cab bed fittings, but do note this is a pre-production model. Engine access seems straightforward enough, via the top-hinged bonnet. But the fuel cap could be better. On this example, it dropped down on me when filling. Details, details... I know, but why not aim for the best? ?

SONIC SOUNDS

Truma’s Secumotion regulator means you can have the habitation heating on as you drive. One big advantage here is that you can arrive at your destination and the living quarters are pre-warmed up for you. Curiously, though, there’s only space for one cylinder in the gas locker. There’s also the facility to divert some heating to the underslung waste tank to prevent the contents from freezing.

As for the interior, the test demonstrator featured the latest rather glossy and warm furniture, called Forest, with the light leather-look White Santos upholstery. There is an alternative – the Horizont/Mint furniture/upholstery, which has a touch more grey/brown to it.

Because this is the Plus variant, one of the (possible) downsides is you only get cassette blinds and flyscreens to most of the windows (the habitation door and overcab sunroof are exceptions, boasting superior concertina blinds (which don’t rattle, incidentally). The main windows also have curtain and nets, but on this example they slid about during travel.
There’s also the rather grandly titled ‘Media Wall’ – set up to take your tablet, etc – along with a touchscreen for the main electrical items (relocated from over the doorway, where there’s now a useful open shelf), plus controls for the Truma CP Plus heating and hot water operation (including a timer facility), and switches for the flip-out step as well as some of the extensive lighting.

Lounge tables are so often a source of contention – not so much for their size as their orientation. Here’s it’s on a sturdy fixed leg, with height adjustment, while a single lever makes it easy to alter the fore and aft planes. Plus, there’s a foot-operated button if you want to swivel it around completely. And there’s plenty of room to get around it, too.
On a purely personal note, its glossy white finish seemed to clash with the off-white of the upholstery. I guess that’s just me…

V FOR KITCHEN VICTORY?

A V-shaped kitchen? Only Adria can get away with that, but you sort of get – or can see – the picture. There’s a bit of ergonomics going on because, although actual kitchen space is rather limited, it’s cleverly dealt with.

For example, that Dometic hob features three gas rings in a row, getting larger from left to right, but all set back to give some vital worktop space in front and to the left. It also gets an oven/grill in the UK: Thetford’s compact but pretty effective Duplex unit. That, in turn, deprives you of some of the main drawer storage. There’s certainly plenty of it and, although they feature a soft-close feature, they can be pulled out rather abruptly. Put that down to my clumsiness, but maybe next to come is a soft-open drawer system

More space-efficiency: there’s a loose cover for the sink, which acts as a drainer or a chopping board. Adjacent to the 150-litre fridge/freezer, there’s a generous shelved slimline locker that seems to need more lips to its shelves. And, there’s no obvious reason why the LED strip light in here stops halfway down. There’s also a drawer under the fridge/freezer, which proved ideal for pans.

STRETCH OUT SINGLES

Tall people will approveof the twin single beds, which are both some 6ft 6in (1.98m) in overall length. They’re single-piece mattresses, too, and the upper bed sections can be ratcheted up, manually, for comfortably reading or watching TV.
Those single bed mattresses have sprung slats, while the drop-down double in the cab is on a Froli-type system, with a rather slim mattress, which is of high-density foam and which is both comfortable and supportive.

The cab double also has the big advantage of an opening sunroof – you might just need the extra ventilation, especially in hotter temperatures. Nice for daylight, too. Alternatively, there are two reading lights, individually switched and with some adjustment.

A ladder is supplied for access to the double bed, but it comes down low enough to allow you to hop up via the lounge seating. There’s a 200kg weight limit up there, but look beyond the fabric each side and there’s some substantial engineering. The upper locker between the bed and the doorway is useful for oddments, etc.

I also found out a rather neat bit of security, post-test. The drop-down bed is electrically operated, but the reset button means you can actually disable it if you want to hide away some valuables up here... a laptop computer, for example. Some way of clipping back the curtains when the bed is being packed away would be handy, however.

SONIC SPLASH DOWN

Plenty of space, but a tad short of perfection – that’s the washroom summary. It’s home to a separate shower cubicle as well as the wardrobe – with generous hanging space. Plus, there’s a handy rail over the shower cubicle, perfect for hanging wet clothing to dry and a useful complement to the two towel hooks.

The shower is good, but a second drainage hole would be a distinct advantage. As would some duckboarding underfoot. The lack of any ventilation in the cubicle is a strange omission.

Elsewhere, there’s no toothbrush holder and, although there’s generous cupboard storage space, there really should be some way of retaining shampoo bottles, etc in here during travel. Also the toilet location makes reaching into the rail in the wardrobe a bit tricky (that tall person thing again!). There were no problems with leg space, though.

My main concern was gap between the worktop and the wall. Adria explains this as part of the Sonic’s heating and ventilation system. However, all but the gentlest use of the basin will see you splashing water into the cupboard below…

STORAGE – AND DETAILS

This kind of low bed floorplan of course precludes the kind of huge garage storage area that can be so useful for secure carrying of larger-scale items right up to bikes and motorbikes (a bike rack can be dealer-fitted on the exterior).
Needless to say there’s still plenty of onboard storage, starting with hinged sections (complete with props) allowing easy internal access to each single bed base.

Relocating the fresh water tank to its rear offside bed base location frees up some space in the rear seat base, but the way it’s plonked centrally in the offside bed base means virtually all the storage is lost here instead. Adria has treated the leisure battery fitting in the lounge seat locker in similar fashion.

There’s also a TV locker, with a slide-out Project 2000 bracket for a flatscreen monitor, located high over the fridge/freezer.

Headroom throughout is a minimum of 1.98m (6ft 6in), but try those lockers (12 of them if you include the TV cupboard) for yourselves – if you’re on the short side you might need to think of solutions... Standing on the seats to optimise your access isn’t the answer as that cream leather-look material does tend to pick up the marks. Do budget for some kind of upholstery protectant when you’re buying.

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Very well built and competitively priced – the Golden Edition Pack brings equipment levels up to what’s to be expected in this sector (although you still pay extra for the Driver’s Pack). The Sonic just falls down on the final little refinements that turn a good motorhome into a truly great one.