Carado I339

Price from: £45,245 Berths: 3 Travel Seats: 4 Base Vehicle: Fiat Ducato Camper Length: 6.99m Gross weight: 3,500kg

CARADO is an entry-level motorhome marque, and importantly, it’s German. Even more importantly, it’s Hymer’s budget brand (as well as sister marque to Sunlight from Dethleffs), which should be good for customers – Hymer high-quality DNA but in motorhomes that don’t cost too many arms and legs. The 2015 range consists mainly of low-profile coachbuilts, but there’s a sprinkling of family-orientated overcabs too (three variations).

With a total of 15 models, Carado is well worth a look if you’re hunting on a budget. Leading Hymer dealer, Travelworld (who supplied our test vehicle), has recently decided to concentrate its efforts on Hymer Group products, so has taken on the Carado franchise as its entry-level product (alongside Hymer, HymerCar and Niesmann + Bischoff).

The new T339 is notable for the fact that it squeezes an island bed layout into an overall length of less than seven metres. Aside from that fact, the whole thing is pretty much conventional as a continental low-profile with an L-shaped lounge up front, kitchen amidships and a rear bedroom – en suite ablutions at the ready. Time to find out if the T339 is any good...


BASE INSTINCTS

The ubiquitous Fiat Ducato is here equipped with the lower-set Camper chassis and the smallest motor available in right-hand drive form – the 2.3-litre 130-horsepower unit. All this is fixed to the newly facelifted Fiat, so there are various interesting differences over the previous model. There’s no Euro VI emissions compliance yet; for the time being the Ducato – unlike the Mercedes Sprinter – continues with version V. In other news, Fiat has fiddled with suspension, styling and the cab interior – the first item claims better handing and weight loss, the second refreshes the Ducato’s face, the third improves cab kit.
I must say, I love the new look, which is noticeable for its sharper – some say oriental-looking – nose, with new headlights to the fore. In this cab you get redesigned, more comfy seats (well, they were to my old nethers anyway), new clocks, a speed limiter function on the cruise control and a new cup and phone holder in the middle, where once there was a lockable laptop locker.
And that’s about it – chrome bezels and different dash trim are available, but none are fitted here. What is fitted is a passenger airbag, air-con, central locking and electric windows and mirrors. And all are installed as standard, so Carado earns brownie points from me.


TALES OF THE BLACKTOP

This is quite a short section of this Carado’s story as the Fiat performed with predictable capability. The 130bhp motor proved more than equal to the task of propelling the T339 at all road speeds, while an overall feeling of solidity is likely testament to the Carado’s Hymer DNA. Handling, brakes and steering were up to the usual high standards and I couldn’t detect the benefits supposedly provided by the modified suspension.
Any add-ons required? Well, as this motorhome has a blind rear panel, a rear view camera might be a good idea. These days, you can get a clever twin-lens devices that give both reversing and on-road rear view angles.


LOOKING OUT AND IN

What of the external styling? Understated? Classy? Well, both really, as the styling is simple, the graphics understated, but this is undeniably an entry-level ’van with its square edges and none of the fancy mouldings applied to more expensive motorhomes. Even so, insulation is 34mm thick and both roof and rear panel sections are skinned in GRP for extra durability.
Inside there’s whiff of Hymer, with stylish furniture that appears durable and with good fit and finish. Curtains around the cab are full and worked well, and the nets and décor panels to lounge and bedroom were fine.

SIT, EAT, RELAX, SLEEP?

The Carado is good for dining, with comfortable seating and eating for four (for more you’ll need the table extension which was missing from our vehicle). There’s a side seat in here, but it’s tiny and the niche its backrest lives in is narrow.

The seat helps make the third berth too: lower the table (easy as it’s nice and light), slide out a little extension from the side seat to meet it, add the cushions (plus one narrow infill) and you have a single bed. Long it may be, at seven feet, but wide it ain’t.

A wedge-shaped backrest forms one end, so appears to be pillow-like, but as it’s at the narrow end you’d need to be size zero to sleep this ? way around. A kiddy bed? Maybe, but normal-sized adults might find it very challenging to sleep comfortably here.

Sadly, I’ve found more continental lounge beds that are flawed than good, probably because drop-down beds are the preferred option for those seeking additional berths. The conclusion here is that this bed is for very occasional use unless you’re a smaller child, but if you regularly need a four-person ’van then you could go for the longer T449 with the optional lowering bed over the front lounge.

CARADO COOKS

Typically L-shaped and quite nicely equipped sums up the kitchen well. You might expect to see a three-burner hob, circular sink and big fridge/freezer in here (these are the Continental galley norms in a ’van such as this), but you might not expect to find an oven – especially at this price point. Even more unusual is to find one mounted down low and not at a vertigo-inducing level over the fridge.

Here, you get both, the oven is present and – unlike others – its mounted low and beneath the hob. I’m risking using the word ‘typical’ too much, but that’s what this kitchen is:  it’s capable as long as you don’t want too much work surface, which is again – you guessed it – typical for a continental.

The thing that had me puzzled in here was the arrangement above the fridge: a rather strange two thirds-width, half-depth locker and a TV bracket fitted to the bedroom wall. Why not make the locker fill the space (more storage) and fit the TV holder just inside the habitation door where it would be closer to the lounge?

SWEET ON THE MOTORHOME EN SUITE

Oh no! I’m going to use the ‘t-word’ again, but I really can’t avoid it: the bathroom/bedroom set-up really is typical of the type. Separate shower and toilet rooms stand at the foot of the bed, which has lockers and twin wardrobes at its head.

So, it’s the detail that makes or breaks this area’s usability, and in bedrooms like this space is one big issue. And here that’s especially relevant as this ’van, at less than seven metres long, has to use the available length well.

Two issues crop up often in these spaces: the first is the amount of room available at the foot of the bed, the second the amount of space in the toilet room with its door closed. Here, the foot-of-the-bed clearance is okay on the shower side, thanks to the fact that there’s a lift-out floor section that covers the shower tray, holding its doors open and giving space to let you move along that side of the bed. On the toilet side things are very different, as it’s a squeeze to get between the corner of the room and the bed.

I’ve been in toilet rooms in A-classes priced on the wrong side of £100,000 and discovered that they’re very difficult to use with door closed, so it was nice to find that that’s not the case here. There’s a good amount of floor space, both to use the basin and sit on the loo, while the room is also well served by a big mirror and good cupboards up and down.

The en suite is created when the toilet room door swings across the aisle, which then leaves the toilet open to the bedroom. Now, you can see why it’s really  important to be able to use the room – especially the toilet – with the door closed.

The shower is pretty good: lift out that previously-mentioned floor section and there’s a wooden duckboard below. Now the doors can close, and once within, you discover plenty of space, decent headroom and a rail to hang wet clothes. There are no complaints here at all.

The entry-level, fit-it-into-seven-metres brief brings a couple of shortcomings with the bed. Some beds of this type have rising heads – they slide rearwards and the head of the bed pops up so you can get sat up to read or slurp your cuppa. This feature is also designed to make more space around the bed’s foot.

Here, it’s lacking, so there’s no opportunity to increase the gap between the bed and the toilet room. However, there is enough room ’twixt bedhead and the lockers above to get propped up on your pillows – something that’s also lacking in some competitors.

The second issue is that the bed is only just over six feet long; add the radius at the foot and that measurement reduces. Of course, this is only going to be a problem if you’re tall, but the old adage, ‘try before you buy’ comes to the fore.

STOW AND FLOW

To storage, and there’s good provision inside. The wardrobes are adequate for two, overhead lockers are plentiful and there are various hidey-holes tucked around the interior – in the lounge, kitchen and under the bedroom floor.

In the rear, the big externally-accessed locker is almost a garage. It has doors either side and is only really compromised by the gas locker, which looms rather large on the nearside. Lighting is pretty good, almost all LED, and there are rooflights or vents in the lounge, bedroom and ablutions – there’s even a diddy, single-speed extractor hood above the cooker. This hood is the only place you’ll find non-LED lights – the twin downlighter used here has the power-sapping halogens that now seem so old-fashioned.

Heat and hot water is provided by the ubiquitous Truma Combi and this one is the more powerful model (6kW), which comes with mains electric operation and the upmarket LCD-equipped control panel.

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Carado is an entry-level motorhome marque, and importantly, it’s German. Even more importantly, it’s Hymer’s budget brand (as well as sister marque to Sunlight from Dethleffs), which should be good for customers – Hymer high-quality DNA but in motorhomes that don’t cost too many arms and legs.