RIDING ALONG ON A CARAVEL - Out And About Live

115-119 test xtra caravel5/9/019:50 AMPage 1TEST REPORT EXTRARIDING ALONGON A CARAVELIt's not all fun, y'know, taking an expensivemotorcaravan for test - with only ten miles onthe clock. The delight that comes from usingaround 35 000 worth of machinery fresh outof the wrapping paper is tempered by theknowledge that vehicles in general, andleisure vehicles in particular, are at their mosttrouble-prone when they're new. In the event,a 600-odd mile trip though the ChannelTunnel and into the Boulogne area gavenothing that could be described as trouble,though there were the inevitable niggles.Since the tunnel opened for business,Shan (my wife) and I have never gone toMOTORCARAVAN MOTORHOME MONTHLYThe distinctive rear end of the Buccaneer on board Le Shuttle, which it drove into easily.France by any other route. This time westarted the test in February, so we took nopersuading to leave the cold and stormy seaswell alone, thank you very much! The onlyquestion relevant to this test would be whatwould the extra bulk of the new Caravel belike when it came to guiding it into the shinycylinder of Eurotunnel coaches? Our VWCaravelle slides in as easily as driving downthe road, but would this much larger Fordbased Caravel be any different? In the event,it was so light to drive and so easy to placethat the big Ford almost matched ourTransporter for ease of manoeuvrability.It's interesting that the new Ford Transit isthe base vehicle chosen by Explorer Group forthis prestigious model. To be honest, placingthe word 'prestige' in the same universe asthe old Transit's engine was like talking abouthaute cuisine and motorway services in thesame sentence - utterly ridiculous. But thenew Transit is different.First, the road holding - Ford now turn outpassenger cars with what is widely regardedas some of the best suspension in thebusiness. Could this expertise be finding itsway through to their commercial vehicles?The Caravel certainly suggests that it is. The Immediately after the NECshow, the new BuccaneerCaravel was made availableto MMM for its first test outing.Lindsay Porter took itfor a 'spin'JUNE 2001 115

115-119 test xtra caravel5/9/019:50 AMPage 2RIDING ALONG ON A CARAVELhandling is flat and smooth, with a completeabsence of suspension crash over the worstof UK B-roads, and the French D-variety.Secondly, driver and passenger comfort the cab seats each have a single armrest andare soft but back-achingly hollow in shape.Seat adjustments seem infinite, though, whilesteering wheel adjustment is non-existent.The gearchange was sweet, after the firstfew miles, and the other controls seemedforgettably good. But the kph markings on thespeedo were useless. The side mirrors aretwo-part panoramic types: quite superb.Everything falls nicely to hand, as we havecome to expect from Ford. What a shame thatnot everything falls quite so nicely to foot! Thepassenger can slide easily between seat andgear stick when making a move into the livingarea. But for drivers, especially those like mewith largish clodhoppers, there's a bit of anobstacle course to overcome. Not a megaproblem, but mildly irritating, nonetheless.In less of a pre-production vehicle, it wouldalso have been irritating that the centrallocking didn't work properly, nor the Keenalarm, nor the reversing sensor. The Fordimmobiliser/alarm worked though. It workednoisily, accidentally and embarrassingly well.We 'tested' it several times!Then there's the general dynamics ofLooking forwards we see the nearside settee with dinette opposite.The gearchange was sweet, after the first few miles, and the other controls seemedforgettably good.The clip-on table stores in the wardrobe when necessary. The rail on the wall couldannoy when you're in bed at night.The view from the cab shows us the rear kitchen with bathroom on the left and caravan door on the right.116JUNE 2001driving the thing. In spite of its considerablebulk, piloting the Caravel couldn't be easier. Imentioned the excellent, part-panoramic sidemirrors earlier, but are they enough? Lorrydrivers do without direct rear vision in manycases, but the leisure driver, in my opinion,needs all the help he or she can get. I wouldalways prefer to drive a vehicle with afunctioning interior mirror. The BuccaneerCaravel almost manages it, but not quite. If itwas up to me, I'd make the rear window aslow (and as large) as possible. At the moment,you can just see the top half of an artic's cabwhen it's behind you. I'd also prefer the sidewindows to be a touch lower, so that thedriver can more easily see what's coming atangled road junctions.On the motorway at 70, there's just a bit ofa 'tug' as you go past a big truck, as youmightexpect.ButtheCaravel'saerodynamics, plus that excellent Fordsuspension, makes the vehicle very stable athigher cruising speeds. What's more, there'sless wind noise than in many cars. Most ofthe time we cruised the motorway at 60 easy, comfortable and economical. We'd havebeen able to listen to a CD on the goodquality dash-mounted unit, no trouble. Exceptwe forgot them. Never mind - the radio isexcellent.Finally, on the subject of the base vehicle,MOTORCARAVAN MOTORHOME MONTHLY

115-119 test xtra caravel5/9/019:51 AMPage 3TEST REPORT EXTRAthere's that new Ford Transit engine. The oldone was not just noisy; it was amazinglynoisy! Ford's old Transit was the only van thatlisted ear defenders on its options list. Thenew DuraTorq engine is so much better. It stillhums a bit of a diesel tune, but it's up therewith existing Fiat and Volkswagen units. It'sstill behind the refinement of BMW's five-potdiesel car engine, but let's not quibble.The DuraTorq engine has plenty of torquefrom about 1500 rpm, enough power for easy70 mph cruising, and enough frugality for 25mpg, even with a tight, brand-new engine.And the more I drove it, the more I liked it.After it's fully run in, this new engine shouldbe a cracker.The Yorkshire national anthemOne of the curved chrome overhead locker door handles.Very smart!There are eight of these aircraft-locker-style cupboards.Catches are not burstproof, which could cause spillage ina road accident.There is just room for a six-footer to shower comfortably.Hooray for a manually flushing Thetford cassette loo.Hold, and Chief Designer, Colin Appleby,spotted a design feature in luxury boats thatthe company has now managed toincorporate into some of its caravans andmotorcaravans. So, by night, there's asurprise in store. Set into the tops of the highlevel lockers are hidden lights supplying soft,all-surrounding illumination to the interior. Itnot only looks wonderful, but it alsoeliminates dazzle - though Explorer Group areby no means the first to use this style ofillumination in a motorhome. There are alsoconventional lights fitted into the ceiling forthose evenings when you're running on leisurebattery power only.Having gone to so much trouble with theinterior lights, Explorer Group seem to haveoverlooked both exterior lights and interiorsockets.I'm typing this on a palm-top computerplugged into one of only two 13A sockets inthe 'van. I think you need more than two.Last night when the gas ran out (it wascold last night), I'd have shaken an ExplorerGroup electrical fitter warmly by the hand ifI'd been able to see what I was doing as Ichanged the cylinder. (Always assuming thathe'd been passing by, in the middle of theFrench countryside, in March, in the snow, attwo in the morning.)AmbiencePull down the manual Omni-Step (an electricstep would seem more appropriate), enter thecaravan door near the rear of the vehicle andyou'll see the kitchen area on your right,against the rear wall, and the washroom,wardrobe and Trumatic space heater more orless dead ahead. Turn to your left, and there'sa bench seat along the left-hand wall and apair of double dinette seats with large table toyour right.By day, you'll see that the walls aredominated by curved-edge maple doors andmatching wall panelling, with eight elegantaircraft-locker-style cupboards. The carpets,nicely fitted and edge-bound, press-stud outfor easy cleaning. The large windows andHeki sunroof combine with the toning, moderndécor (based on fawn, gold and russetcolours) to provide the 'living room' with aspacious, aesthetically-pleasing ambience.Explorer's Marketing Director, MichaelMOTORCARAVAN MOTORHOME MONTHLYWashroomThere's just room for a six-footer like me toshower comfortably, but if the pesky shelfover the window had been left off, I'd havebeen more comfortable. The swivel-bowlThetford cassette loo is fine and (hooray!) theflushing pump is manual, not batterypowered. What a daft idea that was - wedon't have them in our homes, do we? "Seeyou later, dear - just popping down to B&Q tobuy some batteries so that I can flush theloo." Like I say, daft.Storage space in the washroom isimpressive. No it's not; it's downrightintimidating. How could you ever find enoughwashroom stuff to put in there?Before starting to pack, we explored storage space. Thisis one of the slatted under-bed areas - some have dropdown doors at the front.StorageStorage capacity, in general, is pretty good - According to Porter Publishing's Yorkshireborn-and-bred accountant, Colin Hunt, theYorkshire anthem goes (choose your owntune, on a rising note at the end) - 'howmuch!'First, a bee in my bonnet. If you bought apair of shoes for the price shown on the label,and were then told to pay another couple ofpounds for the cost of delivering the shoes tothe shop, would you feel cross? Of courseyou would, because you'd expect the cost ofdelivery to be included in the price, along withall the other costs involved in making andselling shoes. So, how do car, caravan andmotorcaravan manufacturers get away withcharging vast sums for what ought, properly,to be included in a total price? Remember delivery is not to you, it's to the dealer (ie theshop).But the Buccaneer Caravel costs 32 950on the road (yes, a drive-away price). You'llstill have to negotiate with the dealer to getthe essential gas cylinders included, though.(We are told that motorcaravan manufacturerswho are also SMMT members have agreedamong themselves to quote on the roadprices from now on. Hopefully this will prompta 100 per cent move to a fairer and clearerpricing policy. Ed)The best part of 35 000 is a lot of money.Perhaps not so expensive when you realisethat the dearest Range Rover, with allaccessories, costs over 100 000 and that thesame 35 000 buys a secondhand JaguarXK8, for instance. Compared to these theCaravel's price looks good.Consider also, that the list price of a longwheelbase Ford Transit chassis cab is 19581 - before you add the body and interior then it starts to look like a very good dealindeed. Granted, Explorer Group don't pay listprice (or anything like it) for their Fords, butthe Caravel still seems good value, even to aYorkshireman.JUNE 2001 117